Region locking is disgusting and even more so is trying to enforce it legally.

[Soxafloppin]

Yea, I'm on a Mortal Kombat forum and since most of the guys are American I couldn't play against them

 

[Black Phoenix]

Region locking is the sole reason I'm not getting a 3DS anytime soon, as last I heard Nintendo has decided to region-lock the console (why I don't know, since it's the first handheld they've done that with as far as I'm aware). Given that a good half of my DS collection is imported from America given they were never going to get an EU release, or were very unlikely to, I don't imagine that would change too much for the 3DS. I'll admit my taste in somewhat obscure titles doesn't help, but still. Yes I could import the console itself, but then I'd have to import every game I wanted for it, which is not always cheap (or even particularly easy) to do.

 

[Aeon_COR]

The Australian courts agree with you. They consider region coding to be a restrictive trade practice that disadvantages the consumer... so modding/firmware hacking your gadgets to circumvent region coding is okay with them.

Some of the specifics for those of you interested:

Region Locking is illegal in Australia under the Trade Practices Act 1974 now the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 Part 4: Restrictive Trade Practices.
It carries a fine of up to $10 million and is enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The only reason they still get away with it is because they are based overseas where the ACCC can't touch them.(this is also how they get away with almost 200% artificial price inflation)
On the up side though, it is because of this that Sony's lawsuit against the playstation mod chip was basically thrown out of court, setting precedent for the legality of the manufacture, sale, and use of such products. (this has since been updated to exclude those that specifically bypass copy protection which has unfortunately led some manufacturers to take special effort to needlessly entangle them)

 

[LilithSlave]

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".

When I buy Japanese region games, I pay a lot more overall.

And by this logic, the gaming industry is also right in saying that used games are bad, and are right in taking measures against used games. Because with used games, you also pay a fraction of the price. Often less money than you do importing new games from a cheaper region.

 

[GigaHz]

It has to do with controlled distribution and money. That is usually why when games or movies are brought here, a small localization team is required to make it possible. It's not as easy as removing an international code or format to let you play the game or movie, they want to monitor that you have legally purchased whatever it is you're trying to run. If they just released it to the international market at large without a proper tracking system, they would have to account for varying currencies and effective distribution to certain retailers. In a business sense, it's a surplus of paperwork and can be costly to effectively manage.

Yes, it is based on an old system and hopefully with some luck, it will be phased out completely in a few years time. Until then, you're going to have to find ways around it.

 

[LilithSlave]

There's something immoral about not letting people from a specific country have your game?

Yes. It's unfairly discriminatory. When something is unfairly discriminatory based upon national origin, it is immoral.

Look, pal, I wouldn't even bother around here.

Oh dear, don't tell me people around here hate import gaming?

I joined this site because I loved Extra Credits. I didn't expect to have so little in common with users here, being the big import gamer and retro gamer that I am. I wish I knew of a nice, big retro gaming or import gaming site for me to join.

 

[zehydra]

There's something immoral about not letting people from a specific country have your game?

Yes. It's unfairly discriminatory. When something is unfairly discriminatory based upon national origin, it is immoral.

But why is that immoral?

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

Hence why I love my DS and my Ps3!

I can play any game. Say Hotel Dusk's sequel The Last Window was released here in Europe but not over there in America, well guess what, you can import it from here (if you can find it) and play it.

Hey, that Catherine game isn't out over here yet, what should I do...oh yeah I can just import it.

I understand that it's not a great thing for the companies and for localisation. That's why I see import as a bad thing but in some ways you absolutely have to do it to experience certain things.

 

[Supertegwyn]

I don't like Region locking but it is FAR from immoral. I hope you realize that there are more pressing matters in the world than region locking.

Your post is full of whining.

This is not a legit argument, just a logical fallacy. There's worse things, so this isn't bad?

If it's not important to you, don't post. In fact, don't even reply.

It is bad, in fact I said that in my post. Right here in fact "I don't like Region locking"

There is a big difference between something being bad and being immoral.