Post by: XanTium on November 24, 2005, 12:57:00 PM
CVG Confirms most Xbox 360 games are Region Free-- Posted by XanTium on November 24 14:57 EST
From computerandvideogames.com:
Although we [CVG - a UK website] haven't been able to get hold of any US games ourselves, word from Japan says that a handful of American Xbox 360 titles do not have a region lock, and work fine on a Japanese region console.
The supposed region-free titles discovered include Call of Duty 2, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Gun and Tony Hawk: American Wasteland, suggesting that the console's stance on region locking is the same as on the original Xbox, leaving the decision up to the publisher.
There's no news yet on whether any foreign region games work on a PAL Xbox 360, but we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we get our hands on some US titles.
Read More: computerandvideogames.com
Post by: kaz786 on November 24, 2005, 01:37:00 PM
Post by: elietehatelier on November 24, 2005, 01:46:00 PM
if i want to play a game from japan, i shouldnt have to modify my fucking console to do so.
so let the modchips be born.
Post by: supernewbie on November 24, 2005, 01:47:00 PM
Post by: kaz786 on November 24, 2005, 01:53:00 PM
Post by: supernewbie on November 24, 2005, 01:43:00 PM
QUOTE(kaz786 @ Nov 24 2005, 09:24 PM)
super newbie dont forget you'll have to pay import tax as well on top of the cost.
no i wouldnt...
wouldnt it just arrive at my house or why i have to go pick it up at a fedex place? anyways, they can just mark it as a "gift" so i wont pay taxes 
muahahahahahha
Post by: lc204 on November 24, 2005, 02:15:00 PM
Post by: ZildjianKX on November 24, 2005, 02:49:00 PM
QUOTE(lc204 @ Nov 24 2005, 12:46 PM)
Does a Jap xbox 360 console work in the US? Are there any power supply issues? If games are region free, then an import console should be just fine here in the US.
Except DVD movie regions.
Wouldn't a Japanese Xbox 360 only log into the Japanese XBL?
Post by: bucko on November 24, 2005, 02:52:00 PM
Post by: Hack_Bird on November 24, 2005, 02:58:00 PM
.... No 
Hopefully for M§ it isnt.
But if burnt appz workszz ... woald be nice
Its about region free Hack_bird... O yea, that right...
... 
Post by: Cookiesrus on November 24, 2005, 04:06:00 PM
Post by: bourke on November 24, 2005, 04:25:00 PM
super newbie dont forget you'll have to pay import tax as well on top of the cost.
</B>
They only charge tax if your import is worth more than AUS$500 (US$400) total - who's the super newbie now :-p
Also, note that if MS don't make the _DVD player_ region free then it is still legal to mod their new hardware in Australia :-)
Hopefully they've also got the message about game prices and realise that they are trying to charge a 30% higher retail price in Australia. :-(
cheers,
Bourkie
Post by: bourke on November 24, 2005, 04:27:00 PM
This post has been edited by bourke: Nov 25 2005, 12:39 AM
Post by: rekcah2000a on November 24, 2005, 05:36:00 PM
This post has been edited by rekcah2000a: Nov 25 2005, 01:38 AM
Post by: luther349 on November 24, 2005, 06:16:00 PM
Post by: Xombe on November 24, 2005, 07:08:00 PM
Post by: sick_mate_xbox on November 24, 2005, 07:13:00 PM
Post by: bourke on November 24, 2005, 08:24:00 PM
QUOTE(rekcah2000a @ Nov 25 2005, 01:07 AM)
And if the 360 was region free so far modchip become illegal no ? ( In australia )
If the _DVD Player_ is region free (in addition to the games) only then will modchips be illegal in Australia.
Basicaly if there is any region coding at all on a device in Australia then it is perfactly ok to mod it however you like :-)
Post by: Xombe on November 25, 2005, 01:48:00 AM
Post by: peteer01 on November 25, 2005, 01:53:00 AM
Can anyone offer any information on what games are confirmed to work and what games are confirmed to be region locked? I am specifically interested in Tony Hawk (AW), NHL 2K6, NBA 2K6, and Perfect Dark Zero.
Post by: bourke on November 25, 2005, 01:26:00 AM
QUOTE(Xombe @ Nov 25 2005, 09:19 AM) 
But it *is* DVD region-coded.
Good, then mods are going to be legal in Australia for at least the next four years :-)
Let us get to work!
Post by: NEUROMODS on November 25, 2005, 04:23:00 AM
Post by: peteer01 on December 01, 2005, 06:59:00 PM
QUOTE(NEUROMODS @ Nov 25 2005, 07:54 PM)
I live in Japan also and wanna know what games would work on my Xbox 360 here, this is great if there all region free!
Well...the EU Xboxes are supposedly out in the wild... How long until we start getting some reports on what titles, if any, they can boot up?
Post by: BoNg420 on December 01, 2005, 10:39:00 PM
Post by: EMAGDNIM on December 02, 2005, 11:08:00 AM
Post by: 838383 on December 03, 2005, 01:39:00 AM
This post has been edited by 838383: Dec 3 2005, 10:07 AM
Post by: fahrenheit on December 03, 2005, 03:28:00 AM
No I don't believe the flood gates will open, importation is still very much a niche activity. I have PAL and NTSC Xbox's and I import games, but most of my region free titles I purchased locally simply because they were released day and date worldwide. Who wants to wait for a game to arrive in the post when it is available in a local store? When titles are released at the same time, the need for region coding goes out the window.
