Toys for a Japanese Kid?

Richard_Dastardly

For Christmas I'd like to send my son something special. He lives with him mom/my ex wife and, because family law in Japan sucks ass, I don't often see him or talk to him. Since I don't know exactly what he's into, I'm sure there's a vast disconnect between what he likes and what I think he likes.

Does anyone know what toys/electronics are popular with 6 year old boys in Japan? The last time we'd seen one another he was really into Transformers and liked playing the Wii. So, I was thinking of getting him a DS, but I dunno...

Zombiemambo

The DS is ridiculously popular in Japan. If he doesn't have one, it sounds like a good idea to me.

Richard_Dastardly

Awesome. I'm fairly certain he doesn't have one since his mom isn't too keen on video games. Which, you know, is probably because of me.

Edit: Oh, and what about games?

Killgrimage

Well, if his mom doesn't want him playing vidjagames then she's probably not going to give him the present. On that note, can you ask her what he wants? He might be really into some TV show/movie and might want stuff from that.

Alternatively, what about an RC racecar or an video/mp3 player (you can get ones that are non-mac). If you think he might like movies (most kids do) a portable DVD player is cool.

I hope she does allow some video games though, else he'll be pretty cut off from the rest of his classmates.

Richard_Dastardly

I could ask her what he wants, but I'd most likely not get a reply until sometime in March. I'm not quite sure what she might do if I'd sent him a DS... I was hoping he'd get it, but she wasn't happy when my mom bought him a Wii, so...

Actually, an RC racer might be the next best idea. And, he did like Transformers, so a portable DVD player with Revenge of the Fallen and, hell, maybe even the original series might be cool. But, is it possible to switch regions on a dvd player?

Improvolone

For most DVD players there are region hack codes you enter, allowing you to change the region to 0, which is region free. Google before you buy to make sure.

GothicLargo

Legos. Can't go wrong with Legos. Especially with Star Wars.

darkgrue

Richard_Dastardly wrote: »

But, is it possible to switch regions on a dvd player?

It is possible on some players, by flashing it with different firmware. It's not always easy, and it's quite possible to brick the player doing so, few consumer electronics have failsafes keeping you from flashing the wrong firmware, or allow you to recover from doing so wrong.

Some players are region-free, and can just do so natively. Generally, these aren't the kinds of players you find at WalMart, or Best Buy for that matter. If you had a region-free player, you'd probably know - it's a pretty big selling point.

Finding either in a portable DVD player is possible though it does require a little research.

What about just buying from a Japan-local e-tailer and having it shipped to your son? Isn't there a Japanese branch of Amazon that could serve? You could just then buy the region-appropriate DVD and player.

Richard_Dastardly

I've always been a bit hesitant to send him movies because his English isn't that great yet. On one hand I think it might help him learn English, but then I think maybe it's a jerk move because he won't be able to understand much of what's being said. Maybe I should avoid sending a dvd if I got him a player?

Edit: I've sent him legos... I s'pose you can never have enough legos, but the problem is that I don't know whether or not he likes them. His mom doesn't share much info. That's part of the problem here. I'm sure he probably enjoys the stuff I've sent him, but since I don't hear anything about it I'm double guessing myself.

I'm a 30 year old manchild. I should know what a kid likes, damnit.

What about just buying from a Japan-local e-tailer and having it shipped to your son? Isn't there a Japanese branch of Amazon that could serve? You could just then buy the region-appropriate DVD and player.

This is something I've thought about, but it hasn't progressed past the conceptual stage yet. It would be a damn good idea, plus I'm sure I could see what sorts of things are hot items for the Asian kids these days.

Improvolone

darkgrue wrote: »

Richard_Dastardly wrote: »

But, is it possible to switch regions on a dvd player?

It is possible on some players, by flashing it with different firmware. It's not always easy, and it's quite possible to brick the player doing so, few consumer electronics have failsafes keeping you from flashing the wrong firmware, or allow you to recover from doing so wrong.

Some players are region-free, and can just do so natively. Generally, these aren't the kinds of players you find at WalMart, or Best Buy for that matter. If you had a region-free player, you'd probably know - it's a pretty big selling point.

Finding either in a portable DVD player is possible though it does require a little research.

What about just buying from a Japan-local e-tailer and having it shipped to your son? Isn't there a Japanese branch of Amazon that could serve? You could just then buy the region-appropriate DVD and player.

Two DVD players in a row, both the cheapest I could find in big box stores, could be changed to region 0 using a soft remote hack. No firmware flashing required.

Richard_Dastardly

Improvolone wrote: »

Two DVD players in a row, both the cheapest I could find in big box stores, could be changed to region 0 using a soft remote hack. No firmware flashing required.

Beautiful. Thanks.

You people were a great help.

I'll save the DS for his birthday, if I can get his mom to let me know whether or not he'd be allowed to play with it.

DarkPrimus

The nice thing about the DS is that it is region-free, so you can buy Japanese DS games for him in Japan (or from various online sites), or buy US games for him.

Scosglen

DS seems like a great gift. Pokemon or Dragon Quest 9 would probably be a safe bet.

Esh

Scosglen wrote: »

DS seems like a great gift. Pokemon or Dragon Quest 9 would probably be a safe bet.

DQ9 might be a bit much for a six-year old.

see317

Esh wrote: »

Scosglen wrote: »

DS seems like a great gift. Pokemon or Dragon Quest 9 would probably be a safe bet.

DQ9 might be a bit much for a six-year old.

If not DQ9, may I suggest Rocket Slime?