Persona 4 Arena PS3 is REGION LOCKED (you read that right)

[SetaSouji??]

The upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 release of fighting game Persona 4 Arena is, in North America at least, taking the rare and terrible move of being completely region-locked.

While the PS3 is usually entirely region-free, as are many Xbox 360 games these days (since on Microsoft's platform it's a decision left open to the publisher), Atlus has decided that the American release of the game will be locked on both consoles.

For any publisher to region-block a PS3 game is a strange decision; for a boutique publisher like Atlus, whose consumers are some of the savviest online, it seems crazy.

So crazy that, believe it or not, this is the first game since the release of the PS3 in 2006 to ever feature complete region-locking.

I'd be shocked if it wasn't down to some kind of move to preserve North American sales and cut down on imports, since the game is out in Japan nearly two weeks earlier (and that version also features English language support).

Still, we've contacted Atlus, and will update if we hear back.

http://kotaku.com/5923821/meet-the-first-ever-region+locked-ps3-game

That's right, a PS3 game you can't import.

 

[RBjakeSpecial]

I was shocked too until I read the end: "... since the game is out in Japan nearly two weeks earlier (and that version also features English language support)"

It's really stupid that a PS3 game is region locked, but at least it's not a situation where the other markets will have to wait a long time for it to be translated. I hope this doesn't become a trend!

 

[LoneSage]

Makes sense if it's coming out two weeks earlier. Persona is a series where the weeaboos would import it since it has an English option instead of waiting. Atlus is just protecting their interests.

 

[SouthtownKid]

The article says it's region-locked in North America. Is that a misprint or are they saying only the US release is region-locked?

 

[Maury V.]

Good, then I can get my Korean PS3 and that game over here.

 

[Takumaji]

The article says it's region-locked in North America. Is that a misprint or are they saying only the US release is region-locked?

That's my understanding as well but the article is a bit contradictory in that regard. It would make zero sense to region-lock an US release that comes out two or three weeks after the Japanese release, so I guess BOTH releases will be region-locked.

 

[Taiso]

Given the proximity of the release dates, I'm all for this. I've been down for this game for a while now, so I'm cool waiting a couple more weeks. All I ever ask for out of a domestic release of a game developed in a foreign market is the option to play the game in the language/s that are available on disc in its' original region.

Atlus has become one of my favorite game publishers. They still publish JRPGs (a genre I still enjoy despite struggling with stagnation in recent years), in addition to branching out in other directions occasionally (with middling success). We need more companies like this because the industry is better with niche markets. They provide variety and to stave off increasingly bland selection.

I want to see them do well. More accurate US sales figures for a niche series like Persona will definitely help them to understand just how much appeal the series has in the US in a way the beancounters can wrap their brains around.

 

[SetaSouji??]

Atlus has become one of my favorite game publishers. They still publish JRPGs (a genre I still enjoy despite struggling with stagnation in recent years), in addition to branching out in other directions occasionally (with middling success).

Agreed, because they actually do them right without recycling the common story formula... except Phantom Brave.

 

[Hot Chocolate]

Given the proximity of the release dates, I'm all for this. I've been down for this game for a while now, so I'm cool waiting a couple more weeks. All I ever ask for out of a domestic release of a game developed in a foreign market is the option to play the game in the language/s that are available on disc in its' original region.

Atlus has become one of my favorite game publishers. They still publish JRPGs (a genre I still enjoy despite struggling with stagnation in recent years), in addition to branching out in other directions occasionally (with middling success). We need more companies like this because the industry is better with niche markets. They provide variety and to stave off increasingly bland selection.

I want to see them do well. More accurate US sales figures for a niche series like Persona will definitely help them to understand just how much appeal the series has in the US in a way the beancounters can wrap their brains around.

^^^this

I'm getting the game regardless and don't mind the wait

 

[SNKorSWM]

Was there something censored in one region and not in another?

 

[Jacen]

Region locking sucks. Am I going to be locked out of playing this game for a year because I don't happen to live in Japan or America ?

 

[k'_127]

http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012...ion-locked-to-prevent-cannibalization-of-high

Atlus:

This is NOT the beginning of a new ATLUS policy, nor do we view it as a precedent or a slippery slope," Atlus wrote in an official statement. "This is an isolated case, a situation precipitated by a number of factors, some of which are simply out of our North American hands. Moreover, and perhaps there is no way to convince our fans of this considering the magnitude of the betrayal many are feeling, but we are not doing this out of malice or a desire to control.

