"Why" Indeed

Posted on Friday, August 31 @ 05:45:11 Eastern by Heath_Hindman

I don't always write whole columns dedicated to one dude, but when I do, it's because it was either that or reach for my rusty hook.

They say that home is where the heart is. It has the baseball team I root root root for, it's where country roads take me, and truly, there's no place like it. But the world is a big, gorgeous place, full of wonder and beauty. Recently, I was condescendingly asked "Why would buy content from PSN stores in regions other than your own?" and had to do a double take. It reminded me of a conversation I had back in college with a guy that asked me why I was trying to translate some lyrics to a foreign song I liked.
"Don't you have enough English music you can listen to?"

I impressively kept my cool as I realized I was in the presence of a stupid person. "How narrow-minded", I thought, "But no one has to die today". I brushed it off, but then so many similar conversations happened with as many different people. The idea that everything that could ever be desired is within one's immediate locale is downright baffling.

This is an import store. Here, people can buy products that are not normally on sale in the place where they live. Their customers tend to have favorite products and return with noticeable loyalty.

This is a passport. It takes some money, time, and paperwork to get it, but doing so interests a lot of people. With it, people can enter new lands, speak with their people, eat their food, and enjoy the sites of that location.

This is Frank's Red Hot. I put that shit on everything. I can't buy it where I live, so I pay to import it from another region. It's delicious.

These are Valkyria Chronicles 3, Final Fantasy Type-0, and Yakuza: Kenzan. I enjoyed these games tremendously. None of them has even been announced for release in my native country yet, and two of them probably never will. FFT0 was my favorite game of 2011. Thanks to the PSP being region free, I was able to play through it. It was a struggle to keep this photo to just three games, by the way.

These are my little sisters. One of them has a line of ancestry that I do not. Telling me that either one of these girls is irrelevant, or that I should care about one more than the other is a good way for you to wake up dead.

Here's me with my wife. For the last five years, she has made me more happy than I ever imagined a person ought to be. She came from a different country than I did. To confine me to one region would be to deny me this happiness. And then wake up dead.

This is the planet Earth. It's small compared to most other planets, yet still so big that you couldn't fully explore it in a lifetime. It's filled with amazing displays of natural awe, as well as diverse people with diverse languages and culture, all of which are beautiful in their own way. To limit your enjoyment of anything in life to only that which comes from your immediate area is to deprive yourself of what makes this world a wonderful place.

Stay universal, my friends.

Tags: Most Interesting Gamer In The World

Comments

thedarkstar
Joined: Feb 2011

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 6:23 am
I enjoyed that article. Very to the point. I don't know why anyone would want to limit themselves. I haven't done it in years, but I imported a game or two back in the day. Mainly the European version of Shenmue 2, cause at the time I would be damned if I was playing Shenmue 2 on anything other than a Dreamcast. :)

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Heath_Hindman
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 6:42 am
"I would be damned if I was playing Shenmue 2 on anything other than a Dreamcast."
Good man, good man.
Thanks for the compliments, too.

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NecroWolf
Joined: Oct 2005

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 6:51 am
Nice article, a bit conceited at times perhaps, but decent. I too wish people would expand their horizons a bit. Heck out of my favorite game series is Super Robot Wars.

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NecroWolf
Joined: Oct 2005

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 7:03 am
"one of my favorite games is Super Robot Wars". One day, I shall cease banging by forehead against the keyboard, and learn how to type.

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C_nate
Joined: Apr 2009

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 7:01 am
Still sad Valkyria Chronicles never got a proper follow up on the PS3. =/

1 3

danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 9:42 am
Dammit, didn't mean to thumbs down. Meant to thumbs up. Someone correct my mistake.

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LinksOcarina
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 7:29 am
Not a bad article. But you had some grammar errors littered in...not sure if it was intentional or not.

2 1

Chunibrow
Joined: Mar 2010

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 7:56 am
You seem to have a disproportional amount of rant for how minor the catalyst was.

1 1

ballabert
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 8:28 am
I import the yearly WSBK (World SuperBike) game every year from the UK, because aparently no one in this country besides myself and 4 other people like bike racers :(

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omnimodis78
Joined: Jul 2012

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 9:49 am
Conceited or not, he's so right! I had to battle this level of ignorance for a while, simply because I gravitated towards classical music from an early age. If I would have had a penny given to me every time someone told me that classical music is boring, or it's for "old people", well, I'd have a life-time pass to the local symphony orchestra...funny thing is, I always asked them the same line, and always baffled them: "oh yeah, which one in particular do you find the most boring?" - of course they couldn't name me one single piece of music that had a non-modern musical instrument in it. Anyways, if people would give something they are not familiar with a chance, they would all very likely be pleasantly surprised, but he hit the nail no the head, there are too many narrow minded folks out there!

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danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 5:47 pm
"Anyways, if people would give something they are not familiar with a chance, they would all very likely be pleasantly surprised, but he hit the nail no the head, there are too many narrow minded folks out there!"
youtube.com/watch?v=k2W4-0qUdHY

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OdiousLupous
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 1:47 pm
Always enjoy sweet heartfelt comments on the people one cares about followed by threats of violence. If you ever become the father of a teenage girl youre way ahead of the game.

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Heath_Hindman
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 5:30 pm
My father once said to the boyfriend of my at-the-time teenage sister (background: I have like 800 sisters, also my dad is a lawyer, also this kid had a reputation for driving fast)
"I know how you drive, but let me tell you...if you go 1 mile an hour over the speed limit with my daughter in your car, there'll be a bullet in your head. And I won't go prison, because I'm a lawyer, and the cops are my friends. Have a great night, kids."

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moretokes
Joined: Apr 2011

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Two thumbs up

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BigTruckSeries
Joined: May 2006

Posted: Aug 31st, 2012 at 7:53 pm
I moved to Shanghai, China to be a student in Fu Dan university where I purchased a modded-Playstation 2 and played bootlegged games that I purchased for a $1 each. Metal Gear Solid 2, time Cris 2 and GTA Vice City among others. In between gaming sessions, I rode around on a $400 motorcycle I purchased and had raunchy sex with a female Chinese college girl who I invited to stay with me so I could enjoy Chinese food and China vagina round-the-clock. I am the most interesting gamer in the world.

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Paulmichael
Joined: Oct 2010

Posted: Sep 5th, 2012 at 12:28 pm
I thought you were gonna take it even further, to say that to limit ourselves to just this planet, solar system, galaxy and beyond is a doomed strategy. Anyway, I agree, that kind of thinking is backwards.

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