N64 Collecting Advice: Japanese games are cheaper.

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

The N64 flopped in Japan, so the games are very cheap. Nobody wants them, but they made tons of copies of them, so the supply outweighs demand.

On the right is a single, albiet expensive, NA copy of a game. On the left are all the games that I got which are JP that all add up to LESS than what I paid for Paper Mario.

Modding a console is easy: just get rid of the plastic in the cart slot that region locks your console. If you aren't okay doing it yourself, give it to somebody who is more experienced. This has unironically been the best thing i have done for myself regarding N64. I know this is general advice for all consoles (imports are usually cheaper) but I beg you to pursue this if you want a physical collection.


Or, if you don't care about physical collecting, get a SummerCart or EverDrive. :p
Whatever floats your boat.

 

[VampireLord1024VampireLord1024's icon]

Reminds me of those KidShoriyuken or Mad Panic Gaming YouTube videos where Jim goes to a BookOff or something and finds those cheap games.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Will say, I have it on pretty good word that those places are increasing prices as well because dumb foreigners (like meeeeee) go there to find cheap games with no clue what they SHOULD be worth in Yen. I mean it when I say, always check your locals and use JDDirect Flea Market for your imports.

 

[Asian girls loverAsian girls lover's icon]

Although they are cheaper than the US and european versions, if you don't know japanese language they're pretty useless. Unless you don't buy them for collecting reasons.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Although they are cheaper than the US and european versions, if you don't know japanese language they're pretty useless. Unless you don't buy them for collecting reasons.

Depends on the game! You can get by on gaming instinct and context clues in most games. Even JP exclusives, like Bangai-o, are fairly manageable to folks like me!

This won't apply to everyone though, and I know that for some people it'll be a huge deal.

 

[bjork]

Got a buddy that's almost put together the complete US N64 library in his collection. The last few he needs: Rat Attack, Super Bowling, and some Turok on a grey cartridge because he's collecting all variants. Just those three is probably close to $1500, seems wild to me.

 

[99nereids]

not sure if this applies to all jp consoles, but it was significantly cheaper to import a broken psp from japan & refurbish it than it was to buy a usable one here in the states ( jp ebay sellers are your best friends )

 

[Egg (McMuffin) Man]

I live in Japan. The price of games has been steadily increasing for years now and while a lot of games are certainly cheaper, tons of them aren't all that much cheaper than their North American release, to the point where you're probably paying more once you consider the cost of international shipping and import fees. The days of being able to get everything for dirt cheap by ordering from Japan are mostly a thing of the past.

Unfortunately this is also having a major effect on the retro gaming community within Japan. As games go up in price, the hobby becomes inaccessible to newcomers or returning players and a lot of people are getting priced out altogether. Unlike Western gamers who tend to collect, a lot of Japanese gamers rely on a large stock of games being cheaply and readily available at their local thrift store. With homes being smaller than our American counterparts, a lot of people simply don't have room to collect so they instead use the thrift stores like a rental store and will sell the games that they have completed back to the thrift store once they are finished with them and then move on to something else. But a lot of people are beginning to give up on this because the games are going up in price (and the thrift stores barely pay anything when you sell the games back to them) so it's just not worth it anymore. The result is that the hobby is steadily moving towards becoming exclusive among people who are in-the-know about foreign piracy sites which limits the community to a pretty small circle of people who can navigate English websites and people who have the space to collect and can afford to pay high prices for games and consoles.

I've been collecting for a long time now so I got a lot of my stuff for cheap but it feels sad to go through the thrift stores and see games I bought for cheap selling for such high prices now. I've watched games that used to sell for under 500 yen jump up to over 10,000 yen; it's insane, and it's mostly because of importers and foreign tourists. Hell, even the government cited that as a reason for why they've begun archiving retro games.

What I personally don't understand: so many of these games require fluency in Japanese. Some of the titles that tourists and importers tend to go for are RPGs with no English option. Do you really need such a thing as a trophy to collect dust on your shelf? Games should be played.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

Got a buddy that's almost put together the complete US N64 library in his collection. The last few he needs: Rat Attack, Super Bowling, and some Turok on a grey cartridge because he's collecting all variants. Just those three is probably close to $1500, seems wild to me.

That's grey Turok Rage Wars. Rarest N64 cart out there.

Post automatically merged: Feb 4, 2025

I live in Japan. The price of games has been steadily increasing for years now and while a lot of games are certainly cheaper, tons of them aren't all that much cheaper than their North American release, to the point where you're probably paying more once you consider the cost of international shipping and import fees. The days of being able to get everything for dirt cheap by ordering from Japan are mostly a thing of the past.

Unfortunately this is also having a major effect on the retro gaming community within Japan. As games go up in price, the hobby becomes inaccessible to newcomers or returning players and a lot of people are getting priced out altogether. Unlike Western gamers who tend to collect, a lot of Japanese gamers rely on a large stock of games being cheaply and readily available at their local thrift store. With homes being smaller than our American counterparts, a lot of people simply don't have room to collect so they instead use the thrift stores like a rental store and will sell the games that they have completed back to the thrift store once they are finished with them and then move on to something else. But a lot of people are beginning to give up on this because the games are going up in price (and the thrift stores barely pay anything when you sell the games back to them) so it's just not worth it anymore. The result is that the hobby is steadily moving towards becoming exclusive among people who are in-the-know about foreign piracy sites which limits the community to a pretty small circle of people who can navigate English websites and people who have the space to collect and can afford to pay high prices for games and consoles.

