PlayStation 3 to be Region-Free for Games [Archive]

fitbabits

03-22-2006, 06:14 PM

TeamXbox (http://www.teamxbox.com) (of all places) has the news (http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/10544/PlayStation-3-Will-Be-Region-Free-for-Gaming/).

During his keynote at GDC, titled "PlayStation 3: Beyond the Box", SCE President Phil Harrison talked about the advantages of using Blu-ray Disc and pointed out that a dual layer Blu-Ray disc (50GB) has enough capacity to store all localized versions of a game. But this comment never led to suggest what was would be announced next.

Following its keynote, Harrison revealed in a Q&A session with our PS3 channel that the PlayStation 3 will be region free for gaming. Due to the restrictions imposed by the AACS LA, movie playback will still be region locked like current DVDs but that won't apply to PS3 titles.

This announcement came as a total surprise and definitely something you won't expect from Sony.
Bravo, Sony!

Dirty Harry

03-22-2006, 06:17 PM

wow thats actually a really good idea, I'm very suprised to hear this. I wonder what else sony will do right, now it will make importing games a sinche.

KamaItachi

03-22-2006, 06:17 PM

You could learn a lesson from this, Microsoft. Whatever happened to you encouraging publishers to make their games region free?

Oh yeah, there was no money in it.

twats.

Zeal

03-22-2006, 06:18 PM

I didn't really expect this from Sony, but it's good news either way you look at it.

Not only is the PS3 region-free, but it comes with a mandatory harddrive. The 360 is looking less and less apealing.

Dr Quincy

03-22-2006, 06:24 PM

Undeniably a very, very good move.

mkelehan

03-22-2006, 06:40 PM

Well, this is unexpected. If I were Sony, I'd go the MS route and leave it up to the publishers on a game-by-game basis, but as a gamer, this is fantastic. Especially for those of us into music games.

Draft

03-22-2006, 06:47 PM

Zanzibar

03-22-2006, 07:06 PM

I said this in the other thread: heads up. While I'm all for region-free, releasing a single SKU means that if there's one language issue in one country, then the release of the game will be held up until that problem gets fixed. Go ask any developer what a headache THAT will be.

Grimmjow

03-22-2006, 07:25 PM

i also think this is a good idea...look @ the psp. you can play import without a problem :) I LIKE!

Megalith

03-22-2006, 07:27 PM

Thank god I can play games that I don't understand.

Kagger

03-22-2006, 07:30 PM

Thank god I can play games that I don't understand.

Some games like Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix included alot of it in English, and there was bonus content not in the US release.

Also, as someone mentioned, music games, or games that aren't very story based like a racer.

Mr_Snuffle

03-22-2006, 07:33 PM

Some games like Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix included alot of it in English, and there was bonus content not in the US release.

And some of us don't live in North America. For us, this is very very good news.

Kagger

03-22-2006, 07:35 PM

And some of us don't live in North America. For us, this is very very good news.

Heh, very good point. No more PAL waiting time eh? That's awesome!

Paranoia

03-22-2006, 07:39 PM

I don't know what is the big deal about this. There is already region-free X360 games available.

StrifeSnake13*

03-22-2006, 07:42 PM

IGN is the only website saying PS3 will be region free. A couple forum posts from people that attended the speech confirm that Harrison did say that the amount of storage BluRay offers will allow publishers to release only one SKU (ie- different voice tracks and localization stuff will all fit on one disc.) IGN, in all their journalistic integrity, infered that as PS3 being region free.

1up's Q&A with Phil Harrison also says region free,
Question: Are all models of the PS3 going to be region specific. What about the games?

PH: The thing that makes the games region free or not is different than what makes the hardware different. With the power voltage and things like that, the hardware will need to be specific to a region. Software, however, will be region free. It's possible for developers to put all the TV formats - PAL, NTSC, HDTV, and so on - on the disc.
http://1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3148957

Draft

03-22-2006, 07:58 PM

The Continental

03-22-2006, 08:03 PM

Fantastic, my appetite for J-Pop scored hentai games may finally be sated! Who am I kidding, you can never have enough J-Pop scored hentai games.