 

[elixir]

Given the proximity of the release dates, I'm all for this. I've been down for this game for a while now, so I'm cool waiting a couple more weeks. All I ever ask for out of a domestic release of a game developed in a foreign market is the option to play the game in the language/s that are available on disc in its' original region.

Atlus has become one of my favorite game publishers. They still publish JRPGs (a genre I still enjoy despite struggling with stagnation in recent years), in addition to branching out in other directions occasionally (with middling success). We need more companies like this because the industry is better with niche markets. They provide variety and to stave off increasingly bland selection.

I want to see them do well. More accurate US sales figures for a niche series like Persona will definitely help them to understand just how much appeal the series has in the US in a way the beancounters can wrap their brains around.

You're cool waiting a couple of weeks. Cool, that's not the problem. You want Japanese voices. That is... not really necessary, because a localization, by definition, is to target a specific audience.

You seem to be ignoring the fact that these games take 11+ months to be localized into PAL regions, and Atlus USA's material is what a lot of PAL users depend on. Play-Asia, Amazon. videogamesplus.ca, and tons of distributors in PAL regions buy bulk American game stock for PS3. I see it happen locally. I see it happen in other PAL areas. There's no Atlus division for Europe/PAL, and all of their projects are taken up by other publishers.

"The USD totally shit the bed and now we're trying to control target demographic" is not a good PR response here. They're passing the blame, trying to say Japanese will import American copies. Fairly certain this is entirely a marginal issue in comparison to the PAL users who are essentially locked out of the game entirely, until it's released "????" by "????" publisher.

Basically if you're in the US and this isn't a problem for you, doesn't mean it isn't a problem.

 

[Kristian Meller]

Even if all PS3 games from now on were locked, the console had a great run as a completely region free console. It might go down in history

I'd be fucked as I only have a Japanese PS3 though.

 

[SetaSouji??]

http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012...ion-locked-to-prevent-cannibalization-of-high

This link makes one of the two of those companies look extremely greedy.

 

[Renmauzo]

All of this makes perfect sense if you understand business. If not, playing games is the least of your worries and it's time to read a book.

As an aside, and more importantly, this game is going to be awesome. Atlus is awesome, so anyone who likes Atlus, Persona, and fighting games should buy this, enjoy it, and leave it at that. Having to wait for release won't make this game any less fun.

 

[Maury V.]

All of this makes perfect sense if you understand business. If not, playing games is the least of your worries and it's time to read a book.

As an aside, and more importantly, this game is going to be awesome. Atlus is awesome, so anyone who likes Atlus, Persona, and fighting games should buy this, enjoy it, and leave it at that. Having to wait for release won't make this game any less fun.

You will love this game. Played a good minute while I was in Osaka and it was nothing short of amazing. It's basically Blazblue Persona. :P

 

[Renmauzo]

You will love this game. Played a good minute while I was in Osaka and it was nothing short of amazing. It's basically Blazblue Persona. :P

Nice! I've been excited for this since last TGS, so it's good to hear that the game is as good as I've been expecting it to be!

 

[elixir]

All of this makes perfect sense if you understand business. If not, playing games is the least of your worries and it's time to read a book.

As an aside, and more importantly, this game is going to be awesome. Atlus is awesome, so anyone who likes Atlus, Persona, and fighting games should buy this, enjoy it, and leave it at that. Having to wait for release won't make this game any less fun.

So wrong. What benefit is this practice? To prevent Japanese from importing the American version? That's going to be marginal at best. To prevent PAL importers from undercutting the USD? Sure, let's alternatively wait 6+ months for a localization above US retail cost. To gauge domestic sales? Sure, at the cost of deflecting foreign audiences.

This doesn't make any hint of sense from any angle that I can conceive.

I literally just wrote this elsewhere so I'm just going to lazily copy/paste

"The USD isn't doing so well (I wonder why?) and we're trying to control both demographics" is not a good PR response. Passing the blame and suggesting tons of Japanese will reverse-import the US version (which is marginal to the PAL users importing) is not a good PR response. Completely ignoring nor acknowledging the PAL userbase - those of which have no choice but to import or wait 6 months to a year for the exact same thing to arrive and above US retail cost - is not a good PR response.

