Need advise on wether I should buy Japanese 360 or not

b0ub0u · Post by **b0ub0u** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 11:51 am

Hey guys,

I am currently in Japan and I am heavily debating wether I should get a 360 from here or not. I already have the NTSC-US one but as I can see all the good shooters or coming out only on Japan format.

Is it worth it? Because the price on ebay seem more than they sell if for here.

Do you think all the new shooters will follow this path and always come out on the 360, instead of PS3.

Any advice would be helpful.

Regards,

Stephane

P.S. I found a few games in Akihabara so far... wow... this IS gamer heaven!

moozooh · Post by **moozooh** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:36 pm

Consider this list: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=18348.
If you're going to buy a Japanese X360, do it while you're still there, because shipping costs about half the console's price.

JigsawMan · Post by **JigsawMan** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:32 pm

if I could fit one in my luggage (and if I was in Japan) then I would buy one without hesitation. Postage is just way expensive for a console.

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:49 pm

moozooh wrote:Consider this list: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=18348.
If you're going to buy a Japanese X360, do it while you're still there, because shipping costs about half the console's price.

That list needs major updating.

neojma · Post by **neojma** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:05 pm

moozooh wrote:Consider this list: http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=18348.
If you're going to buy a Japanese X360, do it while you're still there, because shipping costs about half the console's price.

That's a little bit of an excessive estimate. I just ordered a 360 Arcade system from Play-Asia. $269 for the system, bought it with 3 games, UPS shipping was about $70 to the US. Not insanity, though yeah - if you're actually there just buy the thing on the shelf and avoid shipping costs and importer markups.

As for the system, based on history Cave ports tend not to leave Japan (none have ever been released in the US so far). I'd also expect that the teams doing the ports don't have a lot of resources for multi-platform ports, so it would not surprise me to never see the Cave ports released on anything but 360 in Japan. I'd expect that the other shooters aren't terribly likely to get additional releases outside of the Japanese 360, but maybe one day some publisher would pick them up (budget release of the Raiden games?), or Konami could (unlikely?) release Otomedius in the west.

Here's the list of confirmed reasons you would consider the 360 (yes, the previously linked list is outdated):

Death Smiles - coming 2009
DDP DOJ Black Label - coming December 2008
Ketsui - coming 2009
Raiden IV - out now
Raiden Fighters Aces - out now
Otomedius Gorgeous - TBA release, originally scheduled for October 2008
Shikigami no Shiro III (also released in Japan and US on Wii) - out now
Senko no Ronde (also released on US 360) - out now

Then there's the likely possibility of more shooter ports, as the 360 seems to be the otaku and shooter system. Wouldn't be too surprising to see Senko no Ronde 2 (releasing on Type-X2, so easy port), other Cave ports, etc.

moozooh · Post by **moozooh** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 6:29 pm

neojma wrote:That's a little bit of an excessive estimate. I just ordered a 360 Arcade system from Play-Asia. $269 for the system, bought it with 3 games, UPS shipping was about $70 to the US.

No, it isn't excessive, because the original poster is in Japan, where its price is <$190.

Now if you count the $80 you're paying to PA as a middleman and $70 for UPS shipping, it's $150 you've effectively overpaid compared to getting it there. And this sum is already close to the console's full cost, so it's actually you who underestimates it.

For the reference, I've had my friend buy it there for its normal (=close to MRP) cost and ship to me using EMS (~$95), so it ended up being almost exactly half the console's cost.

Post by **spadgy** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 9:04 am

moozooh wrote: buy it there for its normal (=close to MRP) cost and ship to me using EMS (~$95), so it ended up being almost exactly half the console's cost.

I need to make friends with somebody in Japan.

Post by **nZero** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 9:28 am

neojma wrote:That's a little bit of an excessive estimate. I just ordered a 360 Arcade system from Play-Asia. $269 for the system, bought it with 3 games, UPS shipping was about $70 to the US.

According to my Mastercard, after the exchange rate, I paid $278 and change for a 60GB X360. I'm fairly sure I could get one of the base model harddrive-less X360s to the US for under $300.

b0ub0u · Post by **b0ub0u** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:35 pm

OK guysm

Thanks for the answers so far. I think I will buy one, but should I get the cheapest one without an HD in it? If so how will I save my games? And also could I create an XBOX live account from Japan to get the games from there?

And one last question, are the controllers from my US 360 would work on the NTST-J one and vice-versa?

Let me know thanks,

I really appreciate your help! Just got back from Okinawa and I am here until the 15th so I still have time.

Stephane

moozooh · Post by **moozooh** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:40 pm

You can buy an HD when you return, the unit comes with a 256 MB memory card which is more than enough for in-game saves.

b0ub0u · Post by **b0ub0u** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:08 pm

I can buy any HD and just put it in the 360? Also, will my US controllers work on it?

Kiken · Post by **Kiken** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:15 pm

b0ub0u wrote:I can buy any HD and just put it in the 360? Also, will my US controllers work on it?