This post has been edited by fahrenheit: Dec 3 2005, 11:29 AM
Post by: peteer01 on December 03, 2005, 06:08:00 AM
As an update for the region free claims, YK (maintainer of the BBS and website that keeps the region free list for games for the original Xbox) had the following to say when I asked about region free Xbox 360 games on his site:
"Thank you for using XBOX REGION FREE TITLE LIST.
I have already made XBOX 360 REGION FREE TITLE LIST.
But, it isn't clear whether the software of North America version Xbox 360 works by the Japanese version Xbox 360 product version.
Therefore, I don't introduce XBOX 360 REGION FREE TITLE LIST to the public.
XBOX 360 REGION FREE TITLE LIST is seen over here. But, it isn't reliable yet.
http://www.aa.alpha-...oh/region36.htm
BTW, I ordered North America version Xbox 360. However, it isn't clear whether it is sent to me when."
Similar to the Xbox, the Activision titles are all there...unfortunately, not much else...
As impatient as I am, and with the lack of DOA4 on launch day here in Japan, I've gone ahead and ordered Condemned and Tony Hawk. If they aren't compatible, and I find out before I open either of them, I'll exchange them for Xbox 360 hardware when I'm in the US next month.
Post by: Sheytan on December 03, 2005, 11:37:00 AM
Is like DVD's like region 0 works on all DVD players is the same thing for the games
Post by: ShadowElitePro on December 03, 2005, 11:38:00 AM
Post by: peteer01 on December 03, 2005, 07:08:00 PM
QUOTE(ShadowElitePro @ Dec 4 2005, 03:09 AM)
Ya thats pretty cool. But why would M$ or the game companys do that?
A better question might be, "Why are games regionally coded in the first place." Region free games increase product availability, potential audience size and deter piracy. (As an English speaker living in Japan, and I can tell you right now that a lot of non-Japanese here in Japan have modded their US/Japanese systems only for the purpose of being able to play games from outside their region. Once they find out they can now play copies, they buy significantly less games, as they can get free games.)
The worst part is that the language difficulties localizing English to/from Japanese games means that many games are never released due to the potential market not outweighing the cost of changing the language. Best example: Not many Xboxes sold in Japan, so not many non-blockbuster US titles were sold in Japan because the user base wasn't there. Catch 22, no games, no customers, no customers, no games.
At the same time, region coding can be useful. One major reason for region coding is that it allows companies more control over their investments and geographic.
Say a company knows it's worth the time, money and effort to develop, market and sell a game in the US, but doesn't know how it will be received in the EU or Japan. Because of the costs of localization and marketing, they'd rather not take that risk. They can sell the rights to publish the game to another company to increase their revenues, and the other company can try to make a profit by publishing the game in their region.
This is quite possibly the case with Konami publishing Activision's Xbox 360 shooter Call of Duty 2 in Japan on February 16, 2006. Clearly Konami has more reach and knowledge of the Japanese market than Activision.
It is probably more attractive to a foreign publisher if the original game is region locked, as they are assured noone in their region can play the game without buying the game made specifically for their region. (excluding imported systems, mod-chips, etc.)
[Ironically, it seems Activision has traditionlly published region free Xbox games, and rumor has it that their Xbox 360 games are also region free, so maybe that's not the best example...]
One other reason for region coding is pricing. Without regional locks, as currencies fluctuate, astute gamers could import or buy locally to spend as little as possible. Game companies, which are in business to make a profit, would like to have as much control over their margins (read: the amount you pay for each game) as possible, and segmenting markets through regional locks is one way to acheive this.
Regardless, importing will always be a niche activity, but I believe the move away from region coding will only be good for the industry as a whole. (The GBA, DS and PSP have always done fine) Then again, this is the opinion of a guy who lives in Japan and wants to own an Xbox 360 hockey game. (The odds of a hockey game EVER being released in Japan...
)QUOTE(Sheytan @ Dec 4 2005, 03:08 AM)
It's the publisher that can decide if they want their game to be region free not MS.
Is like DVD's like region 0 works on all DVD players is the same thing for the games
As one final note, there has been no confirmation from any gaming company whether or not the Xbox 360 plays region free games. I have busted my ass trying to get an answer: MS says their game systems are regionally encoded, that's their official answer. Sega says, "Please check with MS to see if their North American consoles work with Japanese games." (I asked if the US game [Condemned] was region free, allowing it to run on a Japanese console.) Activision says their technical support is only limited to answering problems with US games on US systems, and none of the other publishers or developers would get back to me.
The EU launch hasn't given any clear answers, and even YK doesn't have any official answers yet. The truth is it while it probably is the same as the original Xbox, there is no confirmation yet...so buyer beware.
Post by: OtakuMW on December 08, 2005, 08:31:00 PM
This is confirmed e.g. by Play-Asia.com:
http://www.play-asia...S-17-74-yt.html
Best regards
Maurice
Post by: proximity88 on December 12, 2005, 12:02:00 PM
Post by: scorcha on December 15, 2005, 12:51:00 PM
I have a US Xbox 360 does any one know if any Uk (pal) games will work
CHEERS