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Need help spending thirty bucks? OUENDAAAAAAN!
Import retailer Play-Asia's weekly specials are generally nice ways to get import games at good prices. This week's sale is extra-special, because the game is one close to our collective DS Fanboy heart. For the next six days or so, Play-Asia is selling Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 for a mere $29.90. We ordered a copy (as research for this post, of course) and shipping came out to just two dollars.Normally, there's a period of intense waffling when we come across one of these sales. Do we go for the impulse purchase? Is an awesome deal worth disrupting our careful game budgeting? That is not how it went this time. This time we instinctively threw our wallets at the screen as soon as we saw the price.
Bwahahaha! Wario Land Advance for $9.99!
Still upset over Wario's lackluster return to platforming, Wario: Master of Disguise? Why not wash that awful taste out of your mouth with one of the anti-hero's more polished titles? Import shop Play Asia is clearing out its stock of Wario Land Advance (Wario Land 4 in the US) by putting up Japanese copies of the GBA game for $9.99.This sale ends next Tuesday, so you have several days to ask yourself, "Do I want to play an awesome game or not?" Jump past the break for Wario Land Advance's opening movie and a speedrun of the first level.
Play-Asia has awesome GBA sale for cheap people
Play-Asia is clearing out a bunch of GBA stuff, and passing the disappointment losses savings on to you, the customer! They've marked some very interesting items down to very interesting prices, and as of right now there are still limited quantities available of most of it.Three of the bit Generations games, Digidrive, Boundish, and Dialhex, are available for $9.90 each, and Soundvoyager for $14.90. Donkey Kong: King of Swing is only $7.90. Perhaps most excitingly, the Japanese version of Mother 3 (as if there is any other version) is marked down to $14.90. There's a nice selection of cheapo Japanese games, so get out your iMoney and start e-browsing those virtual shelves!
Love and Berry and Bargains
Play-Asia is selling the DS version of Sega's hit arcade game Love and Berry at a special price of $12.90 for this week only. The Oshare Majo Love & Berry Collection includes a game and a card-reading DS peripheral.For those of you who aren't little Japanese girls, Love and Berry is a rhythm game that also dispenses cards featuring different outfits for the two title characters. The DS version makes use of the same cards that the arcade game spits out. While the series hasn't reached special-edition-DS-Lite popularity in the U.S., much less promotional-sewing-machine popularity, Love and Berry machines can be found in some American arcades, including Sega's own Gameworks. If you can't find the machine, and therefore can't find the cards, then we don't know what to tell you. Some might show up on eBay, or you may be able to find scanned cards. Or you may be able to enjoy the dancing game without new hairstyles! $12.90 is pretty cheap for a card reader that some genius out there could appropriate for homebrew development. Let's hope someone who likes to work on homebrew DS apps is reading.
Yo mama so cheap, you can buy her at Play Asia for $14.90
If you caught our interview with Starmen.net's Reid Young, you already know that the chances of Nintendo of America ever bringing EarthBound's GBA sequel, Mother 3, to the states are slim to none. As depressing as that reality might be, you shouldn't let it stop you from experiencing one of the most endearing RPGs ever released.There are several walkthroughs and guides available to assist you with the game's Japanese text, and, from now until next Tuesday, import shop Play-Asia will be selling copies of Mother 3 for only $14.90, less than a third of its standard price! What more do you need to convince you to pick this one up?[Via CAG]
Gloss Silver and Metallic Pink DS Lites now available for import
The new DS Lites have been released in Japan and have shown up on import shopping sites. That's right, for only $179 + shipping, you can have a DS Lite in one of the two new Japan-exclusive colors! You have your choice of Like the Regular DS Phat Color but on a Lite, or Like the Pink One but Shinier. Sure, you pay a premium, but it may be worth it to have a DS that looks somewhat different from other DS's in the immediate area. Depends on how you feel about the new colors! What do you think-- Gloss Silver or Gross Silver? Metallic Pink or Me-tacky Pink?
