Cheapest place to buy a Wii in Japan?

VitrierIX · (#1 (**permalink**))

Hi. I'm going on my first trip to Japan next month from Australia, and am planning to buy a Wii there. I originally planned to get a PS3 there, but the different region codes of the Blu-Ray prevent me from watching Blu-Ray DVDs purchased in Australia on a Japanese PS3. D;
But yeah. My sister recommended that I look around Akihabara [probably spelt wrong, sorry] for cheap deals, is this right or are there better places to buy a Wii? I read somewhere the price of a Wii in Japan was around US$250 [26000 yen], which is much cheaper to that in Australia [AU$400, 39000 yen].
The Australian bundle included the console, a controller and WiiSports.
Is the aforementioned Japanese price for just the console, or a bundle? Is it even correct? Thanks in advance.

MMM · (#2 (**permalink**))

Keep in mind that the Wii isn't region-free... so you will only be able to play games from Japan...

And last I saw, the Japan Wii didn't come with any games (though I have heard of a Wii-Play bundle)

Wii not even remotely region-free - Joystiq

VitrierIX · (#3 (**permalink**))

Darn. Well, I've decided not to get either console until the prices get cheaper, lol. I saw the PS2 playback on Japanese PS3s as a good reason to get one, until I found out that Blu-Rays had different region codes. >_>
Thanks for your help.

MMM · (#4 (**permalink**))

Best of luck!

Both the DS and PS3 are region-free...FYI

Tyrien · (#5 (**permalink**))

Well.

It's true you won't be able to get to play Blu-rays that are region coded from Australian retail on a japanese PS3. However PS3 games aren't region coded so you can get games no problem.

If it's Blu-Rays you want though you could always import them from the US. Amazon.com would be a good place to get good prices. Would probably be cheaper than AU retail even with the shipping. North America and Japan are both in Blu-Ray region A, so no worries about playback computability.

Japan would be the cheapest place you can get a PS3 currently. Especially if you can skip shipping. However if you can find a 20/60GB it could only play PS2 games that are NTSC-J. AU is PAL I believe.