Gaijin Gamer’s instant guide to… the conbini!

Lawson: probably the best conbini chain (Daily Yamazaki is the worst).

Can I buy games at the conbini?

You certainly can, but it’ll cost you – conbini prices for PS3/Wii/360 titles aren’t bad, but they’re not as cheap as you’ll find games at Amazon.co.jp or Yodobashi Camera. Also, the range of titles stocked on-site at conbinis tends to be limited to the select flavours of the month…

What’s the system for reserving games at the conbini?

This is the advantage of buying your games from the conbini, assuming you live near one (and hey, who doesn’t?): you can walk in, ask to reserve a big new game that’s due out next week (at which point you’ll receive a receipt to confirm your reservation), then pop along on release day and hand over the dunza. So if you want a game, a pint of milk and some condoms, only the conbini will do!

How about buying PSN/WiiWare/DSiWare points at the conbini? I need to do something with that ticket vending machine, right?

You certainly do. You need to touch it, like a caring lover. If you can’t make sense of all those squiggly lines, just ask the conbini staff for assistance. That’s what they’re there for.

Why are there Super Famicom cartridge slots in the ticket machines at certain conbinis?

That’s because, right up until 2007, Nintendo was still operating its Nintendo Power Super Famicom game download service. If you spot a machine with an SFC cart slot, why not try inserting a copy of Super Mario Kart to see if you can trigger some fireworks? (Gaijin Gamer cannot be held responsible for any court cases that may arise as a result of this action.)

One more: Should I buy a copy of Famitsu while I’m at the conbini?

Nah, probably not. Though if you really want to, maybe for the kanji practice, bear in mind that it hits the shops every Friday morning and is often sold out by Saturday morning.