Region locking: good or bad?

[david.dakota]

Region Locking is neither good or bad - the question is stupid.

 

What is fricking evil is that Nintendo - and others - refuse to release games worldwide. Removal of a region lock would solve the problem, but actually releasing these games is a far better option.

[Agent Gibbs]

You could just get an American account and buy it that way.

 

The game is already available on the US PSN store. You can just make a US account and get it right now (though you will also need to buy a US PSN store card to add funds to your account)

 

For what it's worth, it's a good game in of itself, but doesn't compare to the original at all IMO. Completely criminal that we never got it though (nor the original - but thank God that they released the original SNES version on the VC over here! 16 years late, but we got there in the end! )

 

 

when did this happen?! i will have to check that out

[Helmsly]

Region Locking is neither good or bad - the question is stupid.

 

What is fricking evil is that Nintendo - and others - refuse to release games worldwide. Removal of a region lock would solve the problem, but actually releasing these games is a far better option.

 

At the very least, if a game doesn't get released outside of a certain region they could release it digitally worldwide, similar to the hanabi festival/import titles on the Wii's Virtual console that get released . I know its not the best example as those are old games but I think something like that would be a good compromise.

[Rummy]

Well, the 'good or bad' was mainly just 'tell me your thoughts on the matter'; I wholly think it's bad and outdated. One funny thing I've realised, if they hadn't region locked the wii, I wouldn't have had to get a freeloader when I imported brawl, if they then hadn't blocked that; I wouldn't have ended up Homebrewing my Wii. I never used it for playing wii games unofficially, but it was an easy enough gateway to it if I had wanted to. Makes me wonder the next point...how long until the Wii U gets hacked(separate thread material though :p)

[Dcubed]

when did this happen?! i will have to check that out

 

You're welcome, oh and before you ask, yes it will work on your UK PS3 perfectly fine without issues

[Jamba]

My company deals with shipping goods in and out of the country as well as dealing with UK, EU and US laws and regulations on radio use and licensing the EM spectrum. From that point of view, I"m aware that every single territory has a myriad of different requirements that cannot all be met by one single product and so this leads to different products being produced for each territory.

 

Thanks to the different tax laws, this also means that companies have to completely re-price products to balance value as well as profit/loss. It's a horrible and fucking difficult balance.

 

To make sure that products meet the expectations of the customer and the laws of the territories different products have to be produced and the areas in which they are released contained.

 

But hey, it's not like I can't sympathise with some customers that want to get games released in their territory. In some cases games might sell better if they were allowed to be purchased overseas, as I know that in particular fan-crazed cases people would happily play them in a language that they don't understand!

 

But what I can't accept is people who complain about time differences of release. Harvest Moon on the GCN I get and that was stupid but people getting pissed about a game not coming out within 6 months of it's counterpart in a different territory? Get over it.

 

EDIT: Oh and great and logical words from Jayseven.

[Dcubed]

My company deals with shipping goods in and out of the country as well as dealing with UK, EU and US laws and regulations on radio use and licensing the EM spectrum. From that point of view, I"m aware that every single territory has a myriad of different requirements that cannot all be met by one single product and so this leads to different products being produced for each territory.

 

Thanks to the different tax laws, this also means that companies have to completely re-price products to balance value as well as profit/loss. It's a horrible and fucking difficult balance.

 

To make sure that products meet the expectations of the customer and the laws of the territories different products have to be produced and the areas in which they are released contained.

 

But hey, it's not like I can't sympathise with some customers that want to get games released in their territory. In some cases games might sell better if they were allowed to be purchased overseas, as I know that in particular fan-crazed cases people would happily play them in a language that they don't understand!

 

But what I can't accept is people who complain about time differences of release. Harvest Moon on the GCN I get and that was stupid but people getting pissed about a game not coming out within 6 months of it's counterpart in a different territory? Get over it.

 

EDIT: Oh and great and logical words from Jayseven.

 

Now they may have very good reasons for instituting region locking and I perfectly understand why they do it, but that does not mean that we shouldn't complain about hefty delays that happen for no good reason (see Persona 4 Arena)

 

I don't expect simultaneous worldwide releases with every game, but having Europe wait 6-12 months after the US (or even vice versa with recent cases!) is inexcusable. There was no good bloody reason for Europe to have to wait a whole year for Kirby Superstar Ultra to get released in the EU, when that same company was perfectly able to release Pokemon B&W, the Zelda titles and even the last two Animal Crossing games at roughly the same time in both regions!!

 

And for those games which would have no chance of a western release and have little Japanese text, why not just allow people to buy them from an import section on the eShop? (like with Deathsmiles 2 on the 360). Hell they already do it with the VC!

 

Region locking in some form is arguably a necessary evil, but that doesn't mean that there aren't better ways of handling the situation and enabling people to buy and play the games that they would otherwise be unable to.

