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[jetsetfluken]

As you may know, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) is split into different branches for each "major" region.
SCEE, encompassing all European/Eurasia regions.
SCEA, encompassing all North American regions.
SCEJ, encompassing Japan.
And SCEAsia, encompassing Hong Kong/rest of Asia.
There are other abbreviations and such like SCEI, but I'll leave those 4 for purposes of releases.

As you also may know, each region, with the advent of this online-centric generation, gets their very own PlayStation Store (PS Store).

The problem is that each PS Store gets radically different content. That different content is many times never released in other regions.

This is due to all the hoops each branch of SCE makes devs/pubs go through with their certification and release process. This is solely speaking on digital PS Store content.

They can dress things up all they want making things look good with self-publishing and such as of late, but that won't change the messy dichotemy of the multi-region PS Store structure, in which accounts are locked to that region store only...with absoluely no way to switch region of the account (note: Microsoft allows you to do this) to another, if say, someone moved?
This is a feature I and many others have requested time and time again, but it seems to be falling on deaf ears. It would render the purpose, in my shoes, of this thread useless if such a feature actually existed.

And so, knowing all of this, you would think I'm only talking about smaller, niche digital titles not being released in all the major region PS Stores.
But that couldn't be further from the truth.
For the purpose of this thread, we'll use two examples there are more.
Two of the some of the arguably most popular IPs that SCE showboats these days, has games that are only available in NA and EU regions.

In late October 2011, a high quality spin-off game from the inFamous series was released, following the success of inFamous 2 earlier that year.
inFamous: Festival of Blood

According to the game's Wikipedia page (citing offficial data released by SCE), inFamous: FoB was the highest/fastest selling game on PSN until Journey came out:

As of November 19, 2011, the game is the number one downloaded game on the PlayStation Network, and was the number two downloaded game of November 2011. According to PlayStation Blog, Festival of Blood was the fastest-selling PlayStation 3 downloadable game launched on PlayStation Network, as of December 2011.The record has been later beaten by Journey.

Now, wouldn't that bit of information be enough to entice Sony to release this in their other regions?

If you aren't from Europe or North America, you won't be truly playing it. And sure, you could buy it on another account from those two regions, but key features such as the robust and praised User Generated Content (UGC) features and server is region locked. Meaning, players who don't live in the release regions cannot access any of the game's online features. Not only that, there is a trophy for creating an amount of online content. That's impossible to earn for other players, too,

How about another high-tier IP example?
In late 2012, a new game in the Uncharted franchise was released digital-only and on PS Vita.
Uncharted: Fight for Fortune

Uncharted: Fight for Fortune is a strategic turn-based card game based on the Uncharted series released on December 4, 2012.[1] The game pits two players against each other, represented by characters from the series. The players use their decks of cards to defeat the opposing side. The game can connect with Uncharted: Golden Abyss, earning the player new cards based on their progression in the campaign and the trophies they have earned. Cards in the main game come from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and the video series Uncharted: Eye of Indra. Two expansion packs were made available on the PlayStation Network to add cards from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

This is another high-tier IP game that was only released in North America and Europe. All other regions, which makes up for a large part of the world, are left in the dust.

Unlike with inFamous:FoB, non-European/North American users cannot simply download the game on a EU or NA account and just play it (minus UGC online features of course! that's region-locked!).
Due to the PS Vita having an archaeitc account system that locks only that account to the system, it renders all other region content inaccessable and unplayable. Meaning, players who don't live in EU or NA cannot even access or play this game.

This issue is not limited to these two games. The availabilty between regions is absurd for non-1st party content. But these being first party is even more absurd. I'm sure there are other international Sony IPs only in certain regions in addition to these.
Say whatever you want about these games, but they are from some of if not the most popular (new) IPs from Sony this generation. It's understandable when smaller, third party releases don't make it to all regions, but these IPs? There is a definite issue with SCE and it's different regions. It all doesn't "come together".
These two games are symbols that something is wrong over there.

With all the recent praise for guys now becoming in charge handling releases, such as Adam Boyes and Shuhei Yoshida, I expect better.
Yoshida cannot even bother to get two major IP games out in his own home region, Japan, for instance?

