PS Store will still be region-free

By Robert Purchese Published 4 April, 2008

Redesign is purely cosmetic.

Sony has told Eurogamer that the changes to the PlayStation Store will be cosmetic, and that it will still be region-free.

This means that Japanese and US content will still be attainable if you set up accounts for each region, which entails a bit of fibbing about where you live.

The PlayStation Store overhaul was revealed late last month and is due to go live sometime in the middle of April.

It is an overhaul prompted by feedback from a survey you lot answered last year. Key demands were greater ease of navigation and a prettier look.

By Jove we think they've done it, juding by the screenshots.

The changes are being made behind the scenes as we speak but will not affect the front-end, so you can still buy things or browse the existing Store. However, no fresh content will be added until the redesigned Store launches.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (30) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • retr0gamer #1 4 years ago

    If it's so region free how come I can't play the PAL Kula World I bought on my NTSC console. The stupid thing won't auto-select PAL output and there's no way to change it in the options.

  • peterfll #2 4 years ago

    Couple of questions:

    1. I understand the legalities of why regional content is sometimes locked, but why on one hand lock content then on the other turn a blind eye to people with multiple accounts (myself included)?

    2. If I pay for a download from the US store, will the download work on my PAL console - and do I have to use a US registered card to pay for downloads?

  • JediMasterMalik #3 4 years ago

    By region free they mean they won't prevent people from acquiring content, it does not mean, it will work.

  • Gaol #4 4 years ago


    Kula World is region free; it's your hardware that will not output PAL.

  • Aretak #5 4 years ago

    Apart from the standard-def PAL/NTSC issues, there's been nothing region locked so far. I think Sony's approach to region free gaming has been one of the absoloute best things done by anyone this generation, and they don't get enough credit for it.

    "If I pay for a download from the US store, will the download work on my PAL console - and do I have to use a US registered card to pay for downloads?"

    You can use something like Entropay to buy from the US store if your credit card doesn't work. Anything bought from any store will work on any system, although in standard-def there is an issue with NTSC PS3s not outputting PAL and PAL PS3s not outputting NTSC. No problems in any high-def resolution though.

  • tonynibbles #6 4 years ago

    /waits for eternal debate on what that means exactly.

    Basically, developers will still have control over whether or not their DLC will work on another regions' copy of their game.

    DLC is region free but also region-specific: meaning normally, DLC will be downloadable from any region (hence 'region free' downloads) but in actual fact - will only work with a game released in that same region.

    This is extremely confusing for customers.

    "If I pay for a download from the US store, will the download work on my PAL console - and do I have to use a US registered card to pay for downloads?"

    Yes, it'll work on your PAL console, with a U.S copy of the game (by definition that's 'region free' as the game from region A is working on your console, region B as is your content which is region A).
    It won't work on your PAL console with a region B copy of the game, with region A DLC.

    But even that depends on the game, and depends on the developer.

    UT3 Mods are totally region free for example.
    Edited by 1 at 04/04/08 @ 12:19

  • Aretak #7 4 years ago

    DLC not being universal is a little bit annoying yes, but since you have the option of buying a copy of the game from whichever region you want knowing it'll work on your system, it's not such a big deal. If you don't want to wait for DLC to go up on the UK store, you can just buy a US copy of the game and get the DLC from the US one. Anybody who's gone to the trouble to access another region's store won't find such a concept confusing. Joe Public might, but they won't be accessing the US store or buying foreign games anyway, so it's irrelevant.

  • Aretak #8 4 years ago

    "Yes, it'll work on your PAL console, with a U.S copy of the game (by definition that's 'region free' as the game from region A is working on your console, region B as is your content which is region A).
    It won't work on your PAL console with a region B copy of the game, with region A DLC."

    You seem to be talking solely about DLC here. There are other things on the store besides that, all of which will work on any console.

  • oreillymj #9 4 years ago

    I thought that Kula world is a PS1 title, and that since those titles where region locked, the emulator will still report problem trying to run that content.

    I've never bought any of the PS1 games from the US on the basis, that I wouldn't expect it to work on my PAL PS3


    In retr0gamers case, it's no different putting the original PAL Kula World into an NTSC PSOne and expecting it to run.

  • Aretak #10 4 years ago

    You're wrong. PSone titles from the stores are region free. I have several from the US and Hong Kong stores which work just fine on my PAL PS3. It's only disc-based PSone titles which are region locked.

  • Prodigy_BE #11 4 years ago

    @ Retr0gamer

    An NTSC PS3 is region free for al PS3 software, but the PS2 and PS1 region lock is stil active.
    As is the Blu-ray region lock.

    At least they're doing it right from now on.

  • Cappy #12 4 years ago

    Basically NTSC PS3s don't 'understand' 576i.

    You get the same problems with a few PAL PS3 games if you are using an SD display since some have been coded to default to 576i in SD. The problem is solved if you use a HD display since all PS3s can display 720p 1080i etc.

