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Forums - Gaming - Why are the Wii and 360 region locked?

Chrizum on 27 August 2008
Soriku said:
Chrizum said:
Actually, the PS3 is region locked. Most games aren't, though.

 

Really? I was sure the PS3 was 100% region free =/ Which games are region locked on the PS3? And if they are region free then what's the point of PAL games then (besides the ones that are region locked) on the PS3?

@Everyone else

Hmm...that makes sense.


Not sure, 99% of all PS3 games are probably region free. But yeah, the PS3 is indeed region-locked. It probably has something to do with it's DVD playback capabilities. I think you also can't play NTSC PS2 games on a PAL PS3.



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Beja-Beja on 27 August 2008

The PS3 and PSP are completely region free.



Xen on 27 August 2008
Chrizum said:
Soriku said:
Chrizum said:
Actually, the PS3 is region locked. Most games aren't, though.

 

Really? I was sure the PS3 was 100% region free =/ Which games are region locked on the PS3? And if they are region free then what's the point of PAL games then (besides the ones that are region locked) on the PS3?

@Everyone else

Hmm...that makes sense.


Not sure, 99% of all PS3 games are probably region free. But yeah, the PS3 is indeed region-locked. It probably has something to do with it's DVD playback capabilities. I think you also can't play NTSC PS2 games on a PAL PS3.

The PS3 has a region lock on certain games that are incompatible if played in SDTV. Region lock is nonexistent if played in HDTV.

 



rendo on 27 August 2008
RolStoppable said:
The Wii isn't region free to make sure that Europeans buy PAL copies of the games, because otherwise the long time of work for the translations would be a waste.

 

They wouldn't have to region lock if they had simultaneous releases instead of making PAL owners wait months. :/



Bitmap Frogs on 27 August 2008
HappySqurriel said:

The Wii is because it isn't HD ... NTSC and PAL are two different display formats, and many elements of a game have to be tested and optimized for each

With the proper trickering you can override the wii region locking and make it play any game. If you have a flat TV it doesn't matter wether it's ntsc or pal.





Current-gen game collection uploaded on the profile, full of win and good games; also most of my PC games. Lucasfilm Games/LucasArts 1982-2008 (Requiescat In Pace).

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ljgamer on 27 August 2008

The PS3 gives you more freedom to Play Beyond, neither the Wii or 360 can offer the freedom of the PS3, irgo everyone should buy a PS3



Evocation on 27 August 2008

Yeah, take ff7 I've got the platinum pal version and there are still quite a few errors in it. You';d have though after the PAL wait and then a platinum release they would have at lest fixed some bugs. and very few games took advantage of the PAL's higher res



deathcape on 27 August 2008

I don't get it..why the hell is it region locked?..

Imma keep getting freeloaders...ftw! or mod my Wii..why?

I'm not gonna buy a japanese Wii..it's stupid..



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Retrasado on 27 August 2008
Xen said:
Chrizum said:
Soriku said:
Chrizum said:
Actually, the PS3 is region locked. Most games aren't, though.

 

Really? I was sure the PS3 was 100% region free =/ Which games are region locked on the PS3? And if they are region free then what's the point of PAL games then (besides the ones that are region locked) on the PS3?

@Everyone else

Hmm...that makes sense.


Not sure, 99% of all PS3 games are probably region free. But yeah, the PS3 is indeed region-locked. It probably has something to do with it's DVD playback capabilities. I think you also can't play NTSC PS2 games on a PAL PS3.

The PS3 has a region lock on certain games that are incompatible if played in SDTV. Region lock is nonexistent if played in HDTV.

 

Afaik, no PS3 games are region-locked at this point, though devs do have the option to do so if they desire. However, DVD/BD/PS1/PS2 are region-locked.

OT: I have no idea. I've never understood region locking anyway. I mean, if I was publishing games, I would make it cost the same around the world. (e.g. $60/£30/¥6500/€40) Then it wouldn't matter if someone imported a game before it released in their region. Also, I would do all English-speaking country's releases at the same time. Other countries would have to wait a while for the localized version, but if they didn't care about that, they would be more than welcome to import it.

...

Sorry, I'm dreaming again..... :/



Not trying to be a fanboy. Of course, it's hard when you own the best console eve... dang it

steven787 on 27 August 2008
RolStoppable said:
Soriku said:
Question...if the US dollar is weaker than EU's then why do EU get games so late when they can make a ton of money off EU?

It has nothing to do with the strength of currencies, region locking exists since a very long time.

It must have to do with companies wanting that their American and European departments don't take away sales from the other regions. Maybe to get a better idea how well games are really doing in each region. Why else have companies been so much against the import of games from other regions? Hm, that could be because of legal issues, because the laws are so different in the various countries videogames are sold in.

Wiki says:

  • Allows items to be released at different dates in different regions. This is most advantageous in the case of movies, where the costs of localizing and promoting a film make it prohibitively expensive to release in more than one part of the world at a time. Regional lockout theoretically prevents consumers from obtaining the item "ahead of time" by buying the item from a foreign exporter. (For example, buying the DVD of the latest foreign hit movie before the movie has even reached local cinema screens.)
  • Allows price differentiation between markets (localisation), thus increasing the potential revenue from worldwide sales and/or making products affordable in markets not tolerating the prices of other regions.
  • Allows the correct upstream copyright owner to receive royalties for each copy, where copyright terms or exclusive licensees differ between countries, notably as in the case of Peter Pan.
  • When distribution contracts for each area are awarded to different companies, it allows a company to avoid "stepping on someone else's toes". See Market division.


I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it.