As for the game itself, I’m going to wait a while…I’ve got too many unplayed games due to lack of time so no point to rush out and buy it. The game looks very similar to other Xbox titles, so we’ll wait and see what happens.

I’ve also found that the games are cheaper over here, with most retailing at $299 HKD and latest releases come out sooner than in countries like the US or UK.

For example Crackdown and Lost Planet have been out for ages. The confusing part is all games are NTSC-J (Japanese) version so it means most can’t be played on NTSC consoles and definitely not the faithful UK Pal version…boo.

Here’s some useful links for the Xbox 360:

Play Asia (Too expensive for me, but based in Hong Kong and stock most titles)

Game (New release dates)

Also, are people around the world still finding trouble getting a PS3? Many in Hong Kong are available and I think they are region free, so if you’re from Europe come over here and pick one up as you’ll save a bit of money!

I’m surprised there was hardly a peep out of the local media about the launch of the US version of the Sony PS3 which retails over here at a price of $899 USD, considerably less than in the US.

I was even more surprised to find that if I wanted to buy a Japanese version of the Nintendo Wii then it will cost $439 USD which is nearly double the standard retail price, according to Hong Kong based retailer Yes Asia!

It’s been funny reading customer comments on the Yes Asia site which range from:

“…I think this site need to be referred to BBB of the US or even better to US Attorney office or IRS for audit.”

“seriously, is that a typo or what? 459 dollars?? That’s almost TWO Wii, this has to be an error or something…”

It’s a bit of a pain using these consoles over here. The power plugs use British standard, but the consoles and games we can only get here are either Japanese or US versions which require a special power outage among other things. I’m more interested in the Wii, seems the games are far more interesting and like the way you can still use Gamecube titles.

So how to get a Cheap Wii in Hong Kong?

There’s been a lot of hype about making pre-orders and getting in time for Xmas. It seems Woolworths are still taking orders and whilst they don’t deliver internationally, they can be seen as a last resort if you know someone in the UK who can send it on to you, if you’ve got itchy fingers and can’t wait.

The version they only sell is a white Wii Console with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, however the good news is they deliver internationally and it’s cheap to send.

Amazon.co.uk.

The pre-orders sold out in a matter of minutes a few days ago, but that still doesn’t mean they won’t get more in stock and they ship to Hong Kong. I think Amazon is your best bet if you want a Wii Console in time for Xmas!