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[Quick]

Also confirmed Reggie-free

 

[GDGF]

Miniton.

Hopefully this will get Nintendo to reconsider their stance on the matter.

 

[jokkir]

I know that this is off-topic but what are the chances could change the 3DS being region free?

And I can't wait to get Vita and get all my dating sims. Aw ye.

 

[Bel Marduk]

Non-region free is retarded, plain and simple. Good to see at least one company keeping up with good standards.

Somewhat off topic but there's a moron over at GameFAQs who actually wants MORE restrictive region free policies. Anti-consumerism, fuck yeah!

 

[SoilBreak]

 

[Stylo]

I chuckled. Vita is slapping the 3DS around more and more..

 

[LiK]

Sony does what Nintendon't

 

[Ferrery]

The eternal pessimist that I am refuses to believe for 100% certain until someone actually runs software from another region on it, but this is certainly good news either way.

If there is anyone in Sony to trust, that person is Shuhei Yoshida.

 

[ConradCervantes]

Great news for importing types. Nintendo's reasoning for doing so rings so hollow, they should just come out and say "LOL MONEY."

 

[Ikkarus]

Sony, I approve.

 

[Kazerei]

Awesome! I've imported several games for the PSP and DS, and I'll very likely do the same for Vita.

 

[SnakeSlashRO]

aw fuck... I might be importing just for dat mahvel

 

[panty]

Yay, thank you.

 

[daffy]

What would be really awesome is if you could access multiple regional stores, like iTunes. I'll take what I can get though.

 

[Shed_a_Ninja]

Non-region free is retarded, plain and simple. Good to see at least one company keeping up with good standards.

Somewhat off topic but there's a moron over at GameFAQs who actually wants MORE restrictive region free policies. Anti-consumerism, fuck yeah!

Yeah, I think I know who that douche is. Has numerous alts with the same agenda, too.

 

[EvilMario]

But if I try to import this, will Sony come after the supplier like they did Lik-Sang.

 

[Grinchy]

How much more cheaper do you guys expect this beast to cost? free?

Exactly what group am I in when you say "you guys?"

If I worked for Sony or if I were invested in Sony's stock, I would have more of an opinion on what the price should be for Sony to be profitable. Since I'm just a regular guy who takes on the role of consumer from time to time, I want the products I'm interested in to be as cheap as possible so I can keep more of the money that I earned. I hope that clears it up.

 

[Leona Lewis]

I hope the 3DS revision is region-free. I travel all the time and loved buying PSP/DS games from any region without worry. My first imported game was Guilty Gear XX Reload: Midnight Carnival for PSP, so good.

Who's importing a Vita now? It'd make a nice Christmas present

 

[Neuromancer]

Very cool of them.

 

[Jinfash]

kewl

thank god for flashcarts on the 3DS

!!!

Is there a solution for region locked 3DS games out in the wild?!

 

[Kyoufu]

I hope the 3DS revision is region-free. I travel all the time and loved buying PSP/DS games from any region without worry. My first imported game was Guilty Gear XX Reload: Midnight Carnival for PSP, so good.

Who's importing a Vita now? It'd make a nice Christmas present

Just waiting for NCSX.com to open pre-orders, then I'm FedExing that all the way to London.

 

[Foffy]

GameFAQs

Come on man, outside of guides...it's a very, very bad place to go when it comes to talking about games.

I remember getting banned from there during the old school Harry Potter book spoilers. Someone posted the spoilers, all I said was "yeah, those are true" and I was the banned one. The user who posted them was given a warning.

Never again, GameFAQs.

At least this makes me happy. I was so going to import Shinobido 2..until Namco confirmed a NA release. <3

 

[Angry Fork]

THAT WAS ME! rofl.

twitter gaf, add me! I have no twitter friends =( I mainly signed up for updates from other people.

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

A lot of UK and Euro gamers are going to import, there's a crapload of money to be saved even after importing

 

[StuBurns]

I don't think this means it's safe to import, we still don't know about the store or anything.

 

[djplaeskool]

Hahaha.
Dream Club Portable is mine :3

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

A lot of UK and Euro gamers are going to import, there's a crapload of money to be saved even after importing

Depends on what price they eventually set for the UK. I don't believe that they've confirmed the UK pricing yet (though I'm sure we'll get reamed as usual)

Be warned about importing the JPN 3G model. There's a good chance that it won't work with your local 3G network! WiFi only model should be fine though.

I don't think this means it's safe to import, we still don't know about the store or anything.

If it's like any other Sony console (and it will be. Has to be for BC reasons), you'll be able to use any region account on any region console.

 

[gofreak]

A lot of UK and Euro gamers are going to import, there's a crapload of money to be saved even after importing

Certainly importing from the US is attractive at the moment (although perhaps a little less so if the euro continues to weaken).

Importing from Japan could be pricey though. Wifi model at RRP = €325. And then add your usual import mark-up...express shipping (in time for Xmas)...Hmmm :\

 

[Kyoufu]

A lot of UK and Euro gamers are going to import, there's a crapload of money to be saved even after importing

Pretty sure it'll cost like 500 dollars to import lol. Import sites like Play-Asia/YesAsia/NCSX mark that stuff up a lot

 

[Leona Lewis]

THAT WAS ME! rofl.

twitter gaf, add me! I have no twitter friends =( I mainly signed up for updates from other people.

