"There’s just a lot more information out there now," he said. "It’s like they have the perfect information at their hands. The buyers are now more knowledgeable and they know what they want because they can research. Before people just didn’t know and it took a while to figure out what type of import game was for them. Now they can look up any game and what its about, what it costs, everything."
Stevens noted the real hot import property right now are games for the Nintendo DS. Among the top-selling leaders of the pack are the games Jump Superstars, which features characters from Japan’s Weekly Shonen Jump manga magazine in Smash Brothers-style melee combat, and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, a rhythm-based game finally being domesticated to the U.S. under the name Elite Beat Agents.
He explained many of the DS games sell well because they are a "throwback to a simpler time." With no tutorials or long-winded explanations, many of the DS imports have the pick up and play aspect to them, which are perfect for short spurts of gaming on the go.
However, even for the most complicated games, Stevens noted help is just a mouse click away and with the customers becoming more knowledgeable about imports, the business has seen a rise from previous years. In fact, he is considering a brick and mortar location to sell his imports along with domestic games.
"With the Internet, anyone can get into imports," he said. "You can find translations and walkthroughs to help you out. There’s always someone who can help you and it’s really helped the industry. Having informed gamers can only be more beneficial for the businesses who sell the games."
Those who are interested in checking out what Stevens has to offer can visit mad-gear.com to browse his Ebay store and view his convention schedule.
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