[P4A] News & Gameplay Discussion

[SoWL]

Region lock is basically impossible on ps3, so I wouldn't trust those rumors too soon. Actually, I wouldn't believe them at all.

[Seyluun]

Actually i m pretty sure they added that "feature" a couple of years ago through a firmware update.

[Mightfo]

Region lock is basically impossible on ps3, so I wouldn't trust those rumors too soon. Actually, I wouldn't believe them at all.

it isnt impossible, it just hasnt been done before. developers have the option

[SolxBaiken]

Blu-ray disc can be (and always have had the option to) region locked, while the region codes are MUCH smaller than that of DVDs this doesn't affect NA imports of Japanese products since they're in the same region. Sadly Europe is excluded from region A so if it's true this might prove bad.

I don't see why they would lock (at least the PS3 ver, as the 360 ver are on DVDs this is more of a natural occurrence rather than a planned one) unless they wanted this to serve as a separation of servers, but given Arc's past with netplay coding, it should all be universal. It's not IMPOSSIBLE (as 98% of 360 games are region locked, while only about 2% of PS3 games are) but personally I'd just wait for the official EU release...since it's only 3 weeks behind.

Locked or not I don't think this will have a huge impact on EU.

[arctus32]

There goes importing it...

I'll still give it a shot though :P

Might as well get the JP version since it might not be region locked

[Wander]

Might as well get the JP version since it might not be region locked

I think this post confirms US version is region locked, dont know about the JPN version

http://www.atlus.com/forum/showpost.php?p=289141&postcount=2509

[Starlight777]

Strangely I'm not too annoyed by that. As long as the netplay is fine and it has a good following, I don't care.

[Kiba]

Easy for you to say since you're in the US haha.

Glod I deleted your post because it would be better to wait for an official statement/confirmation, and not go by a forum post. If anything, you can continue the discussion here. Not to mention Wander already posted it here anyway.

Something like this, but even this is just speculation.

Edited July 5, 2012 by Kiba

[SolxBaiken]

It seems to be all but confirmed...

The thing that baffles me is the fact the servers are still global making this lock arbitrary...

But seeing how the JPN ver include English dialogue and text (a la BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger) the only conceivable reason for the lock is to prevent importers, thus giving all respective regions solid figures. And judging by the (unnecessary) rage everyone is gathering on the matter, it's working! :D

Seriously guys you're just waiting mere weeks, you should be happy this title is launching near simultaneously and that a month is all you have to wait at most.

[lolokoa]

It a quite a mess in the Philippines since PS3s & Games here are a mix of the 3 Regions ...so lol

goodthingImimporting.jpg

[SoWL]

If I'm reading that post correctly, the online is still split between PAL and NTSC regions, right?

[Nora Kisaragi]

Is anyone REALLY surprised by their decision to region lock?

Did anybody miss when THIS happened to BlazBlue Extend?

http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?14161-BlazBlue-extend-is-region-locked-in-the-west-What-Why!

I tried to warn you guys that they were getting tough with their region locking starting with Extend, region locking a game that previously had not been region locked before, but nobody listened to me. Kind of a shame, really. This doesn't surprise me in the latest.

Extend was merely foreshadowing their region locking policy to come.

[Hecatom]

well, here it goes the possibility of having a mild success worldwide

with the bakclash i wouldnt be surprised that the game under performs from what it was expected

gg Atlus

[Kurushii]

If I'm reading that post correctly, the online is still split between PAL and NTSC regions, right?

No. "Please also keep in mind that the game’s excellent online multiplayer is global"

[SolxBaiken]

well, here it goes the possibility of having a mild success worldwide

with the bakclash i wouldnt be surprised that the game under performs from what it was expected

I...I...I REALLY HOPE YOU AREN'T FUCKING SERIOUS!

The thing that pisses me off most about this is the response of the "fans", just so you know, no developer or publisher owes any of you shit! God, back in the day the general public had very little input in how games turned out, but now they have TOO MUCH push and pull. You all sound like entitled brats!

For whatever reason you feel like their region locking the game to punish you and that is irksome, region locking has only had one sole purpose and that's to prevent the sales of imports (in all directions) and hurting the global value of the international product. This generation of Playstation users should feel privileged that the consoles are region free by default, and Microsoft users should be happy that alot of their titles come region free too (most times at the request of fans). But instead you bitch and moan because you have to *gasp* WAIT AND PAY FAIR CONTRIBUTION TO YOUR REGION, THUS SHOWING SUPPORT FOR MORE TITLES TO COME TO IT!!! Yes how dare the industry expect you to buy a localization on their game that was costly to bring to your region.

