Fact: There are differences between Western and Japanese games. Intrinsic differences that sometimes make it hard to bring Western games to Japan. The words, the phrases, the idioms — they're familiar to you. It's English, and chances are if you are reading this, the language is either your mother tongue or a second tongue or neither and you've happened on this page by accident. But for a segment of Japanese gamers, Western games are just not playable no thanks to the language barrier. But some of those differences arise from the background of developers.

The vast majority of Japanese devs have an arcade background, and if an arcade game is going to be a hit, it needs to work, it needs to be tight and snap. If you put in a coin in a buggy game that locks up or freaks out, you'll complain to the arcade manager, who will then complain to his boss, who will then complain to his boss, who will complain to that game's publisher. Shit's gotta work. While the arcade scene is very much alive in Japan, it's not in the States, and most developers are coming in with a strong PC gaming background. If shit's broken, patch, patch, patch! "Japanese games have very few collision problems — hands, arms going through walls, etc," says Capcom producer and former localization head Ben Judd. "When western gamers see in-game collision issues, they don't care as long as they're having a good time. That's just not acceptable for the Japanese." Things like A.I. and programming is where Western devs really shine, while Japan picks up the slack on things like textures.

Other things that separate Western and Japanese games, points out Judd, include such seemingly small things like "Japanese player typically don't like controlling two thumbsticks are once — they get sick" and "Japanese players like a strong tutorial." Japanese players, says Judd, prefer that characters are skewed slightly younger and have more anime-style qualities, while Western gamers favor 30 year-old bald men. "RPGs are popular," says Judd. "Players don't typically like the first person point of view and want to see their character. It makes it easier for them to support that character." No wonder Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto has found a welcome audience in Japan.

We've seen people go to extreme lengths for both charity and eBay auctions, but this particular item, a copy of Grand Theft Auto III allegedly signed by fan fave Jack Thompson at VGXPO, combines the two in an attractive package. According to the listing, the PlayStation 2 version of the game can be yours (we think) for the low, low price of $4,000, the proceeds of which will be redirected in full to the Child's Play charity. There's even a picture of the signee and auction lister—who we're told is not TV's famous Wil Wheaton—to aid in the proof of authenticity.

What is suspect, however, is whether you actually get the signed copy of the game for your four large, seemingly the entire point of dropping this much cash on a used PS2 game. The eBay listing comes with the unclear note "Please note: I do not actually want to sell this. I am just listing it for show and to hopefully win a contest. However, if you want to spend $4000 on this then I will donate 100% of the proceeds to Child's Play Charity." The seller does have a 99.9% positive rating, so I wager you'll be satisfied. If you do decide to give up the cash, let us know when (and if) you get it.

Grand Theft Auto III Signed By Jack Thompson (PS2) [eBay - thanks, Rick!]