[Jamba]

Now they may have very good reasons for instituting region locking and I perfectly understand why they do it, but that does not mean that we shouldn't complain about hefty delays that happen for no good reason (see Persona 4 Arena)

 

I don't expect simultaneous worldwide releases with every game, but having Europe wait 6-12 months after the US (or even vice versa with recent cases!) is inexcusable. There was no good bloody reason for Europe to have to wait a whole year for Kirby Superstar Ultra to get released in the EU, when that same company was perfectly able to release Pokemon B&W, the Zelda titles and even the last two Animal Crossing games at roughly the same time in both regions!!

 

 

There are legitimate, probably financial reasons why this would be the case with the examples that you have given. Pokemon is a huge guaranteed seller with massive merchandise business so it's natural that they would have more resources localise.

 

A lot has to do with how the game is developed in terms of how connected the text it, how carefully it needs to be translated and so on.

 

Another point about US > EU localisation. US localisation usually only has 2 languages English and Spanish, if not just English. EU however has the full EFIGS (English, French, Italian and Spanish) if not more. So you have twice as much translation work to do.

 

So there are a lot of different reasons why the time varies. But let's face it, there are few times when you getting a game a bit later than you would like does little more than aggravate a gamer's need to have it now.

[Dcubed]

There are legitimate, probably financial reasons why this would be the case with the examples that you have given. Pokemon is a huge guaranteed seller with massive merchandise business so it's natural that they would have more resources localise.

 

A lot has to do with how the game is developed in terms of how connected the text it, how carefully it needs to be translated and so on.

 

Another point about US > EU localisation. US localisation usually only has 2 languages English and Spanish, if not just English. EU however has the full EFIGS (English, French, Italian and Spanish) if not more. So you have twice as much translation work to do.

 

So there are a lot of different reasons why the time varies. But let's face it, there are few times when you getting a game a bit later than you would like does little more than aggravate a gamer's need to have it now.

 

Kirby Superstar Ultra had almost no text to speak of (and even had the original full EFIGS SNES version's localisation already done - which was almost the same as the DS version's text barring a few very minor changes) NOE has always treated the series poorly (Mass Attack and Kirby's Return to Dreamland/Kirby's Adventure Wii being the only exceptions) and even now are not releasing the Kirby Anniversary Collection...

 

Why should we just accept their shabby treatment of the series? Why shouldn't we complain? How is it unreasonable to expect a game with almost no text to get released within a year after its US release?

 

This isn't Animal Crossing GCN we're talking about here!

Edited September 25, 2012 by Dcubed

[Jamba]

Kirby Superstar Ultra had almost no text to speak of (and even had the original full EFIGS SNES version's localisation already done - which was almost the same as the DS version's text barring a few very minor changes) NOE has always treated the series poorly (Mass Attack and Kirby's Return to Dreamland/Kirby's Adventure Wii being the only exceptions) and even now are not releasing the Kirby Anniversary Collection...

 

Why should we just accept their shabby treatment of the series? Why shouldn't we complain? How is it unreasonable to expect a game with almost no text to get released within a year after its US release?

 

This isn't Animal Crossing GCN we're talking about here!

 

It could simply be that Kirby sells badly in the EU? Maybe they need the sales in the US to be guaranteed before financing it can be signed off.

 

Also why shouldn't it be released later? Is it any worse for being released later? The reality of the situation is likely to be that whether it was released earlier or later would have had a negligible effect on sales.

[Londragon]

I recently sent an email to Nintendo asking about the power supply being applicable in different regions, and some of their response pertains to Cube's argument, vaguely however:

 

And if Nintendo wanted to be utter dicks they could have some kind of IP/DNS detection to further limit the console for importers, requiring them to spoof it (like what is required to access Hulu).

 

Which is more likely than Nintendo simply allowing you to create an account for any region.

 

Here's their response to my email; (I highlighted interesting parts)

 

Dear Lee,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

The Nintendo Wii U console will be region locked as with its predecessor the Nintendo Wii. Region locking does include but is not limited to, the games released for the console, both physical and digital copies and use of online services will vary between regions.

 

Any console purchased in one region and being used in another may have an issue with the power supply. If you do not obtain a power supply for the console from the region you are using it in, you will have to use a pin/power converter, and the use of third party products such as this is not recommended by Nintendo.

 

The online services offered in each region on the console will require an internet connection from the same region. If you use the console outside of the region it was sold in you may find that you have limited or no internet functionality.

 

We hope this information answers any queries you may have and that you enjoy the Nintendo Wii U and any other Nintendo products.

 

Kind regards,

Dan

Nintendo UK

[James McGeachie]

As a younger guy, I wanted to play Xenogears and Chrono Cross.

 

Later, I wanted to play Katamari Damacy (the original).

 

Now, I want to play stuff like Trauma Team.

 

Region locking is always the thing that stops me from having a way to do this, except piracy. Of course I can shout at publishers and complain that they didn't bring the game here, but if it weren't for region locking, I wouldn't have to.

 

I understand why it's necessary, but it ALWAYS sucks to be locked out of a game, possibly a great one.