P4U is coming out in all regions within a MONTH of each other, that's pretty freaking amazing, especially considering Atlus isn't a bigger game company that can afford to do this, honestly based on the "feedback" from "fans" online I think Atlus made the RIGHT choice by locking this shit; The game is (from an American perspective) ridiculously priced in Japan, most Japanese gamers that actually bother to get this can save a pretty penny (yen?) by importing the NA version. America is dumb, you're willing to spend 2x the game's asking price just to get it 2 WEEKS EARLY (and that's assuming you can get a decent shipping rate, which most likely means...SPENDING MORE MONEY). Europe is in a special place, often they have to wait the longest to get their titles, the same holds true but it's 1 month from JPN release and 2 weeks after the NA release, that's a more than acceptable time considering the usual wait period, but if it was region free they'd either be dumb (and buy the JPN ver) or silly (and buy the NA ver, but at least save money).

You all need to get your heads outta your asses and start being more appreciative of the work that ALL companies do to provide you ungrateful bastards with entertainment.

Also Nora Atlus =/= Aksys, this was a decision independently made of them.

[TD]

how passionate soba...

l personally dont care about this it wont affect me at all, but l will say, things change. keep in mind that atlus does indeed respect the input of the fans now, we can no longer live in the past. also keep in mind that not everyone wants to torture themselves two extra weeks, they want the game ANAP (as now as possible). l dont think thats necessarily a bad thing at all; how did you feel when you wished something could be there at that exact moment? i'm betting on impatient.

also, l very highly doubt that being dissatisfied with one certain aspect is grounds for being 'ungrateful', only because l feel that most people who are voicing their opinions will get the game anyway, and come to not regret getting an english version.

l do get where youre coming from, and l personally think it was right what they did too (and if it wasnt, its their damn game, l gotta deal with it), but l dont think this region lock will have such a huge impact, people are probably just shocked that it happened

[JohnnyboySP]

They can do whatever they want to the game. If I don't like it I can show them they made a stupid decision by not buying the game. Kind of like what I've been doing to Capcom.

Don't tell me to "be more appreciative" of their work. They are a company, I am a consumer. Guess who has the power? The consumer. Metaphorically speaking if I don't buy their game they don't get to eat dinner. If they take a megadump on the gaming community (a LOT of people suffer from this decision) I have every right to "be an ungrateful bastard" and not purchase this game. Don't tell me otherwise.

Now by all means please purchase the game yourself, purchase multiple copies to make up for the boycotters if it means so much to you.

Just stop acting like a company is entitled to have our money just because "they worked really hard". It makes you sound much less mature and intelligent than you probably are.

Keep in mind this is all coming from somebody who hasn't made a decision to boycott the game (yet). I'm just tired of people acting like gamers are whiny and entitled when we're just completely fed up with and tired of suffering from anti-consumer policies.

Every single complaint about this other than "oh noez I have to wait 2 to 6 weeks for my game now" is completely legitimate.

Edited July 7, 2012 by JohnnyboySP

[SoWL]

A Chinatsu avatar couldn't fit you any better, SoBa.

Yeah, I'm not worrying about it too much, either. The game's going to be released in the three main regions, anyways, which means that it won't be a problem to get a copy that fits your console.

[toanenadiz]

You seem way too angry about this situation. If I can import a game, I honestly don't care of it comes out in my region or not so I don't have any loyalty to my region. I just generally like having a game as soon as possible, which the region locking prevents. Luckily there isn't that big of a time difference this time though. I always buy an NA copy anyway, just to support the localization.

And while no developer or publisher owes us anything, we are the ones who buy their products so it makes sense why people voice their opinions about something they dislike (since they have/are gonna pay money for it). Just because consumers didn't have input back in an age where it was hard to communicate with the developers and publishers doesn't mean that people shouldn't do it now that it is relatively simple to.

You also have to remember that there are many people happy with what they do and it is usually just the minority who is very, very vocal about what they don't like.

I also have to admit I don't know exactly how this started. Did someone ask Atlus about region locking or did they just come out and say that it would be region locked?

Edited July 7, 2012 by toanenadiz

[JohnnyboySP]

Articles about it surfaced around a week ago.

Immediate internet-wide backlash happened.

