region
Latest
DC Universe Online moving to super servers
Server merges are an odd thing for any game. On the one hand, they help produce more populated servers, give players more choices of companions, and generally can help keep the community more closely tied. On the other hand, they're rarely seen as a sign that the game is in good health, since it means fewer servers for players to select from. Whether you see it as a good sign or a bad one, DC Universe Online is presenting it as an unambiguously good feature, dubbing the upcoming merges as creating "super servers." Starting with testing on the PC next week, the game will be migrating to four total servers -- two for each region (US and Europe) and two for each platform (PC and PS3) -- which means that all U.S. PC players will be on the same server. Unfortunately for many DC Universe Online players, this does mean that console and PC players will remain on separate server lists, which may prove detrimental in the long run. Players should keep their eyes open for more news regarding the merge in the coming weeks.
Nintendo 3DS may have region-locked software, continue an unfortunate trend
Once upon a time, when handheld game systems were thicker and Nintendo was entirely without peer, the company deigned to allow us to import games without fear. On Game Boy of all shapes and sizes, as well as the Nintendo DS, a Japanese cartridge would let you experience portable wonders years before they hit Europe and the US. Starting in 2008, however, Nintendo made DSi-specific titles region-locked -- and that's the same fate that will likely befall games on Nintendo's new 3D handheld as well. "There is the possibility that Nintendo 3DS software sold in one region will not function properly when running on Nintendo 3DS hardware sold in another," a company statement reads, though it's important to note that region locks are typically a two-party affair -- if game publishers choose to make their stereoscopic software region-free, it might work on your handheld anyhow. So yes, you might still have a chance to get your date sim on.
[Updated] No Wolpertinger and Pink Elekk quests for Europe
Blizzard has confirmed that the absence of the Catch the Wild Wolpertinger and Pink Elekks on Parade quests on European realms is not a bug. These "get drunk and see creatures" quests were removed to comply with "regional game rating requirements". We can surmise from this that at least one of the European countries is unwilling to allow virtual inebriation in a game partially targeted to teenagers.We usually think that the U.S. is more prudish about these kinds of non-violent topics than Europe, but obviously that is not the case here. Personally, I think these quests are pretty innocuous and the near blindness you get when you get hammered in-game isn't exactly encouraging young drunkenness. But I do see how some would disagree with me.We are researching this, but in the meantime, do you know which region(s) are causing the removal of these Brewfest quests from Europe?Update: Wednesday morning before the restart, many people were able to do these quests. But after the restart, the quests disappeared again as intended. It looks as though those who did the quests were able to keep their tokens.
DVD region code blocks British Prime Minister from enjoying Obama's gift
"Oh, bollocks." No, we can't definitively prove that Gordon Brown said that after witnessing a "Wrong Region" code when inserting a DVD given to him by Barack Obama, but we're sure something of the sort was uttered. You see, the ridiculous DVD region coding system recently prevented the British Prime Minister from viewing a set of 25 "American classics" on DVD, all of which were bestowed upon him by President Obama during a recent visit to Washington, D.C. We hate to bludgeon a dead mule, but seriously, when will the DRM madness end? Er, on second thought, maybe this is precisely what's necessary to keep those region-free player outlets in business, and thus, the economy strong.[Via techdirt, image courtesy of AmericaLives]
DSi-only software is region locked
Nintendo's decades-long streak of region-free handhelds is coming to a close. In a statement to CVG, the company confirmed that Nintendo DSi-only cartridges and downloadable content will be locked to the region where you buy the Nintendo DSi. Web browsing, photo sharing and playing DS games will be region free, but US gamers hoping to import the console between now and "well into 2009" will probably have to brush up on their Japanese to enjoy the best new features.We're not too worried, though. Something in our gut tells us that SD card slot will give region-unlocking ninjas in the homebrew community an easy "in."
Podcast interviews two Star Trek Online guys, gets lots of new info
Star Trek gaming podcast Hailing Frequency interviewed Cryptic Studios Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert in the wake of the big Las Vegas unveiling of Star Trek Online. The two part interview is available in both audio and video, and it's one of the best sources of details beyond the unveiling video itself at this point.There are a lot of reveals and hints in the interview. Some examples of interview topics: post-launch plans for user-generated content, an economy without a monetary currency, and details about starship combat. Emmert speculates that cross-platform play and non-region-specific servers are possible, but that no final determinations have been made. Listen to the interview for more!Hailing Frequency also spoke with STO's new community manager, JR Sutich, who is better known to folks in the MMO community as Razor. He was a regular writer at WarCry before he started with Cryptic. That interview, also available in both audio and video, deals exclusively with the game's community and forums.
