Why Do People Collect outside their region?

[fcgamer | 4,753]

I collect outside of my region as I'm living abroad, but whilst living in the States, I had accumulated about half a NES full set as a teenager, and I also bought NA Sega, GB, etc.

So for those who collect outside of their region, why? I don't get it, for example, everyone who wanks off to getting Hong Kong version games, I mean, what relation do you have to the region, surely nothing. After a point, "looking cool" doesn't carry much weight, especially when going for full sets.

[Sumez | 2,994]

Why would the region matter in the first place? Why stick to one region?
I think that's a much better question.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Sumez

[Tanooki | 4,952]

@fcgamer I think we talked about it over the years here(na too), messenger but it fits for here.

Going back to the earlier 1990s thanks to Nintendo Power primarily, then later getting awful EGM for free even after canceling it(guess they were desperate) you would get these nuggets of images and stories about Japan, Japanese video games, their development, the annoying amount of fun stuff that didn't get published.  Then the culture started in the 90s to normalize throughout the 90s with anime, converted to 'americanized' anime, manga, etc as well after the whole F-japan 80s about cars and stuff.

Thanks to my time growing up in California (san diego county largely) until I left at the very end of 02 I had a lot of exposure to some media in places, and I could get good anime, but I could also get a nice super cheap supply of Super Famicom and PCEngine CD games largely, some Gameboy too just a few miles from my house.  I started to see some far better stuff we didn't get, the overlap of fun stuff on it with anime I liked such as Lupin and Tekkaman Blade on GB to some solid games for SFC PCE CD too.  I got online about the time I started getting it local, and ebay was a baby at that rate around 1997 so I started importing a few utter gems I knew of like Macross, DBZ Super Butoden 2, along with what that store had on shelves I'd try out...hey it was only $5-10 for boxed SFC games, why not?!

That's what did it.  And then I took it further still in the 90s in college, had a period working on campus where this half japanese lady was a co-worker, she helped me where I got stuck going from learning hiragana and katakana and using a dictionary to get the grammar down to translate the manual to Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the Northstar) 6 on SFC!  It also helped me get through menus, light text in games which opened some more doors.  Late in college I took a year of Japanese 101/102 that was a new professor there a just retired NHK news reporter, double aced the courses.  Wish I still was that fairly fluent.

That's why I do what I do, it was part of where I was and what basically fell into my hands or popped up on my tv in the 80s as akid (robotech, transformers, speed racer are anime) to played on my TV with the NES, SNES and the import explosion of my area.  It really wasn't too exotic as it would be to some others so it felt right, still does.  It's why the shelf and drawers behind me have around a 100 import carts.  Not because I'm some stupid wanna be weeb or any of the rest, I just had better access to things so I can appreciate them for what they are.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Tanooki

[fcgamer | 4,753]

35 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Why would the region matter in the first place? Why stick to one region?
I think that's a much better question.

Region would be related to nostalgia, and likely those that collect for non investment reasons are doing so because of nostalgia.

[fcgamer | 4,753]

@Tanooki for people like you, it makes sense. But for folks that chase after sets (and I swear it's always sets, despite the fact that no one chases a proper NA NTSC set anymore), I just don't get it.

[goldenpp72 | 1,235]

I don't, I actually never import as a cost control rule, though that also backfires in some instances for sure. I think the appeal is there so you can explore your taste, but everyone has to set a limit somewhere. Some want every NES/Fami game that ever existed, some want prototypes, billboards, stands, kiosk, it's really too varied out there to ponder this specifically. I collect on 50 or so systems, so I figure I have enough to tinker with!

[DefaultGen | 5,432]

Collectors like having stuff other collectors don’t have. Why collect Stadium Events?

[Gloves | 11,830]

A number of reasons. 

1. They look cool. Whether you like that reason or not, it's entirely valid and is among my reasons for collecting games from at least one other region - Japanese cover art back in the day was significantly cooler than the weird, typically macho bunk we got here. I think it looks cool, and a big part of collecting CIB for me is that the games look cool in their boxes on my shelf, and it's fun to show to friends when they come over. 
2. Games not released in my region despite how great some are. Shoot em ups on playstation are a prime example, many of the best ever for consoles were on PS2 and are exclusive to Japan. 

Those are my primary reasons, neither of which being driven by a nostalgia for the region or specific games. And I don't care about full sets, I very much cherry pick. 

[Ankos | 463]

For me how it started was that companies I had an interest in published internationally (not always in the USA in some of those circumstances those games I found visiting family in SE Asia) so I got hooked on them then. Then I saw they had other titles released overseas back in their home countries so I decided I'd try and nab some of those. I got used to buying overseas and just kept going after that. Though I'm not looking to buy things overseas if they are available in the USA. Especially if they are cheaper here

TLDR version: Availability

[sp1nz | 615]

Living in PAL territory I can easily say that f.ex. (not in specific order of importance):

1. NTSC-U/NTSC-J games are superior with their 60Hz game speed on older consoles (unless the game is specifically optimized to run at the same speed on PAL TV).

