General Gaming Discussion

[Nemkoon]

I think it's less that you know nothing and more that it doesn't really affect you. :'D It's hard to get nearly as worked up about something when it doesn't really make any difference to you personally. I wasn't exactly furious back when Xenoblade was looking like it'd be a European / Japanese exclusive either because... like... I had already played it.

I don't know, though. I think it is a pretty big deal to region lock a game on a console that has never been region locked until now. Especially when the reasoning they gave reeks of anti-consumer business practices. And when it... really doesn't cover why it's locked in every territory as opposed to just the US. If they're worried about Japanese people jumping on the cheaper US version, that doesn't explain why they region locked the Japanese one as well. Unless they just want to see Europeans suffer. Which given the history of game localisations here, probably shouldn't exactly surprise me.

I honestly believe this is definitely overblown though, because their reason is too rational for the internet.
Well, It's not really gonna affect anyone majorly, because it IS coming out in every region, just with a longer wait. I don't say I particularly agree with the decision, but Atlus seems that they will learn from this. But, really, this is mostly overreaction because of the region locking, which in this case, actually does not make that big of a difference for the consumer, and the company will still profit mostly the same.

[gezegond]

I think it's less that you know nothing and more that it doesn't really affect you. :'D It's hard to get nearly as worked up about something when it doesn't really make any difference to you personally. I wasn't exactly furious back when Xenoblade was looking like it'd be a European / Japanese exclusive either because... like... I had already played it.

Most of these stuff doesn't affect me at all since I live in middle east and pirate almost all my games. I only have one legitimate PS3 game. I'm waiting for a hack to play the newer games because I can't pay for them. But I get worked up on anything that's related to computer/internet/technology. This is one of them. So I guess it really depends on your personality more than anything.

[Elin]

I honestly believe this is definitely overblown though, because their reason is too rational for the internet.
Well, It's not really gonna affect anyone majorly, because it IS coming out in every region, just with a longer wait. I don't say I particularly agree with the decision, but Atlus seems that they will learn from this. But, really, this is mostly overreaction because of the region locking, which in this case, actually does not make that big of a difference for the consumer, and the company will still profit mostly the same.

Like I said, though, their reason isn't rational when it comes to locking the Japanese version. Locking the US version is pretty slimy, but it makes sense from a business point of view. Locking the Japanese one is just obnoxious and nonsensical.

And it makes a potentially huge difference to me, actually. Atlus can say that this is a one off and they won't region lock any more of their titles. And that's fine and well, as I trust that they've learned their lesson from the backlash this caused. The trouble is that Atlus can't really control what other companies do in light of this incident. Region locking is good business, and there's nothing to stop other companies looking at Atlus getting away with it on this title and region locking their own titles.

Why is that a big deal to me? Nine out of ten titles I own across all platforms are Japanese imports. I abhor playing Japanese games in English, and the last Japanese RPG I played in English was Xenosaga III back in 2006. Yet my PS3 is European, because I bought it in good faith believing it to be completely region free. P4A I can happily forget about, but if a bunch of other Japanese developers I like start region locking their titles in light of Atlus's rather dickish move, I don't see myself buying many games for the PS3 for most of the rest of its lifespan. Of course this is just speculation and maybe it really will be an isolated incident, but like I say, region locking is good business. And now that one company has gotten away with it, I very much doubt it'll be the last we see of it. I don't think region locking will become the standard on the PS3 because of this or anything, but even five or six more titles is far too many, and each and every one is on Atlus's head as far as I'm concerned.

[Colamisu]

I have to agree with Elin on this. Regardless of how this effects anyone on this one game, it sets a precedent. In order for other companies to see that we consumers don't at all support this region locking business, the game needs to bomb completely. But that won't happen, because it's a spinoff from a popular game series. It will be a modest success at the very least.

[Ivolt]

I figure the region lock thing for all the other versions is for pretty much the same reasons as the US version. Of course, Atlus of America can only speak for themselves and whatever the Japanese branch tells them they can say, but the game is basically being brought over to their respective territories by 3 different publishers, and I doubt Zen United wants to also lose money on this because all the European gamers also decided to import because they have to wait 6+ weeks.

I understand why people are unhappy with this, just like how they can be unhappy with anything else, but I think wanting it to fail is just a tad ...overzealous.

[Slacker Magician]

I think it's less that you know nothing and more that it doesn't really affect you. :'D It's hard to get nearly as worked up about something when it doesn't really make any difference to you personally. I wasn't exactly furious back when Xenoblade was looking like it'd be a European / Japanese exclusive either because... like... I had already played it.

I don't know, though. I think it is a pretty big deal to region lock a game on a console that has never been region locked until now. Especially when the reasoning they gave reeks of anti-consumer business practices. And when it... really doesn't cover why it's locked in every territory as opposed to just the US. If they're worried about Japanese people jumping on the cheaper US version, that doesn't explain why they region locked the Japanese one as well. Unless they just want to see Europeans suffer. Which given the history of game localisations here, probably shouldn't exactly surprise me.

I wonder why they'd ever do that .

[Elin]

I figure the region lock thing for all the other versions is for pretty much the same reasons as the US version. Of course, Atlus of America can only speak for themselves and whatever the Japanese branch tells them they can say, but the game is basically being brought over to their respective territories by 3 different publishers, and I doubt Zen United wants to also lose money on this because all the European gamers also decided to import because they have to wait 6+ weeks.

I understand why people are unhappy with this, just like how they can be unhappy with anything else, but I think wanting it to fail is just a tad ...overzealous.

