Think you've seen every PS2 accessory to date? Well, unless you've been living in Japan recently, you're likely to be in the dark about the latest and greatest accessory to appear in the Far East: Disc Wrap! From this writer's experience in Japan, if there's one thing Japanese gamers are keen on, it's neatness. Since there are no game rental stores in Japan --it's illegal to rent games there-- the used game market is thriving. Thus keeping your discs pristine so that you can sell them when you're done is pretty important to the Japanese gamer. Pristine quality is such an important factor of selling used games in Japan that normally when you do sell a used game at a Japanese game store, they'll charge an extra $2 for cleaning if your disc isn't in as-good -as-new quality. Realizing that many gamers are in this plight to keep their discs untouched, Japanese accessory maker Gametech has created a new creative accessory to ward off that $2 charge and keep your discs perfect. That item is the Disc Wrap. How it works is you take the ring that's shown in this picture and then you slightly pull the ring apart as you would do with a folder. Then you just slide the disc right in and close it up. Once this is done the disc is covered by a very thin layer of plastic on each side, stopping any sort of fingerprints or dirt from getting on the actual disc itself. Now what makes this product stick out is that you can stick the game in the Playstation and play it while the wrap is on. Gametech says that it's because the wrap is extremely thin as not to interfere with the disc reading process. Then if you're planning on selling it, you can always just pull the ring open and slide the good-as-new disc out. This unique contraption is starting to show up in Japanese stores at about $12 for a 5 pack. While western game stores might not be stingy to the point of charging a $2 cleaning fee, it's still never a bad idea to keep your games in top-notch condition whether for collectors' purposes or for resale. So in the end, if you're dying to get a pack of wraps, you can try contacting you're local import store. Otherwise, just sit back and maybe give them a try if they're ever released stateside. (http://www.1up.com/media?id=2357734) (http://www.1up.com/media?id=2357738) (http://www.1up.com/media?id=2357739)
