European PlayStation 3 owners often complain that they don't receive anywhere near as much PSN content as North America. Well, US gamers often have the same complaint concerning the Japanese PSN, especially when it comes to PS1 classics becoming available as digital downloads.
If you have a Japanese Store account, however, you have no worries, right? You've got the best of both worlds and you don't care in the slightest if it isn't exactly kosher. Besides, you get access to three more original PS1 games as of today, and that includes the great strategy/RPG, Final Fantasy Tactics . You can download and play it on either your PS3 or PSP and all you need is 1,000 yen (about $10); it's at a premium price just like Final Fantasy VII , so you'll just have to accept it and fork over the money. The other two games added this week probably won't mean much to you if you haven't been living in Japan for a decade, but they're Arubarea no Otome and Zeus Carnage Heart Second . However, the bottom line is that if you own a PS3 but were too young to see a company called Squaresoft pump out gem after gem, you can now pick up both FFVII and FFT and experience the majesty for yourself. Of course, you need to keep an open mind in terms of graphics, and it's probably an unfortunate fact of life that if you weren't there at the start and have no strong pangs of nostalgia, these games may not mean much to you. But even so, for those of us who were there, having FFT available on the Store is awesome.
Now, if only we can get FFVIII and FFIX on there, we'll be in business. It's too bad that the North American PSN can't get some of this greatness, but really, how hard is it to have a Japanese account…? Not that we condone such behavior.
Sony need to bring it to NA psn.
sony needs 2 bring video downloads to the eu psn period 🙁
Yeah but if I get a Japanese account and download FFVII or FFT, wouldn't the game be in Japanese?
Also – if both of those came to the US PSN, I'd buy them. That way I wouldn't have to risk scratching the original discs 😉
If you can get Yen in your wallet, then yes you could and it would be almost entirely in Japanese.
You can buy a Japanese PSN card through a Japanese proxy buyer….Google should help find one for you.
Never done it myself, but I am certain it's possible.
The best option I think is to use Play-Asia.com, they sell JPN PSN cards there. I should say the easiest option, as I have no idea how much money you'd be losing as opposed to waiting for a US release. But check it out, if you can't wait. I'm trying to be patient and hope these games show up on our store.
Yeah but there's no point since I don't speak Japanese
I could be wrong, but it might not play on your PS3 unless it's a JP PS3. The PS1/PS2 region locks still exist in this case, so if the digital versions of these PS1 games contain their original region locks, it's a no go.
Last edited by Zapix on 5/13/2009 2:02:52 PM
I could be wrong, but I believe the Ps3 is region free, the discs are not. You just can't mix like a japanese game with NA content for example.
PS3 is completely region free. I have a UK (PAL not NTSC) version of SingStar Volume 3 and it works flawlessly on my NA (NTSC PS3).
The thing is that 720p/1080i/1080p are the same in NA, Japan and Europe, PAL and NTSC are meaningless when you're talking about HD, so PS3 Japanese games will work just fine.
That said, I'm not so sure when it comes to PS1 games on the PS3. You may want to create a user profile for a Japanese user just in case.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 5/13/2009 4:13:32 PM
Update regarding PS1 classic game compatibility.
I haven't been able to find anyone who can confirm this one way or the other. PS3 and PSN titles are definitely region free on PS3, but a PS1 classic downloaded from the PSN may still be region locked.
However, PS1 games are run entirely through emulation on PS3. So it is possible that there is no region coding, but I haven't been able to test it, and I haven't found anyone online who has tested it yet.
The most likely way for it to work is for you to create a user profile on your PS3, including PSN account, for a user resident in Japan. You will need a real Japanese postal code and address that at least makes enough sense for the postal code to work. PSN uses your profile to determine which Home instance and PSN store you see. So is is possible that the PS1 classics downloaded from PSN may also use the same mechanism to determine which region your PS3 is 'from'. No guarantee, but it's a possibility. Good luck if you try it, please comment about it if it does work. If I manage to try this myself, or find someone who has I will post about it if there is an appropriate thread here and in the forums.
Ben,
This is a perfect example of one of the major problems with Sony's 'silo' existence in NA and Europe. Copyrights and licenses are poor excuses when the owner/publisher of a game can bring it to PSN in Japan, but no where else. It's not like there are *any* localization issues, the work necessary to release these games via PSN is minimal. So where are they? Why is it that Sony America is so piss poor when it comes to PSN releases, especially PS1 and PSP games? I could point out that Sony America hasn't exactly covered itself in glory with it's handling of other online content such as SingStar and Home, but that might be a little gratuitous.
</rant>
Please Kaz, please get a clue when it comes to PSN, Home and the SingStore. I promise you will see more revenue if you do.
If these come to the US, would I be able to play both on my PSP? That sweet little red machine needs some lovin' and FFVII would last me forever.
The other regions need to get on the ball.
America has it going on…sadly Americans don't like the PS3. They have the vid store, which can't be accessed outside of the US. The UK gets the shaft , but you can create any account. Some are hard to do though. I have a Korean KZ2 and I tried making an account so I could get the map pack, but it's all in Korea. I tried to get my GF to help me, but she lost interest halfway though. Anyways….they should make sure all regions have great content.
@Migabyte
It's all relative. The UK and Europe is better served for PSP content, and you have PlayTV as well as vastly superior SingStar support. There is also a free to use (ad supported) music service coming to Europe and other parts of the world, but not the US.
Europe also got the Go Camera and GPS add on for PSP, something that the technological backwater called the USA may never see.
Last edited by TheHighlander on 5/13/2009 11:36:11 AM
I already have Tactics for PSP, but it is kind of disheartening to see one region get favored over the others.
