It’s not easy to be left waiting in the wings while fans in the United States are going gaga over Persona 4 right now.  Unfortunately, the fates have decreed that my Western counterparts get first dibs at enjoying the RPG. Alas, I have no choice but to continue my “wait training” until the much-coveted game arrives on my shores.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had to wait to obtain something I’ve really wanted, though, and for that, I’m thankful. In today’s world of instant noodles, instant gratification and instant everything, it’s still nice (even if it was forced upon me) to be given an opportunity to wait, to pause and to reflect.

If I were living in the United States, I’d probably have camped outside the retail outlets or pre-ordered the game to save myself the trouble. I’d have had a fit if those delays I’ve been reading about on the GameFAQS boards had happened to me.

I don’t like playing the waiting game at all. It grates on my patience (or lack of it) and has me climbing the walls. But when my emotions cool down (and they eventually do) and I get to do some thinking, I find that it isn’t so bad after all.

As strange as it may sound, aching for the object of my desire has actually made getting it so much sweeter. I can easily compare that to the times in the past when I easily got what I’d thought I’d desperately wanted, only to grow tired of it shortly afterward.

As I write this, I’m reminded of a certain friend of mine. Boy, does he tear through consoles like a rabid fan in a gaming convention. To date, he’s bought and sold a PlayStation 2, a Nintendo DS, a Nintendo Wii, and two PlayStation 3 models in less time than it has taken me to write an article about him.

In fact, if you were to draw a graph of my friend’s interest in consoles, it would probably resemble that of a graph of a young man’s physical interest in a woman—it ignites quickly, but it dissipates just as quickly once he gets what he wants.

I guess human beings are like that. We get interested, even passionate about something, we milk it for all its worth, we get bored with it, and then we leave it behind and move on to the next big thing.

What surprises me, though, is that waiting and anticipating something for a while seems put a lot more mileage and staying power into the object of interest. In other words, I find myself appreciating something more and longer if I’ve been made to work hard for it—or wait hard for it—first.

It may be compared to the way Blizzard Entertainment releases new games or updates. The company can make you wait an excruciatingly long time before it finally delivers on its promises. You feel like gnashing your teeth and hurling unmentionables at the company for the ridiculous delays. When that game or update finally comes around, however, it rocks your world.

Perhaps true love does wait after all.

Author’s note: By the time you read this article, I would’ve already received my copy of Persona 4. Yes, it was worth the wait. Very much so.