Homebrew community releases region changer
For those of you who have a dead Freeloader or can't be bothered with any other solution that isn't a homebrew solution, you're in luck. The community just released a homebrew Region changer, which should allow you to enjoy some import goodness on your console. Or, you know, you could just pick up a Japanese Wii and have it shipped and use this to change its region to that of your home country.Of course, the question is do you really want imports? For those of you in Europe, before Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart Wii released, the prospect of importing probably looked pretty good. Now, with the lack of releases on Wii, we can't imagine you folks wanting to import anything. But hey, that's just us.
First region free Blu-ray players available
Look no further for the follow-up to last year's multi-region Blu-ray players, with Bluraymods.com advertising a completely region free Panasonic DMP-BD30, available in either pre-modified or DIY kit formats. That's all 6 DVD regions and three Blu-ray regions for those keeping count, and it claims to still work with any firmware updates. The good news for import lovers is a price of €499, considerably less than previous hardware, or €69 for a mod kit. We're still not sure how well this will play with future DRM updates, but taking the leap appears to be getting cheaper and more convenient.
WoW to be localized for Latin America
Blizzard has announced that World of Warcraft will soon be fully localized for Latin America. The new Latin American version of the game "will be based on the existing European Spanish version but will feature entirely re-recorded in-game speech." There will also be Latin American region servers. Latin American players as well as Spanish-speakers in the U.S. and Canada who have been playing on the North American realms will be offered character transfer opportunities.The Latin American region doesn't normally get its own official game servers even with huge releases, but as well all know, WoW is a groundbreaking global phenomenon. Adding support for this new region will expand upon its already colossal subscriber numbers.Oh, and Blizzard is hiring a whole new customer service team to offer 24/7 support for the region, so if you want to work for Blizzard y si usted habla español, this is your window of opportunity! Buena suerte! [Via WoW Insider]
VC gift feature takes region-locking a step further
Many sources are reporting that the new gift feature that allows Wii owners to send Virtual Console games to their buddies is, unsurprisingly, region-locked. That we expected; after all, VC games release on different schedules around the world. But what is surprising is that the function seems to be country-locked as well. Posters at NeoGAF are reporting being unable to send Virtual Console games between Canada and the United States, though no one has yet -- to our knowledge -- tested sending VC games between two European nations that both use the euro as currency. We don't know yet what the lock is based upon; it could be currency or just blanket national lines. We'll keep you updated as we learn more, but for now, reconcile yourselves to only sending gifts to people who live under the same flag.
PS3 is region-free, but there's a hi-def catch
Though the PlayStation 3 is not locked by any particular region, meaning a Japanese PS3 should play European titles, there is one caveat as far as technology is concerned. Jem Alexander, a new writer for Joystiq sister PS3 Fanboy and the owner of a US PS3 living in Europe, recently picked up a European copy of F.E.A.R. only to get a discouraging message: "This game not supported (80028F10)." You don't need to be fluent in hexdecimal (and if not, why are you wearing those t-shirts, hm?) to feel confusion and resentment towards the supposedly region-free console.The problem is much less sinister. North America and Japan use NTSC television standards, or 480i, while Europe uses PAL standards, or 576i. Hence, the US PS3 isn't configured to handle the extra 96 lines of imaging. (You might remember a similar problem being noted with European Genesis releases for the Wii Virtual Console.) The solution is simple but costly: all PS3 titles support 720p, so buy an HDTV set.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
DS Daily: Region free
We know some of you import, or have at least been tempted once or twice, and we're curious about the motivations behind such a desire, regardless of its strength. Do you simply get tired of waiting for regional releases? Sometimes there's no telling when a game will come to your local store -- particularly for European gamers -- and the waiting is tough when you know someone else, somewhere, is enjoying that very game right now. And then there's the issue of games that just aren't likely to see release in certain regions, for whatever reason. Sometimes, the temptation for something like Jump Ultimate Stars is just too great.We're also curious if that's a new thing for you, the temptation (or practice) of importing. Do you import for other systems? It's our experience that once you start importing games from another part of the world, for whatever reason, you often continue to do so. It's just the first time that's a little daunting. But if you've never done it before, or given the practice much thought, why now?
