Should I Buy a Japanese PS Vita Import?

Paul Sinclair • Oct 14, 2011 • Comments ()

Yes another big question we've been getting for the PS Vita. So many have been asking this.

Now that we've got a release date of Spring possibly April for the rest of the world, it would make sense to simply wait. Advice echoed by Sony Worldwide Studios president, Shuhei Yoshida, who advised folks via Twitter not to import the handheld from Japan. Not that there should be anything wrong with it, but the Japanese model does have some button differences as that with the Western ones. Having a different button layout from the one you're used to will surely affect how you enjoy using the handheld to its fullest.

Said Yoshida in his tweet: "There are people who are interested in importing the Japanese version of PS Vita from Japan, but I personally do not recommend that."

"Sorry I'm not explaining well," he said, "but from my experience owning both US and Japan game consoles of everything, there tend to be minor nuances. Like inconsistency between the use of X and O buttons between system software and games. It's a legacy, but in Japan circle means 'yes', cross means 'no'."

That should explain why the buttons have a different meaning for their region. It's a nifty trivia as well, don't you think? That should keep all those complaints at bay, now that we understand better about the cultural implications of how the Japanese work out their hardware.

At the TGS 2011, Sony yielded more PS Vita details, such as on its multitasking capabilities, Flash, web browsing and memory cards. Just last week, too, they showed off the Vita's PS3 Remote Play function.

[Dualshockers via QJ.net]