2. PAL NES has this stupid PAL A and PAL B divide.

3. So many good exclusives around the world, filling gaps in series you like or just being great one-offs.

4. Affordability.

5. Better art and/or manuals - like compare PAL Mega Drive vs JPN Mega Drive cover art + manual.

6. Meaningful version differences between regions.

My passion/derangement to collect multiple versions of some games on some platforms goes beyond those sensible reasons and I think it's just "cool" to own that stuff, not for monetary value, I just want to collect what I want to collect - like all of the Korean games I own would be among the last to leave my collection if I ever had to sell, which I barely ever do anyway.

Let's be honest that while video games have the function of gameplay interaction, in physical form they are luxury items that no one really needs, especially if they're willing to resort to digital releases, emulation or clone hardware - at least no one needs them complete in box to play and when it goes beyond playing, anyone could enjoy the art/history appreciation aspect. Sure it might feel bad, if you are after games in your region and people with no connection to the history scoop them up and make them harder/impossible for you to get, but I still rather wish that "real" collectors scoop them up over any speculators just wanting to flip them down the road - historical connection or not. But even after all fairness or lack thereof I can't tell what others feel about things they own or covet, I sure as hell feel a lot about my Korean stuff for example and that is with no historical connection to it other than "damn cool that it even exists" and so forth.

Edited October 30, 2022 by sp1nz

[Renmauzo | 1,205]

While I understand the economic sensibilities behind it, I don't like the idea of some exec deciding what I may or may not like and thus cutting me off from experiences. This factored big time into Sega's North American Saturn strategy for choosing what to bring here which resulted in us getting cut off from so many amazing games, which makes having a Japanese Saturn collection a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. 

I only had a few NES games growing up, and one of them was a Famicom cart of Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa!! which got play on par with SMB3 and Star Tropics;  I love that game and is the sole reason I have a Disc System now. That someone decided North Americans 'wouldn't get it' or something equally as insulting is frustrating to me since a good game is a good game regardless of nostalgia. So with that said, I'll be wherever the good games are, regardless of region. Neither nostalgia nor 'collectibility' are factors, and I certainly don't care about full-set collecting and having hundreds/thousands of games I'll never play; the only factor that counts for me when making a decision on a purchase: "Is this game awesome enough to me that it's worth owning?".

 

[MegaMan52 | 2,460]

Because imports are cool, and everyone knows it.

Besides that, Japanese/European releases of games have interesting differences. Like the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 3, which is slightly more difficult because Raccoon Mario reverts back to regular Mario whenever he gets hit. Or the two Japanese versions of Super Mario 64, one of which uses the Jolly Roger Bay painting from beta versions of the game and the other has Rumble Pak support. Version 1.0 copies of Tetris for Game Boy have different A-Type music. The Japanese version of Mario Party has different music ("Move to the Mambo") for two of the mini games. The Japanese e+ version of Animal Crossing has an enhanced version of the title screen music, SD Card support, and allows you to enter Tom Nook's store at night.

Japanese versions of games often have better covers/box art, and unique cartridge labels.

Then there are the exclusives. There's the Famicom versions of Tetris and Pac-Land. There's Nintendo Puzzle Collection, Donkey Konga 3, Kururin Squash!, and the Hudson Selection series for GameCube.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by MegaMan52

[Brickman | 4,013]

People don’t just collect old games for nostalgia, they also collect because they love the hobby and all the difference each region has.

A lot of people from PAL regions prefer NTSC because of the 50hz/60hz issue.

Some people like Japanese games because of the games that weren’t released in their region.

I don’t think anyone should restrict their collection just because of region. Do you restrict your music or movies based on region?

[Ankos | 463]

Rereading your original post it sounds like you are mostly referring to why someone would want something from a different region if it isn't different, like how some people collect Hong Kong region GB games despite them only having a different sticker from the Japanese versions. I personally don't see the appeal in doing that, those games look almost identical to the JP versions from the outside, but I guess they are a little rarer so maybe some people just want an extra challenge. HK set is also a lot smaller so maybe it is a desire to be a big fish in a small pond or something 

[DefaultGen | 5,432]

20 minutes ago, Brickman said:

People don’t just collect old games for nostalgia, they also collect because they love the hobby and all the difference each region has.

Why collect nostalgic games from your region? What are the chances the greatest collectible games came out when you specifically were 9 years old and you owned them as a kid. End nostalgia!

[Gloves | 11,830]

7 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

Why collect nostalgic games from your region? What are the chances the greatest collectible games came out when you specifically were 9 years old and you owned them as a kid. End nostalgia!

Why collect?

[Ankos | 463]

21 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

Why collect nostalgic games from your region? What are the chances the greatest collectible games came out when you specifically were 9 years old and you owned them as a kid. End nostalgia!

I don't think nostalgia in collecting is a bad thing. Being able to point to something on a shelf and tell a story about it is always a plus, even more so if that story had you in it. I'd rather collect video games that mean something to me, than collect something more collectible that means nothing to me. Nostalgia is not the only way to have an experience with a game where you can tell stories about it but it is a way

[drxandy | 3,236]

I wanna play stuff that didn't get released here in the states, because a lot of it is really interesting to me. 

