It is that little unpleasant discussion people have amongst themselves with the launch of any gaming console… if the console will be region locked to games of the area of purchase or if gamers will be free to import titles from other countries.
I wouldn’t say I am a big importer of games myself, but given the fact that not all games ever make it over here to Australia importing serves its purpose in that regard. As well, with titles like Mugen Souls and Tales of Xillia, it has allowed me to write reviews up for games months before their official English releases and I like to think having reviews up early generates hype and discussion in terms of these games. Unfortunately out of the three major consoles this generation, only Playstation consoles and the Nintendo DS have been without region lock.
The big question on everybody’s lips was if Nintendo would jump to the Region-Free or Region-lock side of the debate for their upcoming launch of the Wii U. Unfortunately for the end-user they have chosen to region lock it, meaning that assumingly PAL region console owners will not be able to play Japanese or North American game releases or vice versa without purchasing additional consoles.
All I can say is that I hope the publishers of all regions are going to work towards releasing as many games as possible to all regions.
[Source: Eurogamer]
