[baybal2]

Well, I spend my childhood in Far East Russia. Vladivostok, and Blagoveschensk primarily.

Japan was all over that place.

I also remember DAT players. People say they were a commercial failure in Japan.

Players themselves were a frequent sight on sale, but tapes were near impossible to find, let alone ones with pre-recorded music.

And they were prone to tearing in humid climate. They were scotch taped, and superglued 100 times over, that's how rare they were.