Face Training's price causes us to make a thoughtful face
It is possible that some of you may be persuaded to buy Face Training. This is assuming two things: first, that you would like to have a stand, and second, that something other than Adults' DS Face Training, homebrew or official, will make use of the DS camera. A distant third possibility, that you feel a strong desire to stretch your face at your DS, would supercede the first two. We would enjoy a DS Lite stand, and we hope we'd have a use for the camera, so it's not inconceivable that we'd consider this a deal worth looking into.Play Asia is taking preorders for the game at $48.90, which is their normal asking price for a Japanese DS game. That's not too bad for a camera, a stand, and (ahem) miscellaneous bonus content. We hope it's within range for a few homebrew developers, at least.Of course, its regular-priced-ness in Japan means that if, by some clerical error, Adults' DS Face Training somehow came out in the US, it would be regular US price of $30-$35. Don't hold your breath on that one-- although it may be good for your face to puff out your cheeks like you're pretending to hold your breath.
Play-Asia's summer smoothie sale
For the next week, online shop Play-Asia will be selling all of its in-stock items at a 20% discount, excluding weekly specials or anything released in the past 30 days -- cross Jump Ultimate Stars and Doki Doki Majo Shinpan off of your to-buy list. All of the import retailer's eligible products have been marked with the smoothie icon shown on the right, so it's easy to spot which games are on sale. We've picked out several noteworthy bargains that you might want to consider: Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 - $39.12 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice for All - $23.92 Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 4 - $15.92 Gyakuten Saiban 4 Limited Edition - $103.92 bit Generations: Orbital, Soundvoyager, Dialhex, Boundish, Digidrive - all $11.92 Urban Life Style Cases, White and Light Blue - $10.32 Headsets, Nintendo - $10.32, Dragon - $5.52 Play Stand DS Lite - $11.92 Though the sale doesn't end until next Friday, a lot of these items won't stay in-stock for long. Don't be that guy who has to leave a comment about missing out on a particular deal![Via CAG]
Go ahead, Jump! Ultimate Stars sale
As if language barriers aren't enough to dissuade would-be importers from ordering Japan-only games, the pricing on these titles often border on lunacy when compared to what new releases usually cost in the states. So while Play Asia's Jump! Ultimate Stars sale for $29.90 might not seem like much of a bargain, keep in mind that the online fighter usually sells for a staggering $48.90.It's a great game though; many have even compared it to the Super Smash Bros. series, except in 2D and with twenty hojillion playable manga characters. Since Play-Asia will be honoring the reduced price until next Monday, that gives you plenty of time to consider whether or not this discount is deep enough to warrant a purchase. We think that it is!
Import Kururin Paradise for only $10
Long hailed as one of the GBA's best puzzle titles, Kururin Paradise never landed on North American shores, preferring instead to limit its release to Japan. Play-Asia has taken pity on our Kururin-less souls, listing the 8ing-developed game at a dicount price of $9.90! This deal lasts until next Tuesday, so you'll have more than enough time to collect change on the sidewalk for this purchase. Pilot your spinning craft past the post break for a video preview of this simple-but-addictive game!
Now is the time to buy some RockMen
Online import shop Play Asia is trying to lighten its stock of mega-robot guys, hosting a week-long sale on RockMan 3 Zero. Capcom's GBA action-platformer has been discounted to $9.90, almost a fifth of its original price! RockMan 2 Zero boasts a similar discount as a limited time offer, but you get an additional dollar off if you bundle the two games together for your order, bringing the total cost to $18.80.And in case you've already forgotten, Renchi has also marked a number of its DS import titles down to $9.99, one of them being RockMan ZX! Geologists, rejoice![Via CAG]
Dress like a DJ: DJ Max Portable shirts available
Hot of the heels of the DJ Max Portable concert, comes DJ Max Portable 2 T-Shirts. Seeing as how great music is only half the equation, it makes sense for some of the art to be shown off in a wearable form. There are currently three designs for sale, but only while supplies last. The shirts are attractive enough, that even non-gamers are likely to compliment you on your wardrobe choice. Each shirt comes in at the reasonable price of $34.90. I'm not sure I'd ever look as cool as the models wearing the threads in the promo images, but I can't let that stop me from trying.
