Say No To Region Locking.

Published on June 17, 2008 By Camerooni In Personal Computing

Say no to Region Locking.
(Full Article Coming Soon)

Quick Summary

- For a service designed to promote software 'freedoms', Impulse enforcing region lockouts is introucing a concept otherwise never existing in a PC environment (other than Microsofts Vista Anywhere Update - which is not available outside the US/Canada, and parts of Europe and annoys me no end because I want to upgrade to Vista Ultimate... but.. can't!), and Steam (the big publishers prevent sale of some games in particular areas and in others increase the price for the same product). Impulse is region locking desktop software now (for example Corel Wordperfect Suite which is only available in US/Canada)..

- Region Locking exists to enforce archaic business models, create market protectionism, and prevent freedom of choice and supply in order to boost profits. Unfortunately efforts by governments to prevent such market lock in is foiled by the large publishers/studios. For example in Australia, Grey Market imports were made legal a few years back - this was intended to reduce the local price of goods such as Music CD's. Instead the local distributors/retailers increased their profits by selling the cheaper 'foreign' (and i say that loosely as all of these items are imported foreign product) product at what were previously established local prices. This is effectively what is currently happening with Impulse/Steam etc. Doors to previously unaccessible content are being opened, however instead of allowing for universal access we are instead being limited and/or charged more because they believe they can.

- Games are most affected by region locking, due to a lot of titles not getting official PAL releases they become inaccessible to the European/Oceanic market (and if they are availabe they're usually 2 to 3 times the eqivalent USD price). For this reason Modchips are legal in Australia despite all the fear campaigns and propaganda stating otherwise. However this comes at the expense of any manufacturer warranty (and face it if you own a 360 you probably need that.. </cheap dig>). Modchips also introduce the possibility of quick and easy software piracy on the consoles which is a bad thing. Sony tried to kill Modchips in Australia because obviously the PS2 modchips were incredibly popular for the use of pirating games. However they failed to do so as they also allowed people to play imported DVD's and Games that they otherwise would not have been 'allowed' to by the local industry. The solution for them was to not region lock games for the PS3 (and I commend them for that), thus no need to modchip (if possible down the track) a PS3 to play import games and hence they could sue modchip makers to their hearts content to shut down the piracy side of things. However Bluray regions are still enforced on the PS3.

- DVD's and Bluray Movies are also heavily affected. Thankfully with the advent of Bluray the number of individual 'markets' has been reduced to regions A,B, and C from dvd's original 7. We're told this is to prevent people ordering overseas DVD's of movies that haven't been shown in cinemas locally - why is that a concern. We a living in a 'global market' now - the Big Publishers/Studios always use that term when it benefits them but when it doesn't it's as if they'd never even heard of the concept.

- Granted products have different distributors/owners in different regions, but that shouldn't prevent a distributor in one region from having a customer outside of his own designated area. That's what free capitalism is meant to be about isn't it? If the other distributor can't compete because he charges more - then he should either charge less, or cease to exist?

What can be done:

- Contact your local members of parliament (or equivalent) and let your voice heard. If you have a competition and/or consumer watchdog in your country, contact them and again make your voice heard. But remember to be polite and not send a letter similar to a forum flame

- Contact Stardock and express your unease of the introduction of region locking desktop and productivity software on what has previously been a 'fairly' open access platform. If I order a CD based product from the US and install it on my system there's no issue.. the same should be free of my download based software. Also be sure to mention that Region Locking of games is an artificial measure only existing to plunder profit. I always say that if a company is happy receiving $30 USD for their product in the states, then someone in the UK who pays them $30 USD should make them just as happy, right!?

- On Steam there is a group called 'Rest of World', with the idea being that it exists to allow Steam customers join and express their dissatisfaction at the treatment of non-US customers. Why are Australians being charged $88.50 in USD for Call of Duty IV when the US price is around $39.95 AND we have a free trade agreement? That doesn't sound like a fair deal!

- Avoid products/services that discriminate either in distribution or cost based on your geographical region. That means giving up these services completely.. it's hard, I don't think I could do this myself at the moment either.

Comments (Page 2)

S0und5

on Jun 18, 2008

In an ideal world digital distribution pricing should be universal; the problem is middlemen and skimmers gouge consumers because they can. From my perspective if nothing has physically changed hands then how can there be a price difference?

As mentioned, Steam charged a different price for Call of Duty based on region. This is a deal breaker for digital downloading if it continues.

All that said whilst Gamersgate, Steam and now Impulse offer products at the same prices regardless of region - I'll use them.

On another note I just landed in the US and lo and behold I can now purchase SR2: Reboot. Yay for me.

ZubaZ

on Jun 18, 2008

I should take this spot to say that not all this is directed at stardock Region locking in general is the issue here. I probably shouldn't have led in straight away with the Impulse example, but hell, these are the impulse community pages are they not?

My point is that posting here will do little good. Stardock (and likely this community) supports what you are saying. We call that "preaching to the choir".

You, and people that feel the way you do need to post everywhere else and email the decision-makers at the publishers (researching individual's emails is an art worthy of learning) letting them know that you are unhappy and that you are making purchasing decisions based on that. Let them know where you are spending your money and why. And let them know that they could have had that money. Start a movement!

NightTrainthedark

on Jun 18, 2008

Start a movement!

or start a brokering business that transfers "things" from country to country securly with a safe way of exchanging currency. Dunno if it's possible but there seems to be a window for making money here somewhere.

DauntlessAnsible

on Jun 18, 2008

why do americans always get blamed? everyone be happy and move here. there are lots of houses on the market.

Ranbir

on Jun 19, 2008

why do americans always get blamed? everyone be happy and move here. there are lots of houses on the market.

You don't have Worcestor Sauce flavoured Walker's Crisps.

pndrev

on Jun 19, 2008

You don't have proper beer or cars.

WIllythemailboy

on Jun 19, 2008

why do americans always get blamed?

Because other countries can't seem to make video games. Perhaps the best way to beat region locking would be for an Aussie or Brit to make a worthwhile game, then discriminate the crap out of us Americans. How sad is it that the best foreign video game I've ever played was FRENCH?!?!

And before you ask, it's XIII. Terrible graphics, but it's suposed to be that way. Brilliant concept, well executed, hilarious voice acting (c'mon, you can't beat a game with Adam West in it). Well worth a look if you like FPS games. I just wish they'd done well enough to make the sequel.

psychoak

on Jun 19, 2008

Plenty of Aussie games. Infinite Interactive and SSG are Aussie outfits. The only thing Australia lacks is a major publisher screwing things up. The Australians have to get boned by Ubisoft or similar.

Zoomba

on Jun 19, 2008

Here's the problem in a nutshell, and it's something that goes way beyond what one company can do....

You have WeMakeWidgets Inc. A company that makes WidgetWaxer 3.0 (following up on the amazing success of WidgetWaxer 2.0).

WeMakeWidgets Inc. is based in Germany.

WeMakeWidgets Inc. wants to put WidgetWaxer 3.0 onto store shelves so they start looking for a publisher/distributor.

Here's where the problem comes in. See, there are virtually no distributors/publishers with global reach. Typically, you have companies that focus on their domestic or geographically close markets. So if you want your software on shelves worldwide, you have to contract with multiple distributors (publishers if you're in games). You find a company that covers North America, you find a company that covers Europe, another that covers the Asia/Pacific region. So that's three different distributors you're now trying to work with to get the widest distribution possible.

Each of these distributors will want to be the exclusive carrier in their designated market. This is to protect their investment in production and distribution. Without this they can invest tons of money in getting the product into retail, and then have the software maker switch to a cheaper service once the hard work is done.

Now, lets say after getting WidgetWaxer 3.0 into retail around the globe, WeMakeWidgets Inc. wants to get into digital distribution? Well, they've already promised their distribution rights away to these other companies, unless they reserved special rights for digital distribution in the contract. Though with games quite often the distribution rights, both electronic and retail, go to the publisher. There are a few exceptions with this such as Valve who does their own digital thing and distributes to stores through EA.

So if you want to get a game for sale digitally in the US, you have to talk to the US publisher. If you want the EU rights, you have to go to whoever has the distrib rights for that territory and secure them separately. And just because the US publisher will work with you, doesn't mean the EU one will (this is not an example of what actually happens, it's a hypothetical example). There's also the problem of what if the publisher in one territory has their own ideas on digital distribution.

By the time we come to the table to secure the rights to digitally distribute a program or game we didn't ourselves develop or publish, the territories, the restrictions, and the general contractual mess has already been established. And it's not as simple as saying "Fine then, we won't sell anything we can't get world-wide digital rights to" because then that would leave us with pretty much nothing since it's the manner in which the general system works.

Region locking is such a massive mess at the moment that is rooted in how things work in the world of physical distribution that short of the entire publishing/distribution system being reworked from the ground up (or one or two truely global publishers surfacing), it's a problem that no one company in the chain can solve. It's like saying that traffic laws are totally messed up and one driver, or a handful of drivers in one town could do it their own way and make the rest of the driving world change.

You can vote with your wallet of course, everyone always has the option to not spend their money and that's not something anyone can take away from you, but you should also know that saying "I won't buy this game in Germany because of the price difference/region locking" will probably not result in a publisher going "Oh my, we lost XYZ number of sales in Germany because of region locking." They'll probably go "Oh my, we only sold ABC units in Germany. It must mean this sort of game isn't popular in Germany, we will not sell it there anymore." Look at issues with Mass Effect's DRM situation and how EA just doesn't seem to get it. It's because they're looking at it from an abstracted business point of view, not from anything even closely connected to their customers.

Jafo

on Jun 19, 2008

Zoomba put it all in a nutshell....

but just to add....

It's all very well 'saying no to region locking' but the fact of the matter is no-one is actually asking "Would you like to have Region Locking?"...so the 'no' is moot.....

aufisch

on Jun 20, 2008

It's all very well 'saying no to region locking' but the fact of the matter is no-one is actually asking "Would you like to have Region Locking?"...so the 'no' is moot.....

But it does help (me) to rant about it once in a while. I actually would love paying a visit to some of these publishers and bitch-slap some of their overpaid CEO's. I am sure that would help (me) even more.

kingpan

on Jun 20, 2008

i think region control is a bunch of crap. it destroys alot of potential games that one could play.

like the DS isint region locked and it is in my opinion one of the best things ever. I can enjoy all these silly jap. only games. and play games before they are released.

also if consoles where not locked all release dates would be at the same time which would also be a good thing to gamers around the world. especially europe because they usually get games later than the rest of the world. and I don't think it would be such a difficult thing to get rid of these locks and make gaming a more rounded thing.

Ranbir

on Jun 20, 2008

GTA was Scottish!

HG_Eliminator

on Jun 20, 2008

Here's the problem in a nutshell

Das A big ol nut shell.

damicatz

on Jul 10, 2008

Alternatively, you could tell the traditional publisher to go pound sand and go straight to digital distribution without signing away your rights.

As far as I'm concerned, traditional publishers like EA, 2K, THQ (especially after the Iron Lore incident) and Atari are scourge. They are parasites that live off the backs of (formerly) independent game developers. They compromise the artistic integrity of the work in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

The traditional publishers have only been profitable because up until a few years ago, they were the only real way to distribute your game to the masses and make lots of sales. With the advent of systems like Impulse and Steam however, developers now have the option to completely skip the middleman entirely and release their games to an audience of millions. They retain artistic control of the game, they retain control of their IP, they have more flexible schedules, and they aren't bled dry by publishers that leech most of the profits.

The traditional publishers day is numbered. It's adapt or die. No longer does an elite group of companies control all of the avenues of distribution for artistic works. With the advent of the internet, artists can now release their works on their own.

Here's the problem in a nutshell, and it's something that goes way beyond what one company can do....
You have WeMakeWidgets Inc. A company that makes WidgetWaxer 3.0 (following up on the amazing success of WidgetWaxer 2.0).
WeMakeWidgets Inc. is based in Germany.
WeMakeWidgets Inc. wants to put WidgetWaxer 3.0 onto store shelves so they start looking for a publisher/distributor.
Here's where the problem comes in. See, there are virtually no distributors/publishers with global reach. Typically, you have companies that focus on their domestic or geographically close markets. So if you want your software on shelves worldwide, you have to contract with multiple distributors (publishers if you're in games). You find a company that covers North America, you find a company that covers Europe, another that covers the Asia/Pacific region. So that's three different distributors you're now trying to work with to get the widest distribution possible.
Each of these distributors will want to be the exclusive carrier in their designated market. This is to protect their investment in production and distribution. Without this they can invest tons of money in getting the product into retail, and then have the software maker switch to a cheaper service once the hard work is done.
Now, lets say after getting WidgetWaxer 3.0 into retail around the globe, WeMakeWidgets Inc. wants to get into digital distribution? Well, they've already promised their distribution rights away to these other companies, unless they reserved special rights for digital distribution in the contract. Though with games quite often the distribution rights, both electronic and retail, go to the publisher. There are a few exceptions with this such as Valve who does their own digital thing and distributes to stores through EA.
So if you want to get a game for sale digitally in the US, you have to talk to the US publisher. If you want the EU rights, you have to go to whoever has the distrib rights for that territory and secure them separately. And just because the US publisher will work with you, doesn't mean the EU one will (this is not an example of what actually happens, it's a hypothetical example). There's also the problem of what if the publisher in one territory has their own ideas on digital distribution.
By the time we come to the table to secure the rights to digitally distribute a program or game we didn't ourselves develop or publish, the territories, the restrictions, and the general contractual mess has already been established. And it's not as simple as saying "Fine then, we won't sell anything we can't get world-wide digital rights to" because then that would leave us with pretty much nothing since it's the manner in which the general system works.
Region locking is such a massive mess at the moment that is rooted in how things work in the world of physical distribution that short of the entire publishing/distribution system being reworked from the ground up (or one or two truely global publishers surfacing), it's a problem that no one company in the chain can solve. It's like saying that traffic laws are totally messed up and one driver, or a handful of drivers in one town could do it their own way and make the rest of the driving world change.
You can vote with your wallet of course, everyone always has the option to not spend their money and that's not something anyone can take away from you, but you should also know that saying "I won't buy this game in Germany because of the price difference/region locking" will probably not result in a publisher going "Oh my, we lost XYZ number of sales in Germany because of region locking." They'll probably go "Oh my, we only sold ABC units in Germany. It must mean this sort of game isn't popular in Germany, we will not sell it there anymore." Look at issues with Mass Effect's DRM situation and how EA just doesn't seem to get it. It's because they're looking at it from an abstracted business point of view, not from anything even closely connected to their customers.

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