Taking Max out for a drink

[Captain Japan]

Eagle eye on Japan
The Sydney Morning Herald

IT'S SATURDAY night and I am in a bar in the back streets of Osaka. I'm knocking back glasses of shochu and being entertained by an arty group of Japanese musicians and their Western friends. I'm getting blissfully drunk in an area which, a week ago, I was wary of entering alone.

The joint is called Igosso and by day it sells vintage second-hand clothes. Come 8pm every night, however, the clothes are taken down and out come the drinks.

Igosso is in the old working-class district of Shinsekai, an area the writer Alex Kerr once advised readers not to enter "unless accompanied by a Japanese friend". But like Shoreditch in London, or the Meatpacking District in New York, it's changed a lot, recently becoming one of the city's hippest quarters.

But how exactly did I end up there?

Well, it's all down to my friend Max. Max is a blue eagle who lives inside my Sony PSP, a portable games console....more...

[Charles]

IT'S SATURDAY night and I am in a bar in the back streets of Osaka. I'm knocking back glasses of shochu...

I am disappointed at this story, it lacks a conclusion. I wanted to read the part about how he woke up the next morning, lying in a gutter in a puddle of his own vomit.

[Kuang_Grade]

For anyone interested, I posted some screens of the talkman screen interface in this previous post
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3276&page=8

[mr. sparkle]

For anyone interested, I posted some screens of the talkman screen interface in this previous post
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3276&page=8

I can't rap the J to save my life.
For someone like me, this thing looks awesome.

[KanpaiQuigley]

Alright, I WANT this. I want a PSP to begin with (looong bus commute everyday.)

My question is this: Buy a PSP here in the U.S. ($250.00 new, $170 used) or pick one up once in Japan. I would imagine it's cheaper over there? Anyone know?

I was told that games/applications are region free... only movies are dependent on the region of the PSP. If I get a Japanese PSP, are all my movies gonna be in Japanese with English subtitles or visa versa?

[Kuang_Grade]

My question is this: Buy a PSP here in the U.S. ($250.00 new, $170 used) or pick one up once in Japan. I would imagine it's cheaper over there? Anyone know?

I was told that games/applications are region free... only movies are dependent on the region of the PSP. If I get a Japanese PSP, are all my movies gonna be in Japanese with English subtitles or visa versa?

Price wise, it is much of a muchness....You can pick up new PSP at overstock.com fairly frequently with a coupon deal for $175-ish (the no extras PSP version). Poke around CheapyD's Cheapassgamer.com
http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116442
and you'll see various deals for PSPs pop up now and again...Target ran a buy $200 PSP and get $25 gift card deal last week.

New PSPs (no extras version) in Japan run around 20-21,000 yen (which at 116 yen to the dollar runs about $180, although you would get a certain % back on a point card, so you'll be out $180 cash but you can use the points pick up a free case or maybe a greatest hits level game). PSPs are region code locked on UMD movies only, so if you bought a J PSP, USA UMD movies wouldn't work on it. But few people actually buy UMD movies, so for most people this isn't an issue. What ever you rip to a memory stick would play on either one

The primary benefit of J PSP is that there are more color options in Japan, such as the ceramic white, or the Blue, Silver, or Pink coming out in few weeks...For the hardcore, there is also the limited edition Metal Gear Solid camo version PSP coming out in a few weeks too.
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-14-71-9e-49-en.html

[Western All Stars]

Get a DS instead. Only $120 and no region lock so you can get J and E games if thats your thing. They've got a few of those tourist titles, plus loads more educational stuff for things like improving kanji.

[KanpaiQuigley]

I did some searching and only found Japanese to English programs for DS. Could you steer me in the right direction for some English to Japanese titles/peripherals?