Regional lockout is the programming practice, code, chip, or physical barrier used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the version of the same device marketed in another country.
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In the video game industry, Nintendo was the originator of regional lockout. Regional lockout in video games is when a piece of hardware is designed such that only software for that region is compatible. Most commercially-released console video games have region encoding.
The main regions are:
Most of Nintendo's handheld systems do not have regional lockout; because of this, import games can be played on those systems. In other words, a Japanese game would work on an American unit, although the game would likely not be in the user's native language and might be different from the product as released in other countries. Many people import games if the game is not released in their region or if it was released years or months before in a different region before it is released in the importer's region.
The second redesign to the Nintendo DS, the Nintendo DSi, is region-locked, but only in terms of its downloadable games. Physical DS game carts will play on it regardless of region of origin (DSi-only and even DSi-enhanced games are region-locked though). In China, the iQue Ltd and Nintendo released iQue DS series which are the Chinese version of Nintendo DS series. The iQue DS system itself has no region locking. But the original iQue DS software, cannot be played on the Nintendo DS system. All Nintendo 3DS hardware and software is region-locked, however original DS software, including iQue DS software, is not affected.[1]
The PSP has no region locking for UMD games[2]. However, UMD movies are locked by region. Furthermore, the firmware will disable features based on region. For example, Asian region PSPs will not display the "Extras" option on the XMB despite having been upgraded to the US version of Firmware 6.20, preventing owners of such PSPs from installing the Comic Book Viewer and the TV Streaming applications. Sony's states that the "Extra" function will remain disabled on Asian PSPs until the feature is officially launched in the region, and gives no reason for the option being disabled aside from that it isn't yet launched. Nevertheless, this denies Asian PSP owners from using the above mentioned applications on Asian PSPs, as the applications are installed through a PC and users from the region are not blocked from downloading the application, allowing installation on non-Asian PSPs that have been imported into the region.
The PlayStation 3 is region-free for PS3 games[3][4]. There's only region locking for backwards compatible PS2 and PS1 games, as well as DVD and Blu-ray Disc movies. Additionally, some games separate online players per region, such as Metal Gear Solid 4 Online. A PSN store only contains content for its own country, for example the UK store will not supply usable map packs for an imported US copy of Call of Duty 4. The PS3 actually supports hardware region locking for PS3 games as well, based on Blu-ray Disc regions,[5] but as of current it is unused and all current region lockouts and separations are about online services. The PS3 also restricts the access to PlayStation Network by region, such as the online store, news and upcoming releases.
The Wii and the Xbox 360 are region locked, so games imported from other countries cannot be played on foreign versions of those consoles without some form of alteration to bypass the lockout. However, a number of games for the Xbox 360 have been confirmed as region free and will play on a unit from any region, although it is up to the publisher if a game is region free or not.
The CD-i and the Panasonic 3DO are region-free, too.
Amongst personal computer games, regional lockout is more difficult to enforce because both the game application and the operating system can be easily modified. Subscription-based online games often enforce a regional lock by blocking IP addresses (which can often be circumvented through an open proxy) or by requiring the user to enter a national ID number (which may be impossible to verify). A number of other games using regional lockout are rare but do exist. One of the examples of this is the Windows version of The Orange Box, which uses Steam content delivery service to enforce the regional lockout.[6]
HP print cartridges have been regionalised since 2004; as such, they do not work in printers with a different RC. Canon print cartridges for the Pixma MP 480 will not work in printers of that type with a different RC either (even when listed on the packaging of the Canon printer cartridges in question).
Some of the reasons for regional lockout are as follows:
Pricing. It is difficult to maintain a single pricing structure that can be applied worldwide. Region-locking a console means that there is no need for pricing parity across the world; different territories can have different prices for games without people simply shopping "wherever is cheaper".
Sensitive regions. Some games could be regarded as offensive for religious or political reasons, and regional lockout may be required to prevent these games from being distributed in sensitive countries.
Staged launches. If a console is region-locked, then staged launches of the games would be easier, as console producers could easily control the huge bow-wave of people wanting a game the moment it is released.
Piracy. Piracy is more common in some countries than others. For example it is particularly common in China as compared to North America. Region locks can prevent pirated games from these countries from being played on systems outside of their designated region.