You're going to tell me Toro Friend Network from the Toro IP, previously almost exclusively Japan/Asia only, released in North America...but two blockbuster IPs with previously internationally released games aren't released outside their home region?

I'd like to at least hear an official and honest reply from Yoshida for example, in response to, "Why aren't two games from some of the most successful SCE IPs not out in regions other than NA/EU?"
Feel free to run this as an article on your sites.

 

[Silky]

I wouldn't call Uncharted TCG a high tier IP game.


But yeah, region locking games suck ass.

 

[Jarek23]

Yoshida cannot even bother to get two major IP games out in his own home region, Japan, for instance?

No one wanted to play those two minor spin-offs (lol major IPs) on home turf, why would anyone want to play them in Japan?

 

[djhsecondnature]

This isn't a Sony thing, nor even a games thing. Unfortunately it's a digital media thing.

 

[jetsetfluken]

I wouldn't call Uncharted TCG a high tier IP game.


But yeah, region locking games suck ass.

I made it clear I'm not talking about the games in general. That's not important. The IP is important. It doesn't take that much effort to get these smaller games from guarenteed seller IPs out in all major regions.

 

[famousmortimer]

I made it clear I'm not talking about the games in general. That's not important. The IP is important. It doesn't take that much effort to get these smaller games from guarenteed seller IPs out in all major regions.

You got a source on that?

 

[thuway]

Not trying to sound contrarian, but I live in Pakistan. The one thing I'm appreciative for is the SEN store access and my ability to create a US account. I can purchase all my games via PSN that would somehow not come here for one reason or the other and at reasonable prices.

When the Last of Us came out here, it was selling for nearly 85 dollars the moment it hit. -_- - thank you PSN for saving me.

 

[B.O.O.M]

No one wanted to play those two minor spin-offs (lol major IPs) on home turf, why would anyone want to play them in Japan?

If you actually read the OP you would know why this statement is stupid regarding FOB

 

[djhsecondnature]

I made it clear I'm not talking about the games in general. That's not important. The IP is important. It doesn't take that much effort to get these smaller games from guarenteed seller IPs out in all major regions.

Err... yes it does. Localisation is both a huge time sink and financial effort.

 

[jetsetfluken]

No one wanted to play those two minor spin-offs (lol major IPs) on home turf, why would anyone want to play them in Japan?

Uncharted and inFamous aren't major IPs?

While they sell well enough in non-NA/EU regions, that isn't the point here. The point is that SCE's branches are so split that they can't even manage to release games from their big IPs in all major regions.

That's really too much to ask for? I made it clear it's understandable when this happens with smaller third party titles. But not this.

They can even get Western produced games like Super Stardust (HD AND Delta) out digitally everywhere. They can't get their giant blockbuster IP digital games out too?

 

[Lirrik]

Still waiting for Sony to allow PSN region change. I have moved 2 times since creating my first PSN account.

Also rather stupid system they have with DLC incompatible between US/EU/JP. So even if they allow to change region, I doubt I'll be able to keep all my purchases because of that. Region free games? Yeah, right.

Xbox Live is much more flexible with that.

 

[Drago]

The massive difference in PS1 games between Japan and every other region is depressing.

Not really high profile, but still

 

[jetsetfluken]

You got a source on that?

Yes, common sense. Even smaller and more niche digital releases are getting Western+Eastern releases all the time. From third parties. Limbo for VITA, for instance, is now out in all major regions. Games from SCE's major studios in their top stable IPs can't?

I wouldn't have made this thread if it was just the usual. But these two (and other situations like Toro Friend Network NA) is just baffling.
Money is not the issue here with SCE, these aren't indie productions from indie gevs.

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

SCEAsia gonna have to check out their stuff. I'm curious as to what they have that the NA market is unaware of.

 

[BHK3]

No one cared about some uncharted card game, that's not the greatest of examples.

FoB on the other hand is a good example, a great DLC standalone game to a high profile IP.

One thing I never liked was EU getting physical versions of games such as Siren blood curse and Wipeout HD. And also JPN having tons and tons of ps1 games on their store.