Atlus USA, with it's wonderful reputation and desire to remain in good graces with its fanbase, issued an official statement a few days later confirming that it was indeed region locked. You can read that here.

I greatly appreciate how they have addressed the situation, and at the very least they were quick, honest, and clear and they deserve props for that.

However that doesn't dismiss the fact that boycotting this game on principle or because it negatively affects you is a completely legitimate thing to do.

I am tired of people saying "It doesn't affect me why should I care?" though. It's a really ignorant thing to say and that kind of attitude is one of the reasons the industry is in a crappy place right now.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Kiba

[SoWL]

I am tired of people saying "It doesn't affect me why should I care?" though. It's a really ignorant thing to say and that kind of attitude is one of the reasons the industry is in a crappy place right now.

Well, uhh, sorry for not going on a rampage about a minor issue that is easily circumvented, I guess?

[JohnnyboySP]

It's not easy for everyone to get around though. Some people have imported systems and are now forced to import a game that until now NEVER had to worry about a situation like that.

My point (regarding the "it doesn't affect me, so why should I care" statement) is when a large amount of people don't think much of an issue like this and most of us let it slide, it has greater potential to happen again (either with Atlus or another company) if we don't say something about it and then it could get worse from there. Just look at Disc-locked-content and how common that is now.

Now to clarify I do think we're overacting in this case. It probably is an isolated incident like they say. I'm not saying it will happen again, only that this opens the door (even if it's ever so slightly) for it to happen. But to say that the complaints aren't legitimate misses the point. The industry is full of anti-consumer nonsense right now, so please excuse the paranoia and overreacting on our part. We're just so tired of getting screwed.

[Kiba]

SolxBaiken, I think you ought to take the anger somewhere else. This is not the first time you have reacted to something like this. Whether people want to import or not shouldn't give you an excuse to get your blood boiling as it is not affecting you, unless you are the mother of someone here perhaps? In that case, let me take this opportunity to apologise.

Let's not forget for example that there are those in the US who may have an EU PS3, meaning they'll have to wait till the EU release, which does not even have a confirmed date. Sure Zen are working towards getting it out at the end of August, and I am positive there are a lot of people who are grateful that they are working hard to try and get it as close to the US date as possible, but like I said, it's not a confirmed date. This is also why many europeans import games, and that is why:

but if it was region free they'd either be dumb (and buy the JPN ver) or silly (and buy the NA ver, but at least save money).

I feel that this statement shows a very one dimensional mentality. Afaik no one is complaining here, and what you're unintentioanlly trying to do is to start a war here. Don't post here unless you have anything productive to say. For you to say that people are not appreciative of what Atlus is doing is pretty much a bunch of BS.

[Balder]

Europe is in a special place, often they have to wait the longest to get their titles, the same holds true but it's 1 month from JPN release and 2 weeks after the NA release, that's a more than acceptable time considering the usual wait period

Not questioning you or anything but is there a clear release date for the EU version? Browsing the various articles on the matter, the issue is objectively affecting EU players the most because of the 'sometime in 2012' date. People are getting riled up over the prospect of being left at the mercy of a publisher that is infamous for delays that range from 6 months to a full year.

Personally, this isn't about the price because as a European getting screwed in game prices is a institution in these parts and if the game is indeed coming just 1 month from the JPN release neither is the time, but I haven't seen any clear release date for Europe.

I just don't want another GGXXAC+ and AH3 fiasco in my hands. The EU release of those games got delayed, re-delayed, delayed again, canceled, then reconfirmed and then delayed again. I have no ill will towards that publisher since their hearts were in the right place but some things are simply best served hot.

On a side note, apparently a Atlus employee at their boards mentioned that they couldn't say for certain if the EU version would have dual-audio. Peachy.

[SolxBaiken]

*is calm*

I admit my rant was a bit of an explosion, but I stand by everything stated, although I feel some things were misinterpreted; I'm not saying you have to kiss the butts of all companies nor am I saying you have no right to voice complaints, but sometimes the way people voice them is...irksome... Also I was under the impression the EU ver was locked for 8/28 and my comment concerning the "dumb & silly" was focused solely on this situation (saving time vs saving money) and not on my view as the country as a whole (I love EU) and was not trying to start a war of any kind with any of my statements, if a date is still unconfirmed ignore my comments on EU completely.

Honestly not even sure why I exploded like I did, I'm not even buying the game ( ´・◡・｀) but that's not to say that I don't care, but patience is a virtue guys.

So who's ready for P4U top 8 at EVO?