Importing a japanese PS3....

[Kb-smoker]

It's a pretty safe bet that the ps3 will launch first in japan. Well i did a little research and it seems that getting a ps3 from japan will work out well if you live in NA.

first it will play NA movies. These are the blu-ray regions.


Region 1: North America, South America, East Asia except for China (India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia etc.)
Region 2: Europe and Africa
Region 3: China, Russia and other countries



now for the games. Main problem is that most will be in japanese. Some sites will have translations of some of a game for you. Sites like http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3590& will help you decide what games will be playable if you don't know japanese.


PlayStation 3 region-free?
Word has it that Sony’s next-gen giant might be the first console to officially play games from any territory.