 

[Dragon]

No one wanted to play those two minor spin-offs (lol major IPs) on home turf, why would anyone want to play them in Japan?

Do you have a reading problem? Festival of Blood was the second most downloaded game of 2011.

I don't get the card game example though. It's not an Uncharted spin off. It's a card game that has Uncharted.

 

[Jarek23]

If you actually read the OP you would know why this statement is stupid regarding FOB

Why? People are purchasing the game out of their region, where it's not meant to work. The problem is the lack of turnaround they make with these games. It's not as simple as one person uploading them to the SCEJ online store you know. It's not worth it, they're shit games that not enough people bought to make them a financial success, if they were a success, they'd probably see the light of day in other Sony stores.

I don't expect to be able to have access to the servers from Japanese games that never released here in Canada, neither should they.

 

[raphanum]

Not to detract from the thread, but judging from your post history, you seem to be on an anti-sony crusade.

 

[Soulflarz]

Not to detract from the thread, but judging from your post history, you seem to be on an anti-sony crusade.

*thread derails*

 

[jetsetfluken]

SCEAsia gonna have to check out their stuff. I'm curious as to what they have that the NA market is unaware of.

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but it exists. The SCE who operates Japan and the one who operates Hong Kong+rest of Asia are separate. "SCE Asia" is not something we hear often, but they have their own studios. The only game right now I can think of that they have exclusive is Invincible Knight. A digital game that was SCE Asia produced (it even says Sony Computer Entertainment Asia in the trailer) and was released last year, and is only available in Hong Kong/Asia PS Stores.

 

[BleachAndPepsi]

Not trying to sound contrarian, but I live in Pakistan. The one thing I'm appreciative for is the SEN store access and my ability to create a US account. I can purchase all my games via PSN that would somehow not come here for one reason or the other and at reasonable prices.

When the Last of Us came out here, it was selling for nearly 85 dollars the moment it hit. -_- - thank you PSN for saving me.

How do you have so many inside contacts in the US living so far away?

 

[Darknight]

Hate this shit. Like their japanese counter parts have a harder time getting to western shores.

Thats how Demon's Souls almost didnt make it to the US.(Yay Atlus!) And White Knight Chronicles PSP didnt get released here in the US. Some bullshit and hope they fix this.

 

[raphanum]

If there's a game you want that hasn't been made available on your region's store, then create a new account for that specific region and buy the game. Problem solved.

 

[GraveRobberX]

Err... yes it does. Localisation is both a huge time sink and financial effort.

The OP is asking if it's such a burden/cost prohibitive for games to be localized per region and to have parity across the board, why not let the account move around

If I a NA user want to purchase stuff from other stores, let me do so on my main account
Creating new accounts for other regions is just a bypass

The Vita itself can be more prosperous, if multiple accounts were allowed, they're not
You are stuck to your own main account that's all
If you have secondary/third accounts with Vita content, you have to almost reboot the system, erase everything off the card (unless you got an extra card for you other accounts), then sign into that account and play, if you want to return to main, repeat damn process

Every region misses out on content from each other
I rather having a roaming main account that I have access to all content Sony puts on their stores

 

[jayu26]

The problem is that each PS Store gets radically different content. That different content is many times never released in other regions.

This is due to all the hoops each branch of SCE makes devs/pubs go through with their certification and release process. This is solely speaking on digital PS Store content.

I'm trying to look for a quote where Sony confirmed that there is only one certification process for PS4 and not separate once for each region. (If someone wants to help me find it, it would be appreciated.)

Unless of course I'm imagining things.

Edit: Okay I searched for like 10 min, that's about all I was willing to give this.

 

[jayu26]

How do you have so many inside contacts in the US living so far away?

thuway works in US embassy confirmed...thuway is CIA confirmed.

Opps, double post. Sorry!

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

I don't get this whole entire thing OP is going about at all. All this could be solved by making another account for another region, problem solved. Region switching is not flexible in my opinion especially on Xbox because you can only do it every , I think 6 months. On PSN you just make another account and there, you go. Done. I can make an account for EU, JP, Asia and US.

