PlayStation 4 will be region-free
The good news train keeps on chugging for Sony, with the announcement that PS4 is region-free.
The good news train keeps on chugging along for Sony. The company has confirmed that PS4 will be region-free. (Presumably, this covers games only, and not Blu-ray movies.)
In the current generation, PS3 was largely region-free, with the odd exception of Persona 4: Arena. Xbox 360 was not region-free, although it did have a large number of games that could work in multiple territories. Region-free gaming is desirable amongst hardcore gamers, as that enables importing games that sometimes do not get picked up for localization.
Although PS4 will be region-free, Xbox One will be region-locked. Microsoft blames "country-specific regulatory guidelines" that, for some reason, Sony seems to be exempt from.
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replyAndrew Yoon posted a new article, PlayStation 4 will be region-free.
The good news train keeps on chugging for Sony, with the announcement that PS4 is region-free.-
Awesome. Event though I guess that Bluray movies aren't included in that statement.
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I've been importing Blu Ray movies and Xbox 360 games from America and England over to Australia for years and never had a problem. Hopefully that stays the same.
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Abrasion rejoice!
This seals the deal for me as i'd wanna import games from outside Germany.
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I'm an American living in Japan, and would just like to say that my US PS3 plays all Japanese Blu-ray discs. So Blu-ray discs are currently region-free as well. I think it would be safe to assume that the PS4 won't be any different.
Regardless, this is fantastic news!-
Blu-ray discs aren't region free, but the Japan and USA regions are the same.
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Ah, that's very interesting information. Thanks!
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The main reason why Persona 4 Arena on PS3 was "region locked" was because the Japanese and North American versions were scheduled to release only one week apart, with both having English and Japanese localization. Atlus did that because they didn't want Japanese gamers importing the American version for less than it would cost to buy the Japanese version in retail.
I like that the PS4 is region free, but does that mean that having a Japanese game releasing weeks after its Japanese release date won't happen anymore? That's up to the publishers to decide. P4A is a good game (great Arc System Works style fighter, and great story writing), but the stigma that Atlus received for this maneuver is fair, especially considering that P4A sold better than expected, which meant that their fears of massive importing were unfounded.-
I went out of my way to buy that game used because of their decision to lock it.
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Actually I would buy a PS4 if I could import it from the US for that reason alone.
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Pff, $ony
Let’s give Microsoft their due: Xbox fans are easily the most fanatical of any video game audience, and the one customer group from which the firm derives Apple-style loyalty. At $100 more than the PS4, the Xbox One will sell out handily this holiday season, thanks solely to these fans. Microsoft can then lower the price in 2014 as the console moves to more markets. $ony doesn’t offer the same range of amazing media services that Microsoft does, and it certainly offers no TV integration capabilities, as is possible with the Xbox One. These markets are much bigger than the market for console video game players.
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