Ben-DutkaThis is probably an important distinction for those who often import Japanese games.
According to a post in the publisher's forums , the upcoming 2D fighter Persona 4 Arena will be region-locked. In other words, the North American version will only work in North and South America.
The good news is that the Japanese and NA versions of the game will be identical, and both will feature the English and Japanese text and voiceovers. Of course, the region-lock also means the Japanese version will only work in Japan. As for the online servers, those will be global; you'll be able to play with anyone around the world regardless of your location. Nobody really knows why the PS3 iteration of the title in question is region-locked but…well, whatever. We'll get over it and move on somehow.
If you're unfamiliar, Persona 4 Arena is a spin-off of the popular and critically acclaimed role-playing franchise of the same name (just without the "Arena"). Obviously, it will appeal most to fans of the series, but I always wonder if hardcore RPG buffs are really that intrigued by a fighting game, even if it does boast their favorite characters…
Related Game(s): Persona 4 Arena
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Weird, wonder why. Love Persona but I need a full entry but quick.
I'm not intrigued by this Ben, but I am intrigued to know why SCEA did not publish WKC2 in NA since SCEE did publish in Europe. I'd especially like to know why since the EU version of the game, which came out months earlier than the NA version, contains the complete avatar story quest. These and other game elements are only partially complete on the NA version of the game. This is despite the fact that the NA release was delayed by 3 months compared to the EU release.
For that matter, why was a separate NA version required? Apparently the game was localized *twice* for English speaking gamers, once for the fine folks in the UK, and again for the English speakers in the NA market. The localizations being handled by completely different teams.
The real kick in the teeth being that because the NA discs have an incomplete version of the Avatar story quests, gamers in the EU and NA (who share online servers) will not be able to play the avatar quests because the US publisher hasn't got the rights to the fully translated avatar story quests, nor will they spend the money to complete the translations themselves. Leaving WKC2 players feeling royally screwed by D3, L5 and SCEA.
If you ever want to do an investigative piece on why JRPGs in the US are dying, you might want to start with why SCEA ignored the 200,000 customers that bought WKC2 and allowed D3 to do such a hack job localizing a game which Sony owns the rights to.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 7/6/2012 9:33:25 PM
Its simple, Its about money. Its been increasingly common for Japanese to import western versions of games as it is actually cheaper even with shipping.
Except that PS3 is supposed to be region free with the only region locking being that needed to protect the response time in certain online games.
Atlus already confirmed its due to cannibalization of sales. The game is duel audio, and is releasing within 2 weeks of the Japanese version. This is to keep people from waiting a bit and importing the western version.
The games servers are world wide, Online can be played with anyone from around the world.
Pretty sad that they are breaking what had become a hard and fast rule this generation. Perhaps they should just do global launches and harmonize prices?
Here's part of the Atlus press release.
"Because of the difference between the yen and the dollar's values right now, this situation could lead to mass importing, which would "cannibalize the performance of a title in one territory to the benefit of another." For reference, the Japanese retail price of Persona 4 Arena is ¥7,329, roughly $92, versus $59.99 in North America."