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Lots of people seem to have gopt importing and playing copied games mixed up. Here is why importing can be good, and the reasons for doing it:
Games released in Japan are designed to use their types of TV... called "NTSC". This runs at 60HZ (which means that the picture is refreshed 60 times a second).
The problem is that TVs in england use a "PAL" TV system. The reason for this is that this produces better pictures when you are watching TV. The problem however, is that the picture only runs at 50HZ, which means it is slightly slower than Japanese TVs. In addition, UK "PAL" TVs have taller screens- there's more space on the screen to fill.
So how do developers overcome this problem? The answer is 2 fold. Usually, to overcome the bigger screen, developers put big black borders at the top and bottom of it. This is most obvious in games like Ridge Racer (PS2).
Secondly, the developers must overcome the different "speeds" of TVs. Now, seeing as games are usually only running at 30 frames-per-second on a Japanese screen, you'd think that they could run at 30 frames-per second on a UK TV screen. This is true, but requires lots of extra programming. So most developers don't bother and just make the game slower. For this reason you can get faster lap times on the American Mario cart 64 than on the UK mario cart 64.
So, what's the outcome?
UK games are slower
UK games have black borders sometimes
UK games come out last!
There are 3 ways to get around this problem:
1) Be patient and wait for the UK game, which is inferior to the original. For example, Tekken runs miles faster on JApanese PSones and PS2s... it's meant to be a really fast game, but no one in England has ever been able to play it in this way.
2) Get a Dreamcast (says the man named after sega's mascot). The reason for this is as follows. In many Dreamcast games, the normal PAL TV mode is actually reprogrammed so that it fills up the screen, and runs as fast as possible. Also, if you have a modern TV, most games have a 60HZ option so that you can run the game in exactly the same way as the japanese original. This is the only console to support this.
3) IMPORT. (we finally got there!). Basically, you buy any countries console (UK/America/Japan)... whichever is cheaper!... and then you chip it. Chippig DOES not mean that you can play copied games (after all, it is theoretically impossible to copy DC/GC games), rather it means you can play games from any country. So, say Tekken 5 comes out in Japan. I can now buy it months before it comes out in the UK, and can play it in full screen and at full speed. Say, however, that the new Final Fantasy comes out... and you can't speak japanese. No problem, you can wait for the UK version and play that, or get the american version before the UK version is out!
You can also buy games that never come out in the UK... like Virtua On- one of my favs!
There are a few downsides though:
1) It can be expensive to get games from abroad. If this is the case then simply buy british games, and only get import games when:
a) they will never come out here... as many games do!
b) You really,really want the game before anyone else!
2) Initial cost of setting up can be expensive. By this, I mean that many people see the only way to import as being buying a Jap/American console. This can be v. expensive! BUT, u can just buy a UK machine and chip it for only £15.
3) U need a scart TV... but unless you have a v. old TV or an ancient one, then this is no problem.
4) Invalidate the console's waranty if you chip it. But then again, these only last a year,,,, and if u go to a proper specialist a chip will be fine.
Finally! You need not chip. There are devices for PSones that plug onto the back of the console and let u play import games- like gamesharks.
So, I hope you found that interesting... anything I left out, or missed just ask.
Sonic
(Sory about spelling mistakes... I'm at school, and it's almost lunch time!)
Games released in Japan are designed to use their types of TV... called "NTSC". This runs at 60HZ (which means that the picture is refreshed 60 times a second).
The problem is that TVs in england use a "PAL" TV system. The reason for this is that this produces better pictures when you are watching TV. The problem however, is that the picture only runs at 50HZ, which means it is slightly slower than Japanese TVs. In addition, UK "PAL" TVs have taller screens- there's more space on the screen to fill.
So how do developers overcome this problem? The answer is 2 fold. Usually, to overcome the bigger screen, developers put big black borders at the top and bottom of it. This is most obvious in games like Ridge Racer (PS2).
Secondly, the developers must overcome the different "speeds" of TVs. Now, seeing as games are usually only running at 30 frames-per-second on a Japanese screen, you'd think that they could run at 30 frames-per second on a UK TV screen. This is true, but requires lots of extra programming. So most developers don't bother and just make the game slower. For this reason you can get faster lap times on the American Mario cart 64 than on the UK mario cart 64.
So, what's the outcome?
UK games are slower
UK games have black borders sometimes
UK games come out last!
There are 3 ways to get around this problem:
1) Be patient and wait for the UK game, which is inferior to the original. For example, Tekken runs miles faster on JApanese PSones and PS2s... it's meant to be a really fast game, but no one in England has ever been able to play it in this way.