You can buy any 360 HD and it'll work in the console, yes. I purchased a J-360 Arcade pack from Gaijin Punch and bought my hard-drive later, from a local BestBuy. It works perfectly. Peripherals are universal.

b0ub0u · Post by **b0ub0u** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:17 pm

Yah but isn't buying the HD seperate more costly than just buying the JPN 360 with the HD?

moozooh · Post by **moozooh** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:29 pm

Um, why are you asking questions you can answer yourself just as well? If you have enough money and a use for the harddrive, buy an HDD-enabled model. If not, then not. We can't decide that for you.

b0ub0u · Post by **b0ub0u** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:33 pm

I just didn't know the price of a HD and didn't know if I could put ANY HD in it. Now you guys tell me I have to get a 360 HD, so I think I may be better off buying the one with the HD here in that case.

Thanks,

D · Post by D » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:36 pm

Maybe a group order of Japanese 360's would be wise.

moozooh · Post by **moozooh** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:45 pm

Where I live, the cheapest available 360 HDD costs around $150, while the Arcade (HDD-less) kit costs ~$300, and the cheapest HDD-enabled kit is ~$400 (yeah, MRP means next to nothing here, the only exception being Nintendo Wii). The prices may be different where you live, but it's not hard to tell that a separate HDD will make the whole pack more expensive, otherwise it wouldn't be profitable to sell it.

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:17 pm

moozooh wrote:Where I live, the cheapest available 360 HDD costs around $150, while the Arcade (HDD-less) kit costs ~$300, and the cheapest HDD-enabled kit is ~$400 (yeah, MRP means next to nothing here, the only exception being Nintendo Wii). The prices may be different where you live, but it's not hard to tell that a separate HDD will make the whole pack more expensive, otherwise it wouldn't be profitable to sell it.

+1
o've seen recently in the news that the arcades are goin cheaper here, but are still pricey (about $300, while the Elite model goes for about $450 last time i checked.)... if i could cut a deal for a J-X360 for $250 (shipping included) i'd consider on buyin it... but the way things are, it will cost me even more than an elite model bought here... and im short on money... im gonna wait a couple years, maybe then i'll bite the bullet w/o hesitation (til then, all i can do is play the region freee games, and hope for some hacker to bypass the region free thing, so i can skip on buyin a new consoled just for some shmup fixes).

Joe T. · Post by **Joe T.** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:26 pm

I traded my US 360 for a Japanese model about a year ago and simply swapped the hard drive straight up. It works fine in the Japanese 360. On that note, I later bought a brand new US region 360 to play on a bigger (non-rotating) tv. It's an arcade model without the hard drive. I just swap the one hard drive between consoles. Easy solution there.

b0ub0u · Post by **b0ub0u** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 12:37 pm

So can I just swap hard drive between the 2 consoles when I want to download game on the US or Japan Xbox LIVE accounts?

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 12:54 pm

Death Smiles - coming 2009
DDP DOJ Black Label - coming December 2008
Ketsui - coming 2009
Raiden IV - out now
Raiden Fighters Aces - out now
Otomedius Gorgeous - TBA release, originally scheduled for October 2008
Shikigami no Shiro III (also released in Japan and US on Wii) - out now
Senko no Ronde (also released on US 360) - out now

^Yup, gotta get one

Post by **spadgy** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 1:48 pm

DEL wrote: ^Yup, gotta get one

Maybe us London/UK lot need to sort a group order? Wouldn't know where to start though...

XERO · Post by **XERO** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:13 pm

and what would you do if you need repairs?

Square King · Post by **Square King** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 4:20 pm

Get two. I need one.

Cthulhu · Post by **Cthulhu** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:53 am

I bought a JP 360 for Blue Dragon (yes, laugh if you like... I enjoyed the game but it wasn't all that great... err, I digress), and when I did, it was of questionable worth. There wasn't much coming out for it that wasn't going to hit the states, but I took a gamble and got it.

Fast forward to now. I'm extremely glad I have it. Japanese support for the 360 is growing steadily and there's plenty of unique (and worthwhile) stuff for it.

Also, remember that there are Cave games coming out on it. That pretty much seals the deal for shmup fans (in case Raiden Fighters, the best port of Shikigami no Shiro 3, and Otomedius didn't...).

DEL · Post by **DEL** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 11:24 am

spadgy wrote;

Maybe us London/UK lot need to sort a group order? Wouldn't know where to start though...

But you ARE the industry

How can you not know?!

First line of thought

GaijinPunch

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:02 pm

XERO wrote:and what would you do if you need repairs?

Cry.

Aren't most of these Japanese 360s the original model too?

Post by **spadgy** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:17 pm

DEL wrote: But you ARE the industry

I wish DEL! We'd all be having region-free 360s in the post if that were the case.

I'm just a lackey of the industry, and it's keeping anything but a retail PAL 360 well out of my grasp. Occasionally it dangles a de-bug carrot in front of my twitching nose, but it keeps getting snatched away, and I get sent the next Harry Potter game instead...

b0ub0u · Post by **b0ub0u** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:31 pm

Finally the 360 that I got is the one with the 60GB hardrive.

The 60GB has the HDMI port too

So I assume it must be a newer board too less prone to failing!

I got Raiden IV and Raiden Fighters Aces for it!

I am happy with my purchase, can't wait to try it back home!

thanks for the help guys,

Stephane

Rai82 · Post by **Rai82** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:53 pm

Enjoy playing your shmups!

shmups.system11.org

Need advise on wether I should buy Japanese 360 or not

Need advise on wether I should buy Japanese 360 or not

hmmm...

Re: hmmm...