Good on you Sony, now just get the bastard out the door sometime this year.

XenonCJ

03-22-2006, 08:07 PM

Don't worry, if true, Sony will do something equally or more stupid to make up for this.

*cough* ps3 released in 2007 *cough*

KamaItachi

03-22-2006, 08:08 PM

There seems to be a bit of ambiguity here. The 1up article says it's possible to put things like localisation for PAL etc on the same disc, but will it actually be enforced?

Zanzibar, you're a developer? Can you see Sony doing things like forcing devs to create international-ready games just because it seems they can? I know the promise of having any game available in your language and running on your machine looks good to the consumer, but it looks like it would be a huge slap in the fave to devs, making them put a whole lot more effort into a game for very little in return.

Also, didn't you mention your boss made Zombies ate my neighbour? Give that man/woman a big kiss from me.

bone_matrix

03-22-2006, 08:28 PM

This is the first good Sony news I heard in a while (well, including mandatory HDD, but that could be negated if they aren't packed with a system). Although, it might take longer to get some games to make sure all the translations are done. :rolleyes:

RMan

03-22-2006, 08:32 PM

Can you see Sony doing things like forcing devs to create international-ready games just because it seems they can?
I'd say no way, that'd be silly. That'd just result in companies supporting less languages. I'm sure they just mean that the system doesn't restrict play based on regions, I'm sure the publisher is able to release different versions in different regions if they want. I'm sure this is wise, and assuredly simplifies the online distribution stuff.

aversion2k

03-22-2006, 08:50 PM

I don't know what is the big deal about this. There is already region-free X360 games available.

You really honestly dont understand?

honest?

Jengaaa

03-22-2006, 08:50 PM

If I liked to import games I could see this being good.

This + Hard Drive + Controller Redesign....

Things could be looking up. I don't know.

KamaItachi

03-22-2006, 08:56 PM

See, I think it sounds silly too, the 1up article said it was possible to put everything you needed on one disc. However, from this one from Next Gen (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2558&Itemid=2) it paints a bit of a different picture.

Secondly, Blu-ray discs will claim only one global SKU per game, as all localization is on a single disc. Harrison said that the medium is vital to the games industry.

Which could be taken as meaning all games will have to be international friendly from the moment they go gold.

It's still early days yet though. There's a chance we may never hear of this idea again or it may be clarified down the road. It just strikes me as a great way to lose developer support, especially with the rising cost of making games to enforce something like this.

Zanzibar

03-22-2006, 09:09 PM

Zanzibar, you're a developer? Can you see Sony doing things like forcing devs to create international-ready games just because it seems they can? I know the promise of having any game available in your language and running on your machine looks good to the consumer, but it looks like it would be a huge slap in the fave to devs, making them put a whole lot more effort into a game for very little in return.

Also, didn't you mention your boss made Zombies ate my neighbour? Give that man/woman a big kiss from me.
I can't see Sony doing that. I think it's a red herring; something to convince people that Blu-Ray is important BECAUSE it allows for that kind of extra space on the disc to be used for that very purpose. I think this is a pre-emptive marketing buzzphrase. As far as development goes, it's actually pretty bad news - seek times for different languages on different parts of the disc would majorly suck.

I won't smooch him, but I'll let him know he's got fans. :D

LilBunnyFuFu

03-22-2006, 09:43 PM

I won't smooch him, but I'll let him know he's got fans. :D

Your boss made that? Holy shit! ... Man, the afternoons wasted playing that game...

