The price and release date of the Nintendo 3DS has been unveiled, and while plenty were surprised by the $349.95 price point, some would still prefer to import at the lower US price, but for one issue – region locking. We decided to take a deeper look into the legalities of region locking – and where the Australian law stands on the issue.
The Australian GTA IV not the full deal? Neither is the NZ version? Why not just import it then?
Looks like Rockstar thought of that. According to an email many readers have received from Rockstar in the States, the game is “region locked for [its]specific territories”. Which consoles this includes and whether it applies to the multiplayer we’re not sure.
The email goes on to reinforce Rockstar Oz’s earlier statement regarding the changes to our version of the game being minor. Kotaku AU’s attempts to get an answer from Rockstar Oz regarding the region locking have been met with failure, but this looks official to me.
[Thanks everyone!]
When Army of Two launched with decent reviews, we thought all was well in the world of mercenary combat simulation. But none of us expected the game to ship with region-locked multiplayer. Apparently, European Xbox 360 owners are unable to play he game with their US friends. Originally outed by gamers, the PAL Xbox 360 manual confirms the rumour:
Microsoft has just confirmed that Bioware’s shiny new Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect is indeed region locked. If you haven’t purchased your copy already, it looks like you’ll have to wander down to your local retailer to get your fix.
Unless, of course, someone has a better idea, because they don’t exactly make keys for this type of lock.
Good news, European and Asian PlayStation 3 owners; the region-locked demo for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is region-locked no more. Christophe Balestra, co-president of developer Naughty Dog issued an update on the game’s status at the official PlayStation.blog today, begging your forgiveness for the oversight. According to Balestra, the limiting of the demo to those in North America only wasn’t intentional, simply a product of being unaware that access to the PlayStation Store was a global affair.
Balestra says that when he learned of the news, he hopped in his car, carefully obeyed the speed limit on the drive back to the office and remedied the situation. Apparently, the values for hate_PAL and hate_JAPAN were both set to TRUE. Oops! It’s a simple mistake.
Sure, you’re gonna be on the ugly end of another 1.2 GB download, but I think you’ve whined enough. Enjoy!
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Demo Back on the World Map [PlayStation.blog]
If you’re in the PAL or Asian territories, you may have discovered that your 1.2GB download of the brand new Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune demo won’t @!#?@!ing play on your PlayStation 3. It’s not a bug, despite it’s somewhat awkward behavior. It’s intentional. Yes, the Uncharted demo is sadly region specific and won’t play on anything but a North American PS3. It’s the kind of slap in the face that hurts so much worse after a 1200MB wait in line.
We contacted Sony Computer Entertainment America who confirmed that the US version “does not allow for cross-region play” and that “the Japanese and PAL demo will both be released soon, but we don’t have confirmed release dates.” Unfortunately, the delay in the non-North American enjoyment of the Naughty Dog adventure can simply be chalked up to Uncharted‘s release date in its respective territories. Cold comfort, I know.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Demo Busted? [Kotaku AU]