Sonic-branded Wii Giveaway
Sega's branch in Germany is hosting a contest to celebrate Sonic and the Secret Rings' release, offering up prizes like figurines, signed memorabilia, and a Sonic-Team-branded Wii. The winner of the limited edition Wii will also receive a German copy of the game -- a cruel reminder of the hardware's region lock. We're not sure how faithful the customized console will be to the mock-up pictured above, but the simple stamping of the blue hedgehog's head on both the system and the Wii remote is a lot more attractive than we expected. Entering the contest is as easy as sending an email to Sega's offices with the German title for Sonic and the Secret Rings. They will be accepting entries until March 23rd, so don't put your Google-searching off for too long!
SYNDiCATE's Wii Region Free Patcher for NTSC to PAL
Unfortunately there's one console among the current gen that still needs fretting about that other kind of region "protection", but the Wii separates PAL and NTSC consumers regionally no more. Well, kind of. SYNDiCATE supposedly has a Wii patcher that plays NTSC titles on PAL Wii units, which is just great for all those PAL-rocking countries that have Wiis, as well as those not yet fit to suffer from Wii shortages because Nintendo hasn't even launched there yet. As always, download and install at your own risk. While we'd be very interested to hear of your results when trying out the patch, we certainly won't be any more than a shoulder to cry on should you brick your unit.[Via Digg, PAL / NTSC map via Wikipedia]
Pulling the old switcheroo: changing console region
Some Wii owner over in New Zealand decided he was fed up with his country's lack of VC games and did something about it. In changing his region from the aforementioned New Zealand to the UK, he unlocked several VC titles that were unavailable before. We know what you're thinking and before you go trying it out, know that this does not work on Japanese and US consoles. Bummer ...
FreeLoader GC doesn't work in our Wii
Despite a report to the contrary, we can't get the GameCube FreeLoader to work on a Wii. We've tried to use FreeLoader to play GameCube titles from other regions, but the sad, unrecognized-disc screen taunts us over and over.We're using FreeLoader 1.06B -- alleged to be the right version by internet posters -- and a fully updated Wii (2.0U). We've tried inserting the disk when the Wii is off, then restarting. We've tried cleaning the disc. We've tried a special dance and blew in an NES cartridge slot as an offering, but nothing gets our FreeLoader started.Datel told us that it doesn't yet have a Wii for testing and couldn't offer any more help. The company is also waiting for a Wii to determine if it can make a FreeLoader for Wii games.Readers, have you gotten a GameCube FreeLoader working with a Wii? If so, how?See also:Wii not even remotely region-freeNOA's Reggie Fils-Aime skirts region issues
First-party Wii games will be region-free [update 2]
After tactfully cornering Nintendo's VP of Marketing at their NYC event, Joel Johnson from Wired News was able to extract a rather valuable tidbit of information that will likely please gamers all across the world. Perrin Kaplan casually confirmed that all first-party Wii games will be free of draconian region locks, thus allowing them to run on a Wii system purchased from Japan, Europe, America and everything in-between. The same doesn't hold true for third-party games yet, but one can only hope they follow the glorious example and do away with an annoying system that has long since been dropped in handheld platforms. If you can surmount the language barrier, feel free to gleefully bring Nintendo's next turnbased roommate adventure Pokemon dating card RPG to America, even if they won't.[Via Game|Life][Update 1: Gamesindustry.biz reports that Nintendo UK says the Wii is region-locked. This is contrary to Perrin Kaplan's statements, though her exact comments may have been misinterpreted to begin with. It's possible that Kaplan implied first-party games would specifically be region-free -- which is not the same thing as saying the console is region-free. After all, one can play region-free DVDs on a region-locked DVD player. Not that the Wii can play DVDs anymore...][Update 2: It was too good to be true.]
How to get the Chromehounds demo in the USA
Still pissed that the Chromehounds demo isn't available in the good old USA? Several of our readers report you can snag the demo simply by creating a new Silver XBL account and setting your location in the UK or Japan. The demo itself is not region encoded, so download and enjoy the satisfaction of playing on American soil. Then again, plenty of people say it sucks anyway.[Thanks Morgshrum et. al.]
In case you were wondering about import demos...
Overly optimistic reader Duscrom downloaded the demo for Namco's weird first-person soccer title, Love Football, to an American 360 via his Japanese XBL account. He dejectedly reports that, while Marketplace isn't blocked, "import" demos are indeed region encoded (Not very surprising, but you can't knock a fanboy for trying). It's a fact made more frustrating by the knowledge that piles of NTSC-J games are collecting dust on store shelves as I type, ignored by infamously picky Japanese gamers. Why not make these demos available to the rest of us, if only to create buzz and international goodwill? I'm sure there are plenty of appreciative, paying customers who would love to give, say, Bullet Witch a shot.
