For many people, one of the greatest aspects of the internet is being able to participate in large-scale multiplayer games, often referred to as MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online).
While many of these games are readily available in the United States, and even fully translated into English, there are a large number of other games only designed for Japanese audiences, and regionally restricted to within Japan’s borders. Accessing these games is possible if you get a Japanese IP address in the United States, which can be done if you use a VPN.
A VPN allows you to choose the location of your IP address. What happens is that you connect to a server, called the VPN server, which is located in another part of the world. In this case, you would want to choose a VPN server in Japan. This server then begins to send out information to websites that you visit.
The important thing is that the information the VPN server provides masks your own, and it means that websites and game servers no longer see any information about your identity or location. From the perspective of MMOs, this is important because regional restriction means that the game server needs to think that you are in Japan for games that have this form of restriction.
When online gaming, speed is an important aspect. If you are connecting to a game server in Japan from the United States, you often experience considerable slowdown, which can be frustrating if you are in a raid, or are doing something that is time dependent in the game. This occurs because you are far away from the server. A VPN actually can help in this area.
When you connect to a VPN server in Japan, your speed becomes related to the proximity of the VPN server and the game server to one another, with your location no longer being a factor. In this case, it is important that you choose the fastest form of VPN, a PPTP. This isn’t the most secure, but let’s face it, security isn’t really that important when you are gaming online. The brand of VPN service you choose can also effect speed because quality of maintenance and hardware failure prevention come into play.
If you use a VPN to get a Japanese IP address in the United States the end result is that you have much faster access to online games hosted in Japan, and you can also use those that are normally restricted to people who are in Japan. It is a very effective approach for gamers and very rewarding.