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    PlayStation Vita imports simplified with Hong Kong launch

    PlayStation Vita imports simplified with Hong Kong launch

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    The PlayStation Vita launched in Hong Kong today, with Asian versions of games that should make importing easier for English speakers. A guide posted by PlayStation Lifestyle has further details of importing options.

    By Sam Byford

    Source PlayStation Lifestyle

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    If our PlayStation Vita review convinced you that you need Sony's latest and greatest in your life, you have three options: wait for the Western release on February 22nd, book a flight to Japan, or make arrangements for importing. Playstation Lifestyle has posted a handy list of information for those of you considering the latter, and it sounds like a simple, if extremely expensive, process. It'll set you back $525 for a system alone from Play-Asia — quite the premium over the Vita's official $249.99 launch price in the US. Vita cards are region-free, so at least you'll still be able to pick up games when they come out in your own country, though you can't switch between PlayStation Network accounts without resetting your system. 

    We think the main potential issue for importers is language. The Vita console has multiple language support, but Japanese game cards often don't. Fortunately, the system was launched in Hong Kong today, bringing with it a host of "Asia version" games that have a higher chance of being in English - on systems like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Asia versions are usually in English and either region-free or, in the case of the 360, often NTSC-J. Retailer Play-Asia currently lists some of these Vita games as being in Japanese, such as Katamari Damacy Nobita, but others as being in English and Chinese, like Everybody's Golf 6. Asian versions tend to be a little cheaper than their Japanese counterparts, too, so we'd definitely advise people considering a Vita import to look into the option.

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