Yes, they are now. but don't Sony have the ability to region code games too?. Sony could region lock them when ever they like just to stop importists cashing in on sales to Europe. Import sales would drop dramatically as importists do not have the edge on selling that is 'Region free - worldwide'. they would be restricted to the buyers who don't mind the region lock or they travel alot.
This is one of the reasons i'm going to hold back buying a PSP till the EU launch. becuase of this region lock If i were to buy a PSP from the US 1) I would not be able to play R2 movies and 2) there might be a possibility of not playing games in my region. So if they do put a region lock on I would be stuck importing US games forever! resticting me alot.
So.. in short They may not be region locked now.. But you never know.. They could be..
But I bet before then it will be hacked, cracked and modded to high heaven with modchips and region hacks galore..
there is a possibility that the games could be locked down, but i personally do not see a reason for sony to do so. if the psp were a stationary unit, then they might have all the reason to. however the psp was designed for portability and there are people who would take it overseas with the possiblity of buying games overseas. as for european sales, it's only temporary. it's eventually going to be released and the prices will fall down to retail (or around there at least).
or another reason could be that the psp does not run on NTSC/PAL video standards to the best of my knowledge. i believe that the psp uses MPEG4, or some form of it.
