Wednesday, March 22, 2006

PlayStation 3 to be Region free (for gaming)

SCE Prez Phil Harrison said in a Q&A session with IGN's PS3 channel that PlayStation 3 games will be region-free.

Restrictions from the AACS LA will keep movie playback region locked (a la current DVDs), but you'll be able to play any PS3 title -- no more waiting for imports, or special (illegal) mods to the console to play region-restricted games.

There are some minor restrictions (PAL-encoded discs playing on an NTSC set; you still won't be able to read Japanese; etc.), but a lot of the technical challenges go away in the new world (HDTV standards go a long way).

I find this "region-free gaming announcement amazing, in the face of Sony's recent DRM firestorm.

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