[final fight cd | 187]

different box art, exclusive games, regional differences, price difference, collectability, gives you something else to collect.  the list can go on.  i don't get why somebody WOULDN'T collect a different region.  

Edited October 31, 2022 by final fight cd

[RH | 4,966]

Regarding specific regions (I still want to prioritize one day getting a Samuari or a Dendi Famicom and I have no connection to those regions) because part of collecting is sometimes owning a piece of a story or history that you find fascinating.

I find these off shot regions that licensed from Nintendo to make hardware to be fascinating. Whether it’s South Korea with it’s Comboy series, the Samuari in India, Dendi stuff in Russia or Playtronic releases in Brazil, there’s no nostalgic connection for these items but nostalgia has created in me a love and appreciate for the story of video games around the world.

That’s part of why I’m interested in stuff from other regions.  I doubt I’ll own a complete set of anything from outside of the US, but even that has an appeal because it’s a full picture of what was available in a give region. The Hong Kong/Chinese GB carts are an excellent example.

[amelia | 21]

Well, initially I wanted an iQue Player because I found the joint venture between iQue and Nintendo to bypass the Chinese console ban fascinating, and then my interest extended to iQue Game Boy systems, and then Chinese Game Boy games and its system releases. Which then essentially extended to odd Asian releases in general (mostly Game Boy as that's what I prefer collecting, but there's bits and bobs and other systems I'd wanna get too, where I'd then prefer to generally get these odd Asian releases to fit with the rest of my collection [even if I collect occasional European and American releases too]). Now I wanna get other odd region items too (Gradiente and Playtronic! Wouldn't mind if I did. Just a bit too annoying to source for me right now for my liking at least)

[T-Pac | 7,587]

6 hours ago, Renmauzo said:

I'll be wherever the good games are, regardless of region...

... the only factor that counts for me when making a decision on a purchase: "Is this game awesome enough to me that it's worth owning?".

1 hour ago, drxandy said:

I wanna play stuff that didn't get released here in the states, because a lot of it is really interesting to me. 

These are my thoughts exactly.

I didn't grow up with any of the systems I collect for anyway, so it's all new and interesting to me regardless of region. I started buying European and Japanese games because it was a more affordable way to get pricy titles, like Little Samson and Panic Restaurant. Then I started diving into regional exclusives. And now, I find myself more excited to get imports than domestic releases, since it makes my collection feel more eclectic and, dare I say, more 'sophisticated'. I like looking through my games and knowing that "this one came from Germany" and "that one came from the United Kingdom" and "these ones were only released in Japan." 

I understand the desire to stick with one region when collecting for its own sake, though @fcgamer. It narrows the guidelines and makes things more obtainable and clear-cut. If I was a full-set guy, I would go insane without regional restrictions.

-CasualCart

[DK | 267]

I collect Hong Kong NES because when I was living in Asia I visited Hong Kong 3 times. It's really great city and I have good memories of it.

So, when I see the word Hong Kong on a NES classic that I love, it makes it just a little more interesting to me than a regular US copy.

Plus, purple NES boxes look pretty sweet.

[fcgamer | 4,753]

17 minutes ago, DK said:

I collect Hong Kong NES because when I was living in Asia I visited Hong Kong 3 times. It's really great city and I have good memories of it.

So, when I see the word Hong Kong on a NES classic that I love, it makes it just a little more interesting to me than a regular US copy.

Plus, purple NES boxes look pretty sweet.

This I can understand, and as someone (I think @Ankos) mentioned earlier, it's more what I was hinting at, as opposed to logical reasons such as preferring NTSC to pal, or buying games that weren't released in your region, are cheaper, etc.

You have a personal relationship to Hong Kong, similarly I collected all of the Taiwan region Wii games and would likely keep them even if I cleaned up shop and moved back to the States, since I have a relationship with Taiwan. I have a few German language games too, which I got so I could practice my German years back.

But what I don't get is the large number of people who typically wank off to purchasing HK/Asian/Korean/Indian NES/GB games. I'd reckon most of these people don't have ties to these regions. Then what makes it even more curious to me is that the same crowd generally tries to get a full set of the games. It just blows my mind.

[DK | 267]

7 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

But what I don't get is the large number of people who typically wank off to purchasing HK/Asian/Korean/Indian NES/GB games. I'd reckon most of these people don't have ties to these regions. Then what makes it even more curious to me is that the same crowd generally tries to get a full set of the games. It just blows my mind.

 

I can relate a little bit. 

I have essentially no connection to Korea, beyond being on Korean Air flights that pass though Seoul.

However, I really like Korean NES games, and get them whenever I can for a non-crazy price.

I just think it's neat seeing US box art in a different language. That's the same reason I collect Brazilian Playtronic.

I'm not going for a full set or anything, but if it happens just due to paying attention then, that's ok with me.

I don't have an Instagram or show the public the weird things I have, so I'm probably not the person you are complaining about, but I can understand being interested in another region's games with only a minor or maybe even no connection to the area.