If they were to release FF VII on the US and EU PS Store, it would sell like hot cakes. Since there is minimal expense involved it would mean virtually pure profit for Square Enix. So what's the hold up? I would guess that it's probably coming, but knowing Square Enix they might not do it because it would be "unfair" to the 360 users…
I'm not sure being "unfair" even crosses the minds of Square. I think it all comes down to money for them, which is why they've been branching out lately. However, like you said, bringing FFVII & FFT to other PS stores would only generate profit, so why not?! Hopefully they will.
It only crosses there minds when it comes to the 360.
I just want to know one thing. Where the crap is a real FFT sequel? I'll take one for PSP, but I really want to see something on PS3 with online features. Does a greatest hits not warrant a sequel? Nothing against the GBA/DS games but they don't appeal to me at all, and I wouldn't call those sequels. If I had a a gazillion dollars I would buy every known copy of FFT for PSP, and send them all to SE with a letter saying "It's awesome. Now make a sequel kthxbye". It couldn't possibly cost them an arm and a leg, just look at Disgaea 3. Is there even any doubt there's a fanbase for a sequel? I think not.
I got this for PSP and didnt enjoy it, but was expecting a different type of game so thast my fault, I dont know theres somethign about the ivalice would i just cant get lost into, I didnt enjoy XII either.
Id love FFVII-IX saved on my PS3, Them 3 games alone define gaming for me.
So much for Square enix love and SCEA love
What!? Wait… is it the original PS1 version, or the PSP version with all the extras? Anyway of finding out?
-Arvis
Ok, someone gave me a thumbs up… but I still have no answer to the question! *laughs*
-Arvis
Hahaha that was me that gave a thumbs up. I just liked your avatar and didn't really read what you said lol. Anyways, I checked the JP store and it's the PS1 game, not PSP. Also to answer to another response, I don't believe the region locks exist. I'm only basing that on feedback from other people who bought JP PSN cards though. I'm not certain however.
final fantasy tactics is great Ben I understand the obsession with it probably one of my favorite games as well.
those lucky bastards!
How, could they not have this on the PSN here? Man ma bro broke my Tactics and i have none to play. Sony need to step up and have the good stuff that Japan has here ASAP!
for some reason i have a feeling that Sony is going to drop some of these games that Jap has on the PSN after E3. Anyone feels that same? that they want to save these announcements for E3? well;… hoping.
you know, we did see a lot of stuff drop on the store during/after last year's e3. i wouldn't be surprised if we saw it happen again, hopefully with these games.
I hope so also. Would love to see FF7 on PSN.
Well, I will say this, if FF VII (and FF VIII) for PS1 drops to PSN after E3 for NA and Europe Square Enix may find that their FY2010 results are lifted because of a game that's more than a decade old…and exclusive…to PlayStation
Highlander,
Just wanted to let you know that this non-tech savvy guy's always learning some new tech stuff(at least for myself) from all of your posts here.
So you'll always be a "10 thumbs up" in my book(even if that icon isn't representing)!!!!
Thanks I appreciate the kudos.
I wanted to do some checking about just hwo region free PS3 is or is not..
For PS3 games The PS3 is completely region free, this includes all PSN titles that are actual PS3 games and all region's PS3game discs. There is one exception, or restriction to this. If you buy a PS3 in a PAL region, say for instance in the UK and you are not using HDMI with a 720p/1080i/1080p display, then you will have problems. The game will still run no matter what, but because the PAL analog TV signal uses a different refresh rate and signaling standard you will experience problems if you are playing your PS3 games on a regular TV. Any analog connection, composite, component, S-video or SCART will suffer from this. This is not an incompatibility with the software or region coding, it's simply that the PS3's TV chip that generates the analog signal is specific to each region. The HDMI chip is the same on every PS3 regardless of region, and the HD signal standards (720p/1080i/1080p) are the same in every region, so as long as you are at least running over HDMI in 720p or 1080i, your PS3 will play ANY PS3 title whether on disc or downloaded.
As far as I know, if you have a PS3 that includes PS2 backwards compatibility, the PS2's region coding may still be present present. I haven't been able to verify this one myself, but what I can find on the Internet suggests that a UK PS2 game will not work on a US PS3 with backwards compatibility – even over HDMI.
I believe that the same may be true for PS1 game discs. However I cannot confirm this, I need to buy a couple of UK games (PS2 and PS1) from ebay to test it.
The final category of game is the PS1 classic downloaded from PSN. I believe that this may be treated in the same manner as PS1 game discs, so it may not work if you try to download a PS1 classic from Japan and play it on a US PS3.
However since the PS3 runs PS1 games entirely through emulation, there is no PS1 video hardware present. It's possible that because of this, PS1 games – in particular those downloaded – may play correctly assuming that you have created a PS3 user profile for a user that is resident in Japan. I've not been able to get any confirmation of this and am skeptical about the possibility of it working.
I have FFT:WotL on PSP and I love it. It's very similar to the original I think but with some enhancements. I could be wrong though, I haven't played FFT in years.
PS1 classic games downloaded from PSN & Region locking.
I've found a couple of people posting online that say that they have purchase PS1 classics from the Japan PSN store and are running them on NA PS3 models. However they also confirmed that PS1 games on disc do not work right.
I also found some comments from users on Play Asia confirming the same thing, that PS1 classics downloaded via PSN from Japan work on non Japanese PS3 models.
Either the game has been modified, or the game ISO file has, but it seems that the PS1 classics bought over PSN are just ever so slightly different from the actual discs, and that difference seems to be the absence of region locking.