About Us Forum Standard Thinking Reviews Reader Reviews Hype List Other Unique Thinking Daily Debate Affilates Game of the Month Other Thinking IGN Gamespot Tendo Box Planet Gamecube Since I am currently in Taiwan, I thought I would tell you about how the videogames economy is doing here. In this article I will tell you about how the GBA is doing in Taiwan, along with other interesting facts to fill your brains with. This part of the site will continuously updated until I return to the states: I asked my cousin to help me look for stores that sold the GBA. I couldn't do it myself because I had Chinese School (Ugh). He told me that GBA prices in Taiwan were about 1000 NT (30 dollars US) cheaper than in the States. I was a bit skeptical at first, but there wasn't a point in not seeing myself. So that weekend we took the subway to Taipei Main Station looking for cheap prices and bargains. You see, in Taiwan all shops on the road are bunched together sort of like in the Mall or New York. However, there are special "Video Game Malls" that is basically a mall that only sells videogames, computers, and computer games. I shook my head in amazement because there were so many stores. Each one had different prices so I knew we were going to do a lot of looking. Our job was pretty easy since the GBA just came out, and is very popular. Therefore, the store owners put all the GBA stuff right in the front so everyone could see. This made it much easier since we could take a quick scan of each store and write it down. After a while of searching, we looked at our notepad, found the cheapest seller and went directly to that store. I picked up a white GBA, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo X Revival, and Kuru Kuru Kururin. The total turned out to be 5100 NT (about $134). Not bad I thought to myself, as I walked away happily with my GBA in hand. After about 1 month here I have made a conclusion that GBA is either unpopular in Taiwan, or people just don't play in public. Through this month, I have asked people around me about GBA, and have carefully looked around everywhere I go. The following is a few places I have been where people may have known about GBA: Subway/MRT station: So far, I have seen nobody playing GBA on the subway or subway station. I find it kind of odd, but that's just my opinion. Most people either sleep, read, talk to friends, or just stare into nothingness. This may be because people might drop it during hard breaks, and don't want it to be stolen. Carrying things around in Taiwan aren't very safe because there are some pickpocketers. I personally haven't met any myself though. Chinese School: Generally you're locked up in your class room for 2 hours and don't get to see many other people besides your classmates. During this time, I also haven't seen anyway pull out a GBA to play. This seems odd because there is a 10 minute break between 50 minutes. Plus the whole school is just loaded with kids. Reasons might be the same as the Subway, and the fact that some geek will always be looking over your shoulder and block out all your light. >:O. Chinese School Poll: Out of my class of 20 kids, only about 2 of them are hardcore fans. One, who I've really gotten to known plays the heck our of his PC, and is really looking foward to the Gamecube. After I've let him play the GBA for a little, he has been asking me for it everyday since. The other kid knows a bit more in general about all the systems. He's not really leaning toward any system though. He was impressed by the GBA, but said he was saving up for 128 bit consoles. Everybody seemed pretty excited when I brought it in, but I've only let my 3 friends play it lately. One friend knew he wanted to get the Gamecube, but wasn't really into the GBA. Once I let him play, he's been seriously thinking about it. -My first guess would be the fact that there are internet cafes in Taiwan, and they are always so populated. I must admit myself that these are really fun, as you get to play many internet games for only $2 an hour. You also get unlimited free drinks during your time there. -Secondly, the system just came out. Give it a chance. In Taiwan, you can spend money 2x faster than you can in the US. This is because there is such a variation of stores, and they're just bunched up right next to each other. And since the main transportation in Taiwan is by feet, sometimes you can't resist getting a drink from 7eleven since it's so hot. -Lastly, maybe it's just not popular in public and the places I've been going to aren't really helping. I will look harder into places later, and hopefully will give you even more information before I come back to the states. |