This only hurts a niche third-party publisher like Atlus USA. Even if this is Sony's fault (for giving them the option) and not Atlus', it was Atlus USA's decision to implement this.

 

[SNKorSWM]

I wonder if it's only a matter of time before other companies follow suit.

 

[Renmauzo]

So wrong. What benefit is this practice? To prevent Japanese from importing the American version? That's going to be marginal at best. To prevent PAL importers from undercutting the USD? Sure, let's alternatively wait 6+ months for a localization above US retail cost. To gauge domestic sales? Sure, at the cost of deflecting foreign audiences.

This doesn't make any hint of sense from any angle that I can conceive.

I literally just wrote this elsewhere so I'm just going to lazily copy/paste

If you don't get it, that's cool; I'll explain. International companies do this for one reason, and the currency issue is merely a precursor to the 'why'.
The measure of success in a company's division is based in large part on the domestic (for that branch) sales of their product(s). These numbers get skewed when you introduce the same product into that same territory from another branch of the same company in a different territory at either a lower price or within an earlier time frame. Assessing the success of a product in a market hinges on accurate sales data, and subsequently, all parties and resources that went into the development, production, marketing and distribution of that product can and will be affected on the back end and for future products within that line or otherwise.

To put it plain: If the majority of the people in Japan buy the NA release and the bulk of j-copies sit on shelves, there will be no next time. Since the NA and J offices of Atlus (like all other international companies) are separate, with separate budgets and overhead, etc., if the Atlus-J branch can't recoup their costs and/or turn a profit domestically, then as I've said, there will be no next time.

 

[Renmauzo]

I wonder if it's only a matter of time before other companies follow suit.

It's actually nothing new, it's just the uniqueness of the situation (currency valuation + region locking on a traditionally unlocked console) that is bringing this practice to light. Any console that you can think of that was/is region locked was/is so for the reason I wrote in my previous post. As a tool for the measurement of success of a product, from the perspective of a publisher, it all makes perfect sense.

 

[elixir]

If the majority of the people in Japan buy the NA release

But they're not doing this. It's a complete cop-out. Say you live in Japan and intended on doing this - 1 USD:79 yen, $60 USD for a US copy, or 5,947 yen on Amazon.jp with free shipping.

So, the US version is $14 less. Now add in the shipping expense from the US to Japan and the time it takes to reach there. Japanese reverse-importers will save a few dollars, at most. How many people do you think Atlus expects to do this?

there will be no next time.

Unless some miracle happens, Persona 5/whatever jRPG they localize next is not being released within a short period of time.

Meanwhile, everyone in the UK, Norway, NZ, Aus, Malaysia, Argentina, Iceland, etc. are completely fucked and can't do anything.

 

[SNKorSWM]

It's actually nothing new, it's just the uniqueness of the situation (currency valuation + region locking on a traditionally unlocked console) that is bringing this practice to light. Any console that you can think of that was/is region locked was/is so for the reason I wrote in my previous post. As a tool for the measurement of success of a product, from the perspective of a publisher, it all makes perfect sense.

The Japanese gaming scene traditionally had a cheaper option - by buying the Asia region releases which are normally 20% or so cheaper with full compatibility and extra multilingual instruction manuals included.

Sony was doing an experiment by making the PS3 region free, in contrast to not only both PS1 and PS2 but also those of M$ and Nintendo's consoles which are, without exception, region specific. If the third party publishers start implementing the region lockout themselves, the conclusion would speak for itself - Sony might as well make it a standard feature.

 

[Taiso]

ANOTHER EDIT:

Removed previous.

In retrospect, having thought about this more, I see Elixir's point. This is all pretty self defeating for a smaller publisher like Atlus to do.

It also wasn't really logical for me to say 'the consumers have options', considering the whole idea behind localization is to create ACCURATE sales figures by market.

So good point, I hope someone it Atlus understands this and I can't wait to play Persona 4 Arena in August.

I'm sticking by my desire for all the original languages to be included, though. That is a personal conceit. When I see Japanese people in a Japanese game, I want them to sound Japanese.