[Dcubed]

I recently sent an email to Nintendo asking about the power supply being applicable in different regions, and some of their response pertains to Cube's argument, vaguely however:

 

 

 

Here's their response to my email; (I highlighted interesting parts)

 

Dear Lee,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

The Nintendo Wii U console will be region locked as with its predecessor the Nintendo Wii. Region locking does include but is not limited to, the games released for the console, both physical and digital copies and use of online services will vary between regions.

 

Any console purchased in one region and being used in another may have an issue with the power supply. If you do not obtain a power supply for the console from the region you are using it in, you will have to use a pin/power converter, and the use of third party products such as this is not recommended by Nintendo.

 

The online services offered in each region on the console will require an internet connection from the same region. If you use the console outside of the region it was sold in you may find that you have limited or no internet functionality.

 

We hope this information answers any queries you may have and that you enjoy the Nintendo Wii U and any other Nintendo products.

 

Kind regards,

Dan

Nintendo UK

 

That's almost certainly referring to services like NintendoTVii or BBC iPlayer, which would all be IP locked (as all VOD services are) or certain MMO games like Dragon Quest 10 (where the Wii version is IP locked). The vast majority of games however would be perfectly fine.

 

They're probably just covering their arses and playing it safe with the responses. There's absolutely no reason to believe that they'd use one and indeed no reason to use one. It's completely against their own (and their 3rd party publishers') self interests to do so (and also would make internal testing much more difficult!)

Edited September 26, 2012 by Dcubed

[EEVILMURRAY]

For what it's worth, it's a good game in of itself, but doesn't compare to the original at all IMO. Completely criminal that we never got it though (nor the original - but thank God that they released the original SNES version on the VC over here! 16 years late, but we got there in the end! )

Don't forget you can get the Trigger on DS too!

 

 

Region Locking - Naturally, never been a fan. It's not hard to understand from a business perspective where they're coming from with this.

 

But with the Wii U, I'm not fussed at the moment. Until they start declining to release a game I'm after in Europe I'll be fine. If not, someone best make a new Freeloader.

[Jimbob]

I'm not too fussed, the only 2 360 games i had from the US were NBA 2k11 and Ghostbusters (the NBA one, they all seem to be US made). And we all know about Ghostbusters.

 

As for Nintendo titles, i recall the GBC wasn't region-locked and i played the Oracle games from the US of A upon the console. Region locking can hurt a console in my opinion, if the game you wish to play is only available in one country it hurts sales as many people cannot purchase the game(s) in question.

 

So to sum it up, it's 50/50 for me. I don't import much anyway, except the titles which i mentioned about.

[Cube]

And we all know about Ghostbusters.

 

We do? I remember getting it and playing it without importing it.

[Londragon]

That's almost certainly referring to services like NintendoTVii or BBC iPlayer, which would all be IP locked (as all VOD services are) or certain MMO games like Dragon Quest 10 (where the Wii version is IP locked). The vast majority of games however would be perfectly fine.

 

They're probably just covering their arses and playing it safe with the responses. There's absolutely no reason to believe that they'd use one and indeed no reason to use one. It's completely against their own (and their 3rd party publishers') self interests to do so (and also would make internal testing much more difficult!)

 

Completely agree. I have a UK 3DS in Taiwan and although I can't have access to Nintendo Video, everything else is fine, eShop works a treat, all on-line games are OK, except Mario Kart 7 (had serious issues with that). Should imagine that the WiiU will be exactly the same.

[Jimbob]

We do? I remember getting it and playing it without importing it.

 

Sony delayed it for a while, many chose to import as it was region-free.

[Cube]

Ah, I don't think I got it at launch anyway.

[sumo73]

I understand the reasons behind region locking but I don't like it very much.

 

As a European there are games that I missed out on because they were released in other regions but not my one. Personally, there are some Japanese games that I would like to buy and play but they won't be coming out at all. It's not as if I have a major problem with the language either. Anyway, if a game is going to come out then I don't mind waiting for it to come out but when you consider that some games are moving to an online/download presence, why does Nintendo have a difference in the amount of e-shop games between the 3 main regions across the world or more precisely between NA and the EU?

 

When games get delayed and released later to due European laws and differences between European countries, translations etc.. what I find strange is that there is often no change in US English to British English. It's such a minor, minor point but if you are going to spend time fixing things up for Europe at least get your English sorted out for us over the other side of the pond.

 

Also if you are going to translate things at least do a decent job and go beyond just French, Spanish and Italian (if there is a demand at least in the instructions). Disc sizes are also bigger now to handle more languages at least on a text level basis. I'd like also to see this happen in North America as well beyond just English. I've heard stories of people from North America importing European versions because they are in French, Spanish and not just in the instructions.

 

I want to see Nintendo be completely honest and tell it's customers why they are region locking a system rather than the Wii U will be region locked and leave it at that.

Edited October 4, 2012 by sumo73