    Its not a new problem, NTSC consoles have always had problems with 576i. My Japanese PS2 could never display PAL PS1 games correctly and would offset a large part of the image making PAL PS1 games mostly unplayable. My NTSC Dreamcast to a certain extent made its own decisions on how to display PAL games. Some it would force into 60hz (480i), which was nice as they played at full speed without borders like the original NTSC versions. Other games totally confused it and they would offset, losing a large chunk of the play area just like PAL PS1 games on my NTSC PS2.

  • peterfll #13 4 years ago

    Thanks for the help guys.

  • leedavies #14 4 years ago

    I've had a 360 since launch and also bought a PS3 at it's launch. It didn't survive long stacked up against the mighty 360 and got resold. But... I really hate the 360 "store" interface - if it's an HD generation console, why the heck is everything so big and clumsy looking, with horrid navigation.

    I think Sony have nailed a good balance in their new store design. Microsoft would do well to follow suit and scrap the uncomprehensible jelly-bean-button nonsense I have to fight with every week...!

  • Gurgeh #15 4 years ago

    The PS3 isn't region free, but the content for it by and large is. There's nothing to stop anyone from creating region-locked titles but there doesn't appear to be any commercial benefit in doing so.

    With games mainly cross-platform, region locking a title on one console but not another makes no sense.

  • Beano #16 4 years ago

    "The PS3 isn't region free, but the content for it by and large is. There's nothing to stop anyone from creating region-locked titles but there doesn't appear to be any commercial benefit in doing so."

    True - the hardware is not region-free (just like PSP) but all PS3 games are region-free. Region-locked PS3 games are currently not allowed by Sony as far as I know. Nothing to indicate this will change in the future, but technically possible.

  • peteb #17 4 years ago

    I reckon as soon as the PS3 gets downloadable movies, region locking will kick in.

  • JediMasterMalik #18 4 years ago

    All PS3 games are indeed region free, yes.

  • penhalion #19 4 years ago

    "PS store still region free"

    In other news many people in cities around the world reported hearing loud clanking noises as if millions of guns and arms had been put down in unison ;)

  • penhalion #20 4 years ago

    @Beano

    Sony promised that games would be region free on the PS3 but, that due to copyright laws, movies would remain region locked. So it isn't something that they can exactly go back on without angering a lot of people.

  • Beano #21 4 years ago

    @penhalion: I agree - I doubt Sony will suddenly allow PS3 games to be region-locked by publishers, but just stating that it's technically possible... just like on the PSP :)

  • statusjones #22 4 years ago

    whether or not the store is region free is kind of irrelevant when you still have to break their terms and conditions to access other stores

  • SeesThroughAll #23 4 years ago

    Not even close to what I wanted to see... "PS Store will be region independent"

    Pricks.

  • Darren #24 4 years ago

    @statusjones - Where are these terms and conditions that say you cannot access these foreign stores? If you can create them then there's nothing untoward about it as far as I'm concerned. Sony could easily update the PS3 so that you can only access the PS Store for your own region and nowhere else but they haven't. I don't see what's wrong with it myself, it's not like you're chipping/modding the console to obtain something illegally...

  • Aretak #25 4 years ago

    "Region-locked PS3 games are currently not allowed by Sony as far as I know."

    They are. The Collector's Edition release of Stranglehold was going to be region locked due to the movie bundled with it. However, due to an outcry from people online they changed their mind and released it region free. If anyone's going to open the region coding floodgates, it'll be Squeenix when Final Fantasy XII hits.

  • Darren #26 4 years ago

    You mean Final Fantasy XIII? ;)

  • Aretak #27 4 years ago

    Maybe.

  • Beano #28 4 years ago

    "They are. The Collector's Edition release of Stranglehold was going to be region locked due to the movie bundled with it."

    Or it was changed on request from Sony?

    Also the possibility that the included movie on the disk would be a exception to the licence agreements for publishing "pure" PS3 games. Depends how the publishing agreement is.

    If region-locking was up to publishers, I'm sure we would have seen a few by now... but none have appeared (with the possible exception of Warhawk?).

  • statusjones #29 4 years ago

    @Darren
    you mean the ones you agreed to, but probably didn't read, when you signed up to psn and/or apply any of the system updates
    [link url=http ://www.scei.co.jp/ps3-eula/eu/eu_psn_en.html
    ]http://ww w.scei.co.jp/ps3-eula/eu/eu_psn...[/link]
    the relevant bit being: you must not provide us or any third party company with false or inaccurate information, including reporting false complaints to our customer services or providing false or inaccurate information during account registration

  • Kenshin001 #30 4 years ago

    "DLC is region free but also region-specific: meaning normally, DLC will be downloadable from any region (hence 'region free' downloads) but in actual fact - will only work with a game released in that same region."

    DLC is region locked. You can not use DLC from another region as it will be incompatible. If you have a UK account and a US version of a game (eg. Warhawk) you can not use the DLC from your store, it won't work. Other stores don't accept most foreign credit cards either so accessing the DLC of the same region as the game is for all intents and purposes blocked.