[firenze]

Whooo! I'm gonna talk about my import games now.

My first was something in the Neo Geo AES cart variety. I'm not sure which. Maybe Art of Fighting 2, maybe KOF '94... something like that.

My REAL entry into the import world was KOF '95 on Saturn though. My mom bought it for me as a graduation present in some store in suburban Chicago (Microplay or something like that - in Oak Lawn/Worth area). I used a ST-Key and the hot-swap method for switching the ST-Key and the KOF ROM cart. By the way, system still works fine though I did end up modding it with a physical switch ASAP.

Got my Saturn in spring of '96 and it is what really brought me back into video games "hardcore". Funny to say for someone who owned a freakin' Neo Geo, but my interest in games had waned a bit and I actually owned no systems at the time. Saturn and a steady diet of 2D fighters is what pulled me back in for good though. I imported all the Capcom stuff, the SNK games, and then I got into the many great shooters. NCS was my biggest enabler, I would order by phone - they were always super reliable and very polite (still are). I also bought stuff from some of the other major mid-90s online retailers - Tronix and therage.com got some of my money, and even the horrible place that was buyrite.com got a few buys (including a Virtual On PLUS official Saturn Twinstick controller bundle for $9.99 + reasonable shipping!).

My first import system - a Neo Geo Pocket (black and white). But I would continue my Sega console import obsession by buying a Japanese DC console shortly after launch in late '98 (for a little more than I paid for my premium 360, I might add) with Virtua Fighter 3tb and Sonic Adventure. It's the only DC I've ever had, and I own about 50-60 Japanese DC games compared to about 10-12 US ones so I was pretty heavy into importing. Oh, and my import DC sold some US ones - I worked in what is now a Gamestop store and brought my console for select customers to try out. Marvel vs. Capcom and Power Stone were big hits and the hands on time resulted in some system pre-orders.

Now I buy PS2 imports quite a bit, with the occasional PSP, DS, or DC (still!) release. I'm pretty certain I'll be buying PS3 imports - and I REALLY appreciate that my stock PS3 will play them just fine. Play-Asia is my main source now, with old reliable NCS and the occasional Ebay or random internet store buy supplementing that.