Buying a console system in Japan

[danielsan]

Heya. Now that I'm fully settled after moving to Japan, the next item on my list is to buy a console system!!! Yay!

My question is if buying a PS3 or a Wii (my preference) is like buying a DVD player. In other words, would the system be "region coded" so I could only buy games in Japan? (I have a region free DVD player.) The only reason I ask is because I'm sure all the menus and game text will be in Japanese, which is okay, i suppose, but I'm sure I'd enjoy playing in English for the most part.

Thanks in advance!

[josiah]

well you can buy a game machine from any electronic store like yodabashi camera just as easy as you can buy it in your country.

if you want it in english, then you'll have to get it from england, the usa or wherever you're from i think.

but i think it shouldn't matter, right? cos the games language is more important, and if thats in english then thats more important,

region zoning... i remember my ps2 was region zoned or something, so it couldnt play games from japan or something like that
maybe you can get one chipped or something?

maybe check wikipedia for any information on zoning or game forums

[sashimidimsum7250]

Ahh, gaming...one of my passions...

The ps3 is not region coded. It can play games from any region. You can also change the language to English in the system preferences. This only changes the language in the system menus though, not the actual games, unless the game specifically reacts to the system language (there are some games that do). But in most cases , the language in the game will determine what language you play in. So you can buy American games for your Japanese ps3 and play in English.

The Wii is region coded. So if you buy one in Japan, you will only be able to play Japanese games unless you mod your system somehow. You cannot change the system language in the Japanese Wii. It's Japanese all the time.

[josiah]

know anything about the 360? (which in my opinion is the best option)

[sashimidimsum7250]

In Japan, the 360 is the worst option actually. It's not that popular in Japan. You can probably get it for very cheap, but really , it's not worth it, unless you get an American one. The software selection in Japan is not there for the 360. Also I wouldn't recommend it due to its high failure rate.

It's region coded. But you can change the system language. Like the ps3, the system langugage might affect the language of the game, but more often than not, it's the game language itself that will be the determining factor.

Ps3 or Wii is the way to go in Japan.

[Taurus]

The ps3 is not region coded. It can play games from any region.

This is correct insofar as gaming is concerned, but just in case you were planning to use the PS3 to watch DVDs or Blu-Ray DVDs, you need to be aware that its movie playback is region coded. Which is a bit confusing, actually, because the region codes for DVDs are slightly different to the region codes for Blu-Ray DVDs. And (more confusing still!) I think that it only plays NTSC DVDs.

The upshot (to the best of my knowledge, anyway): you can play Japanese-region or region-free NTSC DVDs on your PS3; and you can play Japan/US-region or region-free Blu-Ray DVDs.

[sashimidimsum7250]

Yep. I was careful to note that that this only applies to games, not movies.

If you plan on using as the DVD player, then yeah you are probably better off buying a US ps3 instead of Japanese one, unless you want to play Japanese DVDs.

But if you want to use it as a Blu-ray player, then it doesn't matter either way since Japan and the US are both in the same blu-ray region: region A.

[binz]

The PS3 is not region locked to the best of my knowledge, I think the 360 is though.

[reboundstudent]

Outta curosity, Och, why a PS3?

I'm also looking to buy, and I'm a huge fan of some "old school" PS (more PS2) games. I know the PS3 has backwards compatability, but how does region-coding effect this? (Can I, for instance, buy a US-regioned game and play it on a Japanese PS3?) I've also heard the argument back and forth that the b.c. is really unrealiable. Thoughts?

[Taurus]

The region coding for PS2 games on the PS3 is exactly the same as it is on the PS2. Which means that if you have a US PS3, you can only play US PS2 games; if you have a Japanese PS3, you can only play Japanese PS2 games.

I think this might also affect some downloadable PS2/PSone games. As I understand it, if you download a PS2 or PSone game from the PS Network Store (or whatever it's called), it won't run on a PS3 from a different region.

I think the reliability of the backward compatibility depends on which particular PS3 model you buy. I have one of the first batch of Japanese PS3s, so the backwards compatibility is achieved via hardware. I haven't had any problems with it. Later UK PS3 consoles achieve compatibility via software emulation, so they won't play every PS2 game. I'm not so sure about US consoles, I'm afraid.