HRAP1/2 availability in Osaka

[kurdt_the_goat]

Hey guys.

I'm thinking of getting a HRAP1/2 but i'm finding that it's pretty difficult online, most places are out of stock or back ordered. I'm actually visiting Japan around May, and i'll be heading specifically towards Den Den Town. I'm wondering if anyone around here goes there often enough to know of a place that has a decent stock of HRAP's?

If not, are there any other places around Osaka that would be likely to have them?

I'm actually kind of torn at the moment.. if i wait it out, i could possibly get a 360 at the end of the year for VF5, but right now it's up in the air (afaik) about Virtua Stick High Grades' compatibility with 360, and there's no other decent stick readily available. So perhaps a PS3 would be the only choice if i want to play VF5 properly!

The other issue for both, is price (considering how much use other than VF5 the stick and machine will get - will fighting games die off moreso than they already have?). If i start to think about getting a HDTV to get the most out of a new machine as well, it starts to get VERY expensive!

So rather, i'm thinking of picking up a PS2 and VF4 and lots more fighting games from the large collection PS2 has amassed.

If anyone has their opinions on my other issues, please feel free to add!

[Superking]

If you're going to end up buying a PS2 for its library, you might as well get a PS3, you get the PS2 games + PS3 games.

As for sticks on the PS3, it has uses for other than VF5, besides the PS2's library of fighting games and VF5, there's T5DR, and for non-fighting games Virtua Tennis 3 and Gradius 6 (which is still in development and has no release date yet), also Tekken 6 is still on the horizon. You can also play roms on your PS3 via Linux, and you get more use there too.

As for the HDTV, you don't really need one to enjoy your gaming fix, for bare minimum just get a flatscreen CRT with component input like a Sony WEGA or JVC I-art, the games still look fine on that (I play my 360 on an I-art and it's decent compared to my folks' HDTV Samsung DLP, just that it has letterbox to enforce widescreen though I don't that's an issue with fighting games lol).

You could also hook up your console to your computer monitor, that's another way of getting a cheap HD setup. lol

[kurdt_the_goat]

Thanks for your reply
I have a Sony Wega 68cm 4:3 model, with component in but no progressive scan.
ATM i have my Wii connected to the only component in my tv has.. so my train of thought is that i'd need a new TV for a HD system cause i really don't like the look of Wii with regular AV cables!
(being in PAL land too, i'm basically forced to run Wii in 50hz with AV cables, because 60hz has huge colour bleed issues on my set unless im' using component cables)

Is your 360 running in 480p or 480i?

I have 2 19" CRT monitors for my PC and an iMac 20" which afaik doesn't offer anyway for me to connect a console to it :(

I'd totally forgotten about backwards compaitibility with PS2 games.. that is a strong point in PS3's favour!

One other thing i wanted to ask.. was... considering PS2 has USB ports, what are the chances of using one of the newer HRAP3's on a PS2 (now, and then later on a PS3)? I don't know what if any peripherals were released for PS2 using the USB slots...