How to order the Sonic Colours 30th Anniversary Artbook bundle from Japan

[Badnik Mechanic]

I have seen a lot of people claim that this artbook bundle is amazing, and how it sucks there is no way to get it if you don't live in Japan.
 

This is frankly not true... There are lots of sites online that have the book bundle, whilst they're all Japanese places, the easiest place to order (which won't likely give you custom fees or other nasty surprises) which chances are you're familiar with... Is Amazon.jp.
 

Here are the bundles

PS4: https://amzn.to/3Bds1dy
Switch: https://amzn.to/3mBNloT

No XBox or PC edition of this bundle exists.

Which Version do I pick?

 

In the "Model/Type" pick either the switch or PS4/Limited edition. The Normal version is JUST the game.

Then in the 'Edition' Either of the following.

Limited to Amazon: Comes with the game, book, coin and CD.
Not limited to Amazon: Comes with the above + mini soundtrack (unsure if physical or digital).
Ebten Limited: Comes with the above + A LOT of other extras, this version is VERY expensive).

I have an amazon account, why can't I log in?

You need an amazon Japan account to order. The process to register one is exactly the same as your local regional version of Amazon, yes your current payment cards should work no problem, as will putting in your local address, utterly no need for a middle man service.

I ordered from this site why don't you list that?

Yes, there are a bunch of other stores that have this in Japan, however...

1: Chances are if you know about those sites you either know about middle man shipping sites or are prepared to risk a surprise custom fee.

2: This guide is intended for people who have not or who have VERY little experience ordering things from Japan, doing it this way saves people from making a middle man account on another shipping service, plus it's amazon so all their policies are the same and it's not quite as scary as it is trying to use a middle man agency for the first time, especially with all the options for this edition.

Can my system play the Japanese edition of the game?

PS4: Yes it will.
Switch: Yes it will.

Future DLC 
PS4: Make a Japanese PSN account, download from the Japanese store, play it on your main.
Switch: No idea, don't own a switch.

I'm still scared about making a Japanese amazon account, can you help?

Leave a reply and I can try.

This information is useful and helpful, how can I help spread it?

I guess you can re-tweet my thread on the subject.

[Dreadknux]

Thanks for posting this Dave, very helpful and great idea for a topic! I already pre-ordered my copy (on Switch I think) from Amazon JP's website, I think what helps is that a lot of the site can be explored in English (at least, the main UI with 'Orders', 'Account' etc) so I don't think there will be too high a barrier for entry for fans to create their own Amazon.jp account. You just have to remember that you need to create a unique Amazon account specifically for JP, because your hometown account won't work (or at least, my UK account doesn't work when I try to login using those credentials).

Generally speaking, Amazon.jp is a great place to order goods from Japan. They even account for shipping costs up front and can deliver to most countries outside Japan (usually when I buy off of ebten or somewhere else I have to use a mail forwarder account like Tenso.com - highly recommend Tenso by the way!). I think the only thing to watch out for is potential import charges when it arrives in your country and on your doorstep, but honestly I've not had any issues so far. It's where I bought the SEGA Astro City Mini from last year, and they managed to somehow deliver it to my house in the UK during the same week it released in Japan!

I've gone for the art book + coin + CD option, because even though it's a bit more expensive it's like.... why bother to go to the trouble of pre-ordering a Japanese special edition to only pre-order half of it? Might as well go all the way, innit.

[___]

Regarding JP Switch DLC: You'll need to get a Japanese Nintendo account to buy DLC for a Japanese release of a game. And doing so would most likely require buying Japanese eShop code cards. I learned this the hard way when I got the Japanese version of Groove Coaster... Only for it to launch in NA a few days later.

I doubt there's going to be any significant DLC for the game however.

[Badnik Mechanic]

On 8/26/2021 at 3:23 PM, Dreadknux said:

Generally speaking, Amazon.jp is a great place to order goods from Japan. They even account for shipping costs up front and can deliver to most countries outside Japan (usually when I buy off of ebten or somewhere else I have to use a mail forwarder account like Tenso.com - highly recommend Tenso by the way!). I think the only thing to watch out for is potential import charges when it arrives in your country and on your doorstep, but honestly I've not had any issues so far. It's where I bought the SEGA Astro City Mini from last year, and they managed to somehow deliver it to my house in the UK during the same week it released in Japan!

I've had an account for years and I love it.

Japan usually gets some amazing collectors editions for games at prices which are not that bad an in some cases cheaper than the west.

But Japan in general is amazing for physical releases of games which are also in English that don't get a western release, Puyo Puyo Tetris on the Vita. 

Think it was about 5 years ago Amazon added Japan to their worldwide shipping program which only made getting things from there much easier and cheaper than using a middle man service.