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By Contributing Writer Rob Pecknold Note: If you haven't seen the South Park movie yet, this song won't make sense. What would Brian Boitano do if he were on the web? He’d surely buy a game or two That’s what Brian Boitano would do When Brian Boitano first went online, he said to himself "I need some Dreamcast games to fill this really barren shelf" When Brian Boitano had to choose a site, he went to the best and he read up on the facts without any rest So where should Brian Boitano go for all his gaming needs? I’ll tell him and you, too, should know Know where Brian Boitano should go! All right, enough with the Brian Boitano song. I’m here today to tell you about a struggle of mine. You see, a few months ago I purchased a Japanese Dreamcast Super Ultra Exciting Mega Video Game Console (that's how products are named in Japan), but I was faced with a dilemma when I couldn’t find a respectable (cheap as hell) import store even remotely near where I live. So where did I go? Online. To the online import gaming stores, to be exact. The three most notable stores I found were: National Console Support web site: http://www.ncsx.com telephone: 718-523-5774 National Console Support is by far the best import game shop online. The interface is easy to navigate, it has a great search feature, and it has very reasonable prices. But this is after you get passed the confusing start page. It seems that National Console Support likes to think of its shopping features as secondary, and only a small, slightly hidden button gets you into the actual shopping area. That is really my only complaint about the place, besides the fact that they don’t have very timely updates. Despite these minor flaws, National Console Support is the best overall place to go if you want to import games over the Internet. The Rage web site: http://www.therage.com telephone: 212-208-4668 This is probably the import store I visit most. I really like the interface, the design of the site, and the search feature. On average, they have the same prices as National Console Support, and are occasionally cheaper. However, a big no-no with The Rage is how often they are closed. They are usually closed for upwards of four days on holidays, sometimes even 2-3 weeks, and are always closed from 6:00 on Friday night through Sunday. This is a big problem when you want to buy something from them quickly, but find that they are closed for days or weeks. The best thing about The Rage is its very personal customer service. I’ve received several page-long letters from the operator apologizing for delays in shipping and things like that. This is a very refreshing thing to find on the Internet, which is usually very impersonal. The Rage also gets games in the day they are released and have recently lowered the price of the Asian Dreamcast (without a modem) to $199, which is very good price considering that I paid $400 for that on their site a few months ago. One final note: Don’t even think about going to The Rage without using Microsoft Internet Explorer. It has frozen, stalled, and nearly killed my computer when I've gone to it using Netscape or any other browser besides Internet Explorer. Tronix web site: http://www.tronixweb.com telephone: 212-447-5980 Tronix is at the bottom of the online import barrel. Tronix is hard to navigate and confusing. On top of that, their prices are high and their selection is laughable. If the issue of its quality is confusing you, let's try an analogy, OK? Tronix is to National Console Support as the new Superman game on the N64 is to Zelda 64. That's how bad it is. In conclusion, The Rage is a great web site, but the best place to shop for import games on the Internet is National Console Support. Send Rob an e-mail at rob@mastergamer.com
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