I picked up the $649 version. It came in the mail 2 weeks ago. So far I have not done too much with it. I tried out Left 4 Dead, Back 4 Blood and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. All 3 games run very good on it.
So, I know that AES games are region free(meaning you can put a US AES game into a JPN console, and vice-versa). Although I have heard that regardless of which region console you have, the games themselves will play it whatever region they were originally intended for.
I have a Neo Geo Gold AES...
I'm in Encinitas, I could possibly attend if it's on the weekend. I recall there were a few gatherings down here in San Diego county long ago(I went to one in Oceanside). There was a fair amount of people then... granted, that was some time ago.
You can safely play DL2 without having played 1.
As for motion sickness, I know people who can't play FPS games or do VR because of that. I'm just grateful I do not get motion sickness at all.
In case anyone doesn't know what it is: https://dl2.dyinglightgame.com/
It's been some time since the 1st game was released. Part 2 has been delayed multiple times... surprised it's finally coming out. I was looking at the different "versions" on Steam... regular game $59.99, Deluxe edition...