Also, in regards to Sony, haven't there been rumors, confirmed and otherwise about just about every last gen console at one point or another? I could've swore I've heard all this before, about 5 years ago. Another thing, does region free mean that I can legally import games. I'm probably wrong here, but isn't it slightly illegal to import now... Lastly, does this mean that current gen imports will work on the PS3 via backwards compatability?

agentgray

03-22-2006, 10:02 PM

Blu-Ray DRM and (nooooooooo!) possible hard drive/disc locking replaces the need for regions, right?

Magnanimous Gnome

03-22-2006, 10:41 PM

Hmmm, so people around the world will be able to share the same shitty ads?

"Gran Turismo brought to you by Tentacle Rape 3: Gaji no Shingun in stores now! Porn get!"

rein

03-22-2006, 11:15 PM

Hmmm, so people around the world will be able to share the same shitty ads?

"Gran Turismo brought to you by Tentacle Rape 3: Gaji no Shingun in stores now! Porn get!"

I don't know about that. I mean, I come to EvilAvatar and don't feel pressure to sign up for Eve Online. :rolleyes: If they do not force me to watch the damn ad before the game loads up like you have to for every company involved in making the game right now I will be ok with non intrusive product placement type ads.

I can't imagine Sony would force a developer to include all languages. That would be nuts. However, region free seems about right.

Sl1pstream

03-22-2006, 11:21 PM

Didn't they sue companies for selling import PSPs? Why would they make PS3 region free if they're against importing stuff?

rein

03-22-2006, 11:31 PM

Didn't they sue companies for selling import PSPs? Why would they make PS3 region free if they're against importing stuff?

I think it has more to do with the inflated price import shops were selling systems for than anything. Of course, I am probably wrong. :D

StrifeSnake13*

03-23-2006, 12:29 AM

^^^

OK I stand corrected. I still think he's referring to being able to produce one disc for all regions, and not that you'll be able to buy japanese software and just pop it into your US PS3. But then what would PS3 news be if it wasn't confusing and vague.
I believe what Phil Harrison was trying to say is that if you put a Japanese game in US ps3 it will work. That part about putting multiple sku's on one disk is for different versions of the game like different voice acting, text, ect. That way game companies can send the same disk to the entire world.

Obviously if sony in encouraging multiple sku's on one disk, the games would have to region free, otherwise why would you put multiple sku's on one disk? If all three versions of the game are on the disk, the game company does not know what type of ps3 you have.... and if three version are one the disk, you can't buy a just a pal version or just a ntsc version.

Cool AN

03-23-2006, 12:49 AM

There is a hole lot of Sony news at GDC. Me likey.

Paranoia

03-23-2006, 01:46 AM

You really honestly dont understand?

honest?

Sorry but I don't buy into the Sony Hype Machine.

Lon Lon Rabbit

03-23-2006, 02:15 AM

I don't know what is the big deal about this. There is already region-free X360 games available.

Very few.
I would love it if it was the case, as I'm using a Japanese 360 in a PAL territory.
I can pick up a few things like Condemned, Tony Hawk, and Full Auto from US/PAL stores but other than that I need to get the Japanese/Asian versions.
I bought Oblivion today from a PAL store and it didn't work, so I have to take it back.
I only did this because oblivion is a pretty huge game, I would not go back and forth to the gamestore hoping that a game I get is region free (as I import all my consoles now).
Therefore, if the PS3 was entirely region free, that is huge and very cool news for me.

DudeWheresMyXbox

03-23-2006, 02:53 AM

You could learn a lesson from this, Microsoft. Whatever happened to you encouraging publishers to make their games region free?

Oh yeah, there was no money in it.

twats.
Actually, MS does encourage region-free / multi-region games.

The catch is that your game has to pass Cert for each region. You can't just publish crap that works in one region, breaks in others and get MS to stamp the disc region-free.

Several Xbox and Xbox 360 games are, in fact, multi-region. The problem is that they don't really advertise it, so you either find out by accident or by reading unofficial lists of multi-region games online.