2) Get a Dreamcast (says the man named after sega's mascot). The reason for this is as follows. In many Dreamcast games, the normal PAL TV mode is actually reprogrammed so that it fills up the screen, and runs as fast as possible. Also, if you have a modern TV, most games have a 60HZ option so that you can run the game in exactly the same way as the japanese original. This is the only console to support this.
3) IMPORT. (we finally got there!). Basically, you buy any countries console (UK/America/Japan)... whichever is cheaper!... and then you chip it. Chippig DOES not mean that you can play copied games (after all, it is theoretically impossible to copy DC/GC games), rather it means you can play games from any country. So, say Tekken 5 comes out in Japan. I can now buy it months before it comes out in the UK, and can play it in full screen and at full speed. Say, however, that the new Final Fantasy comes out... and you can't speak japanese. No problem, you can wait for the UK version and play that, or get the american version before the UK version is out!
You can also buy games that never come out in the UK... like Virtua On- one of my favs!
There are a few downsides though:
1) It can be expensive to get games from abroad. If this is the case then simply buy british games, and only get import games when:
a) they will never come out here... as many games do!
b) You really,really want the game before anyone else!
2) Initial cost of setting up can be expensive. By this, I mean that many people see the only way to import as being buying a Jap/American console. This can be v. expensive! BUT, u can just buy a UK machine and chip it for only £15.
3) U need a scart TV... but unless you have a v. old TV or an ancient one, then this is no problem.
4) Invalidate the console's waranty if you chip it. But then again, these only last a year,,,, and if u go to a proper specialist a chip will be fine.
Finally! You need not chip. There are devices for PSones that plug onto the back of the console and let u play import games- like gamesharks.
So, I hope you found that interesting... anything I left out, or missed just ask.
Sonic
(Sory about spelling mistakes... I'm at school, and it's almost lunch time!)
Page:
I'm at home!
u r doing geography now yes?
Sonic
Sonic
Armatige Shanks wrote:
> SonicRav wrote:
Now, you are Sony Europe. You have 2 markets
> to
> feed- Europe and Aussie. They are the same land size, but
> in Ozzie
> most of the land is desert.
Australia and the UK
> are the same size! ...
Bloody hell, geography has REALLY changed
> since I was at school!
#
The MARKETS are the same size! The diffrence is the aussie is thousands of miles accross, and the other side of the world, and the UK is in Europe and very higly densly populated.
Also remember the aussie and Europe are about the same size, but europe has about 100 times more people in it!
Sonic
:)
> SonicRav wrote:
Now, you are Sony Europe. You have 2 markets
> to
> feed- Europe and Aussie. They are the same land size, but
> in Ozzie
> most of the land is desert.
Australia and the UK
> are the same size! ...
Bloody hell, geography has REALLY changed
> since I was at school!
#
The MARKETS are the same size! The diffrence is the aussie is thousands of miles accross, and the other side of the world, and the UK is in Europe and very higly densly populated.
Also remember the aussie and Europe are about the same size, but europe has about 100 times more people in it!
Sonic
:)
SonicRav wrote:
Now, you are Sony Europe. You have 2 markets to
> feed- Europe and Aussie. They are the same land size, but in Ozzie
> most of the land is desert.
Australia and the UK are the same size! ...
Bloody hell, geography has REALLY changed since I was at school!
:)
Now, you are Sony Europe. You have 2 markets to
> feed- Europe and Aussie. They are the same land size, but in Ozzie
> most of the land is desert.
Australia and the UK are the same size! ...
Bloody hell, geography has REALLY changed since I was at school!
:)
good good!
sonic
sonic
Found it!
I'm jnot trying to Spam, but many people online have asked me where this topic has gone... so here it is!
Sonic
Sonic
New Jimmy wrote:
> Im sure its possible, with no processing. Im not talking about
> making every console process the conversion of 60Hz to 50Hz or vice
> versa. Im talking about the machine changing its output. Yould
> still require a TV that could detect and display a 60Hz signal.
Actually I think you've hit something there... simply sending a signal every 60th of a second to the screen would work. The only problem might be the shape of our TVs being different... but I'd rather have 60Hz with some black borders (which would be identical to the japanese game) than a slow 50Hz with black borders!
Come on MS and Ninty... get going!
Sonic
> Im sure its possible, with no processing. Im not talking about
> making every console process the conversion of 60Hz to 50Hz or vice
> versa. Im talking about the machine changing its output. Yould
> still require a TV that could detect and display a 60Hz signal.
Actually I think you've hit something there... simply sending a signal every 60th of a second to the screen would work. The only problem might be the shape of our TVs being different... but I'd rather have 60Hz with some black borders (which would be identical to the japanese game) than a slow 50Hz with black borders!
Come on MS and Ninty... get going!
Sonic
Page: