A Beginner's guide to Region coding for Games
As we get a number of requests for information about region coding from US customers we have compiled a basic guide to the regions for each console. There are two factors to consider - Region and PAL/NTSC format.
Ragged Angel usually supplies PAL Region 2 games (suitable for European and UK consoles). However we have a small selection of Region 1 NTSC games suitable for US consoles.
Regions: The standard console regions are the same as DVD regions:
- Region 1 - The U.S.A. and Canada
- Region 2 - Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, Greenland
- Region 3 - Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong
- Region 4 - Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean
- Region 5 - USSR and regions, Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, North Korea, Mongolia
- Region 6 - China
Usually games will only play on a console from that region, e.g. a US or canadian console will not play European games and vice versa.
NTSC / PAL: Another complication is that US and Canadian consoles are coded to accept NTSC games and TVs, while those for the UK and Europe accept PAL. Other regions vary between the two standards
Importing: The easiest way to play out-of-region games is to import a console from that region. However you may also need to import a TV or screen if you are going between NTSC and PAL regions and it is worth remembering that you will also need a voltage converter to use it as the US runs of 120V and the UK/EU on 220V.
Chipping: Usually a console can only play games from the region it is configured for. However it is possible to alter a console to play out of region games, regardless of NTSC or PAL format. This is called "Chipping" or "Modding" and is of doubtful legal status. The main drawbacks are that whether or not it is legal varies between countries, and most manufacturers automatically void the warrenty on chipped consoles and have been known to sue users. As some chips also defeat copy-protection as well as region coding the manufacturer's stance is understandable as it can encourage piracy.
Why? Given the problems the regions cause why do players import games? Simply because the games are not the same across regions. Suikoden 3 was only released in the US, leaving European Suikoden fans the issue of missing the middle game in the series. Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was only released in Japan, so fans of the game in the US were unable to get the extended version of the game. These are just two examples of why dedicated gameplayers may spend time buying import consoles or risk breaking the law by chipping.
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