Paranoia

03-23-2006, 03:00 AM

Royal Fool

03-23-2006, 03:16 AM

Multiple SKU versions on a single disc to be published everywhere is such a major, major headache, I just can't see it happening. The game would have to be approved for all markets by the local authorities, revisions would have to be constantly made to the disc during the publishing and approval process. One country says "Too much blood", another one says "Too much nudity"...

Besides, what is the point in censoring or removing graphic content for, say, Germany when the consumer can just access one of the other SKUs on the disc that isn't censored?

Very strange...

KamaItachi

03-23-2006, 03:22 AM

Actually, MS does encourage region-free / multi-region games.

The catch is that your game has to pass Cert for each region. You can't just publish crap that works in one region, breaks in others and get MS to stamp the disc region-free.

Several Xbox and Xbox 360 games are, in fact, multi-region. The problem is that they don't really advertise it, so you either find out by accident or by reading unofficial lists of multi-region games online.

I know, most of my library for my original xbox and now my 360 are imported. It just irks me that they made such a fuss over it with the original xbox saying if a game wasn't available in your own region you should be able to get it, then it turned out that most of their big games weren't region free. Then they did a complete 180 and said that they wouldn't be following the same philosophy with the 360.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that at least some of the games have been published by folks who have left the lock out, but I would rather MS went the route Sony has now and made it a very definite decision to support region free games.

Paranoia

03-23-2006, 03:36 AM

One country says "Too much blood", another one says "Too much nudity"...

Takes a lot of time too. I hate a game getting delays because another country have problems with women cleavage.

benig

03-23-2006, 06:02 AM

If you read the actual sentence the guy said, he just mentioned that you could put code for all different TV types (PAL, NTSC, HDTV) on one disc. They never actually said it would be region-free.

feeble

03-23-2006, 06:19 AM

Im pretty sure they are doing this to cut down the future use of mod chipping.

sony lost a court battle recently to a guy who was selling modded ps2. they lost cause sony wasnt adequeting supplying the australian market. as alot of games, were never released officially in australia.

this way by having the ps3 region-free, they would have probably won the case. and saved sony a fair bit of money.

its a very nice move, for ppl outsite of america and japan. and im all for it.

Magnanimous Gnome

03-23-2006, 07:13 AM

Takes a lot of time too. I hate a game getting delays because another country have problems with women cleavage.

Sadly that country is usually the United States.

Last of the Red Hot Mamas

03-23-2006, 09:30 AM

DudeWheresMyXbox

03-23-2006, 11:24 AM

I know, most of my library for my original xbox and now my 360 are imported. It just irks me that they made such a fuss over it with the original xbox saying if a game wasn't available in your own region you should be able to get it, then it turned out that most of their big games weren't region free. Then they did a complete 180 and said that they wouldn't be following the same philosophy with the 360.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that at least some of the games have been published by folks who have left the lock out, but I would rather MS went the route Sony has now and made it a very definite decision to support region free games.
MS made a fuss over it with the original Xbox? I don't recall hearing much from them in any official capacity about region protection. Just that the system itself could support region-free games, but the decision was completely up to the publisher.

In the later years of Xbox, MS became more aggressive at attracting publishers to go multi-region. Not so much a philosophy change; more just about reacting to a common complaint from gamers.

However, I certainly can see how fans on the forums get excited about things and stretched it too far, which could lead to disappointment if you believed them. Some things never change :)

StrifeSnake13*

03-23-2006, 04:48 PM

If you read the actual sentence the guy said, he just mentioned that you could put code for all different TV types (PAL, NTSC, HDTV) on one disc. They never actually said it would be region-free.

really? I think you should try reading his sentence

Question: Are all models of the PS3 going to be region specific. What about the games?

PH: The thing that makes the games region free or not is different than what makes the hardware different. With the power voltage and things like that, the hardware will need to be specific to a region. Software, however, will be region free. It's possible for developers to put all the TV formats - PAL, NTSC, HDTV, and so on - on the disc.
http://1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3148957