I'll preface this by saying I'm generally against game piracy. I go the great lengths to own a legit copy of any game I can. I believe that we vote with our dollars and I especially like the idea of financially supporting developers that are making the kinds of games I like...even more so when they are small or indie dev studios.

However, I've just finished Hotel Dusk and want to play Last Window. Last Window was localized for Europe, but not released in the US (I guess there weren't enough guns and military junk... or perhaps just too much text to appeal to the broader US audience). Of course considering Cing went under I don't necessarily fault them for this as I don't know the particulars. I am not likely to pay the substantial cost to import a copy of Last Window, but I'm going to play it.

Where the quandary really shows up is with games like Mother 3. Do you import the game in Japanese just to feel good that you have a legit copy so that you're perhaps not technically breaking the law when playing a translation? Doesn't this mean you're voting with your wallet in support of a company that refuses to provide the game for you. When the money gets to them from your import purchase they don't know that it was from a US fan. They are having their cake and eating it too.

I understand that there are practical business reasons for not localizing some games, but I have to say that I cease to feel guilty about pirating a game when the studio doesn't release it in my region. The second Last Window hits the US (on the 3rd of never) I'll buy my legal copy. The second Seiken Densetsu 3 gets a legit localization I'll fork over my money for that even though I finished it around a decade ago.