I've been collecting for a long time now so I got a lot of my stuff for cheap but it feels sad to go through the thrift stores and see games I bought for cheap selling for such high prices now. I've watched games that used to sell for under 500 yen jump up to over 10,000 yen; it's insane, and it's mostly because of importers and foreign tourists. Hell, even the government cited that as a reason for why they've begun archiving retro games.

What I personally don't understand: so many of these games require fluency in Japanese. Some of the titles that tourists and importers tend to go for are RPGs with no English option. Do you really need such a thing as a trophy to collect dust on your shelf? Games should be played.

I'm sorry, man... That SUCKS to hear.

The bright side, much like the US ends up being finding those deals means more. I don't live there, so I can't say much, but surely there are some great games that are still accessible, right?

 

[Egg (McMuffin) Man]

That's grey Turok Rage Wars. Rarest N64 cart out there.

Post automatically merged: Feb 4, 2025

I'm sorry, man... That SUCKS to hear.

The bright side, much like the US ends up being finding those deals means more. I don't live there, so I can't say much, but surely there are some great games that are still accessible, right?

Yeah there's still some that are accessible. Tourists and importers all seem to go after specific games, so there are some which I suspect will always remain affordable. Some titles sold so well that even though they've been a desired import for years they have at least remained affordable after price increases, but who knows how long that will last. And in some cases it only applies to boxed copies. I just can't understand why someone would buy a game that they can't play. It's one thing to buy something that doesn't require language comprehension ability like Mario or Donkey Kong, but why buy something like Chrono Trigger or Mother 3 if you can't play it? Or if you're just going to emulate and patch it on a RetroN (or similar), why not just load it from an SD card?

But as you said, finding deals does mean more now.

 

[spectresfrommercury]

Buy Nintendo 64 games, systems and accessories (Japanese import)

All Nintendo 64 Products from Nintendo, direct import from Japan!

www.nin-nin-game.com

pro tip this site is pretty good for imports online imo.

 

[Trainer Red]

I couldn't help but think this. ...Seems like getting any used games to collect JP ... either I've gotten lucky ... or do they just happen to take care of their games extremely well ? I once ordered a few used games off eBay and even though it was tagged as 'Very good' condition ... it was actually much higher than that ! More like 'Near mint'

 

[Egg (McMuffin) Man]

I couldn't help but think this. ...Seems like getting any used games to collect JP ... either I've gotten lucky ... or do they just happen to take care of their games extremely well ? I once ordered a few used games off eBay and even though it was tagged as 'Very good' condition ... it was actually much higher than that ! More like 'Near mint'

Exporters shy away from games in rough condition because they're harder to sell on eBay. It's not hard to find Japanese games in bad condition if you go to a physical shop.

 

[fake-kun]

What I personally don't understand: so many of these games require fluency in Japanese. Some of the titles that tourists and importers tend to go for are RPGs with no English option. Do you really need such a thing as a trophy to collect dust on your shelf? Games should be played.

100% agree. Collecting games without playing them is just a display of vanity and wealth, IMHO.

 

[Prism_Red]

Went to Japan last year, I'm lucky I got friends that could show me around. I didn't visit big cities just the outskirts of the town and games there are pretty cheap, you can go to BookOff or look around for local mom and pop junk shop.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

I recommend a YouTube show called "Japanese Eye" by N64 Glenn Plant to see which Japanese-exclusive N64 games are worth getting. It's really good.

 

[Trainer Red]

Exporters shy away from games in rough condition because they're harder to sell on eBay. It's not hard to find Japanese games in bad condition if you go to a physical shop.

Ah okay ~ Makes sense !
Had to ask since ... yeah ... those that label 'Very Good' condition coming from the US ... well ... it's practically the opposite LOL

At least it's a positive sign knowing that for those game collecting JP titles ... eBay might not be a bad place to get excellent condition used games ~
(And who knows ... might end up like me and the person might accidentally send a copy twice hahaha )

 

[Egg (McMuffin) Man]

Ah okay ~ Makes sense !
Had to ask since ... yeah ... those that label 'Very Good' condition coming from the US ... well ... it's practically the opposite LOL

At least it's a positive sign knowing that for those game collecting JP titles ... eBay might not be a bad place to get excellent condition used games ~
(And who knows ... might end up like me and the person might accidentally send a copy twice hahaha )

I think one main difference is how sellers rate the condition. I often see sellers marking the condition as saying it has scratches (even if it doesn't), and then they give good photos and in the description they usually say to check the photos for the condition. I'm not sure how exporters on ebay do it, but sellers here are pretty transparent and they'll tell you up front if it's junk or not.

 

[Somnia]

This is true for nearly all systems, even ones that didn't flop. Of course for some systems like the Saturn the JP copies of games have started to rise a ton too, but they'll always be cheaper than the US alternative. It's a nice compromise since I like having games on the shelf but just use everdrives or ODEs on almost every retro system anyways!