 

[djhsecondnature]

The OP is asking if it's such a burden/cost prohibitive for games to be localized per region and to have parity across the board, why not let the account move around

Because as much as we might like that, it would go against most regional contracts and legalities. Given the way digital media currently works that will not happen.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

I'd like to see Ape Escape HD collection with Million Monkeys getting localized :3

Oh and I guess US should have Siren 2 released in PSN store someday.

 

[IncandescentPrecept]

No one wanted to play those two minor spin-offs (lol major IPs) on home turf, why would anyone want to play them in Japan?

Instead of trolling, read the OP.

 

[etrain911]

I just want parity with EU when it comes to Plus games and PS One titles available on the Vita. It would be nice if there was digital parity with every region but that's not realistic. Still, they could have a more flexible account system on the Vita. Locking it to a memory card is bullshit as is the inability to switch regions for your accounts.

 

[JP]

It doesn't take that much effort to get these smaller games from guarenteed seller IPs out in all major regions.

What you say isn't true though and Europe is the best example of this as you need to publish in individual countries rather than Europe as a whole. You need to also make sure that you'd got licensing rights for anything that is licensed in a game such as music and the license holders can different from country to country so there is no guarantee that obtaining license clearance in one country means that you have access to it in another.

Thats before you even start looking at languages which means you could end up with over a dozen vocal tracks for each character in a game.

If it was simple and as economical as you suggest then it would be done but it isn't.

 

[IncandescentPrecept]

Why? People are purchasing the game out of their region, where it's not meant to work. The problem is the lack of turnaround they make with these games. It's not as simple as one person uploading them to the SCEJ online store you know. It's not worth it, they're shit games that not enough people bought to make them a financial success, if they were a success, they'd probably see the light of day in other Sony stores.

I don't expect to be able to have access to the servers from Japanese games that never released here in Canada, neither should they.

Are you serious? So, you're saying that a game's lack of release in another region is due to sales?

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

The OP is asking if it's such a burden/cost prohibitive for games to be localized per region and to have parity across the board, why not let the account move around

If I a NA user want to purchase stuff from other stores, let me do so on my main account
Creating new accounts for other regions is just a bypass

The Vita itself can be more prosperous, if multiple accounts were allowed, they're not
You are stuck to your own main account that's all
If you have secondary/third accounts with Vita content, you have to almost reboot the system, erase everything off the card (unless you got an extra card for you other accounts), then sign into that account and play, if you want to return to main, repeat damn process

Every region misses out on content from each other
I rather having a roaming main account that I have access to all content Sony puts on their stores

I don't understand this.There will be a general limitation on how many times you can do this regardless (because of other country laws) which makes it less preferred in the long run especially if you move around a lot. You can always have access to different accounts in different regions much better if you manage it yourself than having someone tell you when you can switch your region. I don't see the benefit in region switching at all.

I think your last point is exactly why Nintendo does not allow region locking because people would be generally pissed if one region gets something another region doesn't. To keep it fair, they lock the system for cost reasons, as well as general laws within each country they are selling the content they legally can sell.

 

[Jarek23]

Do you have a reading problem? Festival of Blood was the second most downloaded game of 2011.

Calm down.

I really doubt those numbers are very high. In fact I'm pretty sure that those numbers aren't high at all considering it took Journey a year just to break even. I can't expect that Journey would cost more than FOB.

 

[BleachAndPepsi]

thuway works in US embassy confirmed...thuway is CIA

I don't know, but this is his Facebook pic:

Oh shit, son!

 

[IncandescentPrecept]

Calm down.

I really doubt those numbers are very high. In fact I'm pretty sure that those numbers aren't high at all considering it took Journey a year just to break even. I can't expect that Journey would cost more than FOB.

Do you know what the numbers are for FoB? Do you know what the budget was for Journey?

 

[thecosmicfly]

Uncharted: Fight for Fortune is a high tier IP. What the actual fuck.

edit: I do get the point of content for certain games being limited by region though and it does suck. But more often than not it seems to only be fringe cases. A universal store would be an amazing deal, but the nature of game releases in different regions makes it a tough nut to crack.

 

[Artorias]

Calm down.

I really doubt those numbers are very high. In fact I'm pretty sure that those numbers aren't high at all considering it took Journey a year just to break even. I can't expect that Journey would cost more than FOB.