By that logic, though, would PS3 games here in Britain ever sell? I mean nine out of ten times we have a US version of the game in the same language that we speak available online for cheaper than our domestic one. In fact, the discrepancy is even worse here, as it's not just one of price but of time; any person here in Britain with a credit card can get the US version of a given game cheaper and quicker than they can if they wait for a domestic release. Given what Atlus have said about how many Japanese gamers would import the US version, I suppose European publishers must go under within a year, because it's impossible to sell in those conditions.

Oh wait, no it's not. We have far more titles released here nowadays than we ever did back in the days of universal region locking. Game sales in Britain hit a record high about two or three years ago. And we have companies here like Zen and Ghostlight who work exclusively on publishing obscure Japanese titles, which would have been completely unheard of back in the day. If anything, the market in Britain is stronger than it has ever been, despite the fact that the only completely region locked consoles currently on the market are the 3DS and the Wii. And this isn't even taking into account that there are far more import-savvy people in Europe than in Japan, as we've been importing games since pretty much the stone age.

Sorry, but I just don't buy their reasoning. They might have been looking at a few lost Japanese sales and a few gained US ones, but the potential doomsday scenario that they say forced their hand is flagrantly disproved by sales here in Britain. They can dress it up however they want, but there's no excuse for locking this specific title ahead of most any PS3 game that came before it, and it's an ugly and anti-consumer decision that they had every choice in. I feel sorry for Atlus USA because most of the boycotters will probably be boycotting their version despite the fact that the decision will have come from Japan, but I think people have every right to feel aggrieved with the decision itself. And while I agree with Cola that the boycott will never get enough steam to cause any real damage, I do hope the game fails, because one success and it's very unlikely that this will be the last PS3 game to be region-locked.

[Tassadar]

Well mine isnt a steam edition.
I dont really know my IP address, so we might be at a loss.

Whatismyip.com works pretty well for finding out your external IP. If you go to your Router's page you can also find it there.

Also, Dishonored looks fantastic, I cannot wait for it.

[Slacker Magician]

By that logic, though, would PS3 games here in Britain ever sell? I mean nine out of ten times we have a US version of the game in the same language that we speak available online for cheaper than our domestic one. In fact, the discrepancy is even worse here, as it's not just one of price but of time; any person here in Britain with a credit card can get the US version of a given game cheaper and quicker than they can if they wait for a domestic release. Given what Atlus have said about how many Japanese gamers would import the US version, I suppose European publishers must go under within a year, because it's impossible to sell in those conditions.

Oh wait, no it's not. We have far more titles released here nowadays than we ever did back in the days of universal region locking. Game sales in Britain hit a record high about two or three years ago. And we have companies here like Zen and Ghostlight who work exclusively on publishing obscure Japanese titles, which would have been completely unheard of back in the day. If anything, the market in Britain is stronger than it has ever been, despite the fact that the only completely region locked consoles currently on the market are the 3DS and the Wii. And this isn't even taking into account that there are far more import-savvy people in Europe than in Japan, as we've been importing games since pretty much the stone age.

Sorry, but I just don't buy their reasoning. They might have been looking at a few lost Japanese sales and a few gained US ones, but the potential doomsday scenario that they say forced their hand is flagrantly disproved by sales here in Britain. They can dress it up however they want, but there's no excuse for locking this specific title ahead of most any PS3 game that came before it, and it's an ugly and anti-consumer decision that they had every choice in. I feel sorry for Atlus USA because most of the boycotters will probably be boycotting their version despite the fact that the decision will have come from Japan, but I think people have every right to feel aggrieved with the decision itself. And while I agree with Cola that the boycott will never get enough steam to cause any real damage, I do hope the game fails, because one success and it's very unlikely that this will be the last PS3 game to be region-locked.

This is like on disc DLC, it sets a nasty standard of business under the guise of something else.

On an odd note, I'm importing the Euro release of Tales of Graces because you guys get an LE .

[Inferno.]

MGS4 is getting trophies.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/news/news...phy-Patch.html

Still no interest in playing this game/film.

[Slacker Magician]

MGS4 is getting trophies.

http://www.ps3trophies.org/news/news...phy-Patch.html

Still no interest in playing this game/film.

Woo.

[Gypsy]

Finally. This will push me over the edge into finally getting playing the game.

[Elin]

This is like on disc DLC, it sets a nasty standard of business under the guise of something else.

On an odd note, I'm importing the Euro release of Tales of Graces because you guys get an LE .

Pretty much that, yeah. Thought about the DLC parallel myself, actually. The amount of nerd rage being generated around the internet is about the same. Of course this bothers me more because being able to dabble in games from different regions and in different languages is a big part of what I like about games.

Yeah, I'm amazed at how many limited editions we get now. :'D It kind of sucks, actually. Just as we started getting a good chunk of what is released in America released here in a timely fashion with fancy limited editions, I stopped buying games in English. I suffered through the dark ages of PAL gaming and never got to reap the modern benefits.

EDIT: MGS4 trophy support? Kind of cool, I guess, but... like... where did that come from? I know people have been asking for it for years, but precisely because it's been years, I figured it would never happen. :'D

[Gypsy]

Yeah, I'm amazed at how many limited editions we get now. :'D It kind of sucks, actually. Just as we started getting a good chunk of what is released in America released here in a timely fashion with fancy limited editions, I stopped buying games in English. I suffered through the dark ages of PAL gaming and never got to reap the modern benefits.

Way to lose my post the first time forum...

Anyway, I'm glad I waited to get Tales of Graces. I would have been mad if I had bought the US version and had to sell it.

Major thanks to Steve btw. I am now using amazon.co.uk (for reliability) and they won't post video games to the US and Steve is willing to have it posted to him and will re-post it to me.

[crusher]

MGS4 TROPHY PATCH YAY!

Oh and Dan, you suck.