Deals of Mana
Amazon must have a warehouse teeming with Childen of Mana shipments, as the online shop seems to have a sale on the game every other week. Square Enix's dungeon crawler has sold for less in the past, but today's $17.99 pricing is still a significant discount from it's regular $29.99 tag. This offer disappears tomorrow -- likely reappearing in a fortnight -- so don't wait too long to drop the game into your cart.Play-Asia's Heroes of Mana sale will stick around until the end of the week, but there's no guarantee that the title will stay in stock. The Japanese text might be too much for first-time importers, but according to what we've heard, this RTS/RPG is a quality purchase. You can grab Heroes of Mana for $19.90, paying an extra $2.60 for shipping to the US. [Via CAG]
Deal of the Day: LocoRoco for $15
Surprisingly, LocoRoco wasn't included in today's Greatest Hits update. Maybe it didn't sell enough copies? Regardless, import retailer Play-Asia is offering the blubbery platform game for cheap: only $14.90, plus shipping. Although this is an import version, this package offers English text ... even though of all games, this probably doesn't need it.[Via CAG]
Deal of the Day: Gold PSP for $160, and other import deals
Play-Asia is having their Crazy Week sale, which truly lives up to its namesake. The store is slashing prices 20% for every in-stock item not released in the past 30 days. That includes hardware, which means the import Champagne Gold PSP is only $160: that's cheaper than buying a boring black Core system in America!But that's not the only deal in the store. You may be interested in picking up the original DJ Max Portable, the GPS receiver, Pink PSP, Silver PSP, or the PaRappa pouch. Happen to find other noteworthy deals? Tell us![Via CAG]
Play-Asia's Crazy Week sale
Starting today, popular importer Play-Asia will be hosting another one of its bargain blowouts, selling every in-stock item at a 20% discount (excluding products released in the past 30 days). Dubbing the event "Crazy Week," the online store will be marking down thousands of its games and accessories until next Thursday.Some of you might not think that 20% off isn't a great deal, especially when you factor in shipping and handling. We would probably be inclined to agree with you if we hadn't come across Play-Asia's reduced pricing on the bit Generations series. Coloris and Orbital have been cut down to $19.92, while all of the other titles are listed at a ridonkulous $11.92! That includes critically-acclaimed games like Dostream and Soundvoyager!If that isn't enough to convert the 49% of you who haven't imported games yet, we don't know what will. [Via CAG]
Import game releases for the week 2/18/07
Every week PSP Fanboy brings you the import releases for the coming week. Since your PSP can play games from any region, the only limitation is your bravery and langauge skills. It's a big week for import PSP games as Monster Hunter Portable 2nd hits Japan's retailers. There's also another Simple 2500 game and games that let you drive a Taxi and control and airport. Continued after the jump ...
Japan is mad for Monster Hunter Portable 2nd [Update 1]
Monster Hunter never found much of an audience in the US, but in Japan it's a big deal. How big of a deal? Well, when's the last time you saw this many versions of a game to buy: 1: Stand-Alone Game2: Accessories Set (the game and themed accessories of UMD holders, headphones, and collectible card)3: Hunter Pack (the game and themed accessories of a champagne PSP, 2 replacement faceplates, one carry case, strap and soft Monster Hunter toys) [Via DCEmu] [Update 1: Corrected links and formatting.] See also:Sony goes bling with new Champagne Gold
Silver and Blue, for your import consideration
One of our readers, Brandon, made note that the new Silver and Blue PSPs are available for importers at Play-Asia.com. These are both going for $199, the same retail price as an uncolorful American PSP. Remember: import PSPs can play all games. The only catch is: they can't play other region's UMDs. Not that that should matter anyways.
Cheap Ass Gamer and Play-Asia team up for Child's Play
Lest you think we're the only game (site) in town supporting the Child's Play charity, we want to direct your attention (and your bulging wallets) to our good friend CheapyD's efforts at Cheap Ass Gamer. This year, he's partnered with Play-Asia to give away $1000 in credit to the popular import gameshop ... but that's not all! His legion of "cheap ass" gamers have stood up to pitch in prizes for the runners-up (our favorite: the random box. It's "basically, a ton of older games + accessories, some sealed, some not...NES/SNES/N64/PS1/PS2/Gamecube included.")$5 buys your raffle ticket but you'd better hurry. You've only got until December 19 at 12:01AM EST to throw your hat into this virtual ring of giving (the hat does not guarantee you a place in the raffle). Check out CheapyD's post for all the rules and regulations and consider spreading your raffle love around this holiday.