Ask him about multiple accounts! You are the chosen one, my son.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Ever since the whole "Wii is region free" I can't trust confirmations. Even when they come from other companies.

As for 3DS region locking. The only glimmer of hope is DSi-enhanced games region lock has one exception. US or EU copies of Pokemon Black and Pokemon White. Yeah Pokemon games are heavily imported due to their popularity (x% of big number is something rather than statistical variance/error) but for those games they practically removed the case for importing (US and EU release were just over 48 hours of each other) which makes the exception even more baffling...

Either way, digital downloading will make importing fuck-tons cheaper than it normally is. As long as you can find a way to pay for the games... (which shouldn't be too big a problem with PSN cards)

And theres the downside. On Nintendo stuff you can use your regions card*...but you need to import the hardware. On PSN platforms these days isn't you have to import pre-paid cards which last I looked has you ending up paying $60 for $50 (if you're lucky...). Is it too much to ask for region free and a direct way to buy virtual money?

*-Brazil and Japan (at least with UK card)...for now. USA blocked out cards from other regions

 

[Foffy]

I don't think this means it's safe to import, we still don't know about the store or anything.

Can't you access PSN without issue on PS3, regardless of the region of your system and the region your account is registered to?

 

[StuBurns]

If it's like any other Sony console (and it will be. Has to be for BC reasons), you'll be able to use any region account on any region console.

Why does it 'have to be for BC reasons'?

Can't you access PSN without issue on PS3, regardless of the region of your system and the region your account is registered to?

Yes, you can. That doesn't mean you can on PSV though.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Pretty sure it'll cost like 500 dollars to import lol. Import sites like Play-Asia/YesAsia/NCSX mark that stuff up a lot

I think he's referring to importing from the US (where it'll probably be quite a bit cheaper!)

Why does it 'have to be for BC reasons'?

It's using the same PSN online network and store as the PSP and the PS3. You have to be able to transfer your account over (or else you wouldn't have access to you downloaded PSP games)

Therefore it must work in the same way as the current system.

 

[subversus]

When is it out in Europe??? Might get instead of 360 on Christmas.

 

[Duffyside]

For the people who are now considering importing; do you all speak Japanese? Or are you just betting that some games will have languages to select from?

Edit: Great news. I'm almost alone on this limb, but I think the Vita is going to be a success. The only trend that's going to continue is the one where the press is wrong about everything.

 

[Len1978]

best news i'd heard all day

 

[BlazingDarkness]

\o/ totally importing from japan

 

[Ploid 3.0]

Exactly what group am I in when you say "you guys?"

If I worked for Sony or if I were invested in Sony's stock, I would have more of an opinion on what the price should be for Sony to be profitable. Since I'm just a regular guy who takes on the role of consumer from time to time, I want the products I'm interested in to be as cheap as possible so I can keep more of the money that I earned. I hope that clears it up.

I see it a lot, I was surprised when it was below 300. I'm sure a few other people were as well. It seems like a good price. Not saying that it shouldn't drop in time, like a year or two when the parts get cheaper, and new models are made to cut things down in material.

Some expect the price to be cut just because 3DS price was cut.

 

[Number45]

Why does it 'have to be for BC reasons'?

Yeah, only thing it needs BC with is the PSP... which doesn't support multiple accounts properly.

When is it out in Europe??? Might get instead of 360 on Christmas.

Not likely to be before Christmas, Feb/March seems to be the most frequent guess.

 

[gofreak]

For the people who are now considering importing; do you all speak Japanese? Or are you just betting that some games will have languages to select from?

If one was importing from Japan...you'll probably be able to set the system language to English.

Games are another matter, although maybe some will have language options. But importing just means you get your shiney new device earlier...when it launches in your own territory you can then start picking up games locally in your own language. No fuss, no muss.

 

[HarryDemeanor]

Great to hear for those who like importing. I don't really import games but having it region-free is great anyway.

 

[Suzzopher]

So I guess I better import from Japan in December, got a baby due in April so I won't have to pay out for a Vita in March now \o/

 

[Aeana]

For the people who are now considering importing; do you all speak Japanese? Or are you just betting that some games will have languages to select from?

Edit: Great news. I'm almost alone on this limb, but I think the Vita is going to be a success. The only trend that's going to continue is the one where the press is wrong about everything.

I do speak Japanese. Not importing the system, but games are a huge concern for me so I'm really glad I don't have to buy two systems like I most likely will have to do with the 3DS eventually.

 

[Shed_a_Ninja]

For the people who are now considering importing; do you all speak Japanese? Or are you just betting that some games will have languages to select from?

Who said importing was only about Japanese games? There are a few European exclusives that we look out for as well.

Like, for instance, I want Syndicate Wars on PSN, but it was only released in Europe so far. Thankfully, I found a fairly-priced physical copy of an NTSC PSOne version that I don't have to buy a EURO PSN card for a digital copy.

 

[Corto]

Expected, but excellent news nonetheless!

gg Sony gg

 

[JustAnotherOtaku]

So nice to have it completely confirmed. As I've said before, my main issue now is whether to hold off on getting the Japanese version or wait a few months for the cheaper UK one.

 

[Tiduz]

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

PlayAsia's body, is it ready?

 

[Kagari]

Good. Region locks should be abandoned all together in this era.