If you don't have any of the facts or care to look into it, what exactly is the point of your posts?

 

[Jarek23]

Are you serious? So, you're saying that a game's lack of release in another region is due to sales?

Yeah, that's pretty much how things work. I'm not talking about video games only. If something is a success in it's place of origin, they'll try to sell it in other markets, if somethings a flop, they count their losses and move on.

 

[Commanche Raisin Toast]

i thought it's an industry-wide thing where you can't "release a game in a country"*** that you haven't gotten ratings and approvals for. and not by Sony, but the ESRB and others to ensure that the title adheres to all standards/laws set by the country it's being "sold in".***

***meaning release a retail copy of a game into foreign shops for sale or on foreign download serviced for sale.

so Super Mega Wet Panty Raider Maxxx can be released on PS3 in Japan without issue but releasing it here would require it to be reviewed by the ESRB before any shop will carry it, and likewise for Sony (or any other console maker) before they will allow it on their store.

i don't think this is a Sony-specific problem here. Sony's rebuttal to this complaint is that they split it up in order to get the games released as quickly as possible, instead of the title having to wait on the slowest region. ie: a game finishes next week and is submitted, and even though it's approved by the US region in a week, the game can't release on any of the stores until Germany looks it over and approves.

correct me if im wrong, and if so, bring your links and quotes please.

 

[Moon_frogger]

Localization is hard and stuff bro. Don't take it all personal it's just the nature of the business.

 

[Jarek23]

Do you know what the numbers are for FoB? Do you know what the budget was for Journey?

The cost to develop Journey was in the millions and it took them a year to break even. It nearly bankrupted thatgamecompany which you can easily find with a simple internet search. It is the best selling, and fastest selling game of all time on PSN. If that was the case with such a successful game, In my opinion I don't think FOB made enough money.

 

[Artorias]

The cost to develop Journey was in the millions and it took them a year to break even. It nearly bankrupted thatgamecompany which you can easily find with a simple internet search. It is the best selling, and fastest selling game of all time on PSN. If that was the case with such a successful game, In my opinion I don't think FOB made enough money.

Luckily your opinion has no place in a conversation about sales, which is itself completely off topic to this thread.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

i thought it's an industry-wide thing where you can't "release a game in a country"*** that you haven't gotten ratings and approvals for. and not by Sony, but the ESRB and others to ensure that the title adheres to all standards/laws set by the country it's being "sold in".***

***meaning release a retail copy of a game into foreign shops for sale or on foreign download serviced for sale.

so Super Mega Wet Panty Raider Maxxx can be released on PS3 in Japan without issue but releasing it here would require it to be reviewed by the ESRB before any shop will carry it, and likewise for Sony (or any other console maker) before they will allow it on their store.

i don't think this is a Sony-specific problem here. Sony's rebuttal to this complaint is that they split it up in order to get the games released as quickly as possible, instead of the title having to wait on the slowest region. ie: a game finishes next week and is submitted, and even though it's approved by the US region in a week, the game can't release on any of the stores until Germany looks it over and approves.

correct me if im wrong, and if so, bring your links and quotes please.

This is exactly why. That why this whole thing OP has here is just wrong. This is an issue everywhere even with regular technology in the smartphone spaces. A phone cannot be sold in America until it goes through the FCC, just like Software has to go through obvious processing and whatever else is going to be sold in the country.

 

[Jarek23]

Luckily your opinion has no place in a conversation about sales, which is itself completely off topic to this thread.

It's 100% on topic when it's a possible reason as to why those games didn't get released in other regions.

 

[Gen X]

I'm still waiting for 60hz PSone games in EU. Where is my Einhander?

 

[Artorias]

It's 100% on topic when it's a possible reason as to why those games didn't get released in other regions.

When you bring no facts whatsoever and compare wildly different games budgets before doing any research, its absolutely off topic.

 

[Bluth54]

I wouldn't call Uncharted TCG a high tier IP game.

Yeah I would agree with you there, I didn't even know it existed until I clicked on this thread.

 

[Boogalogist]

Those that say "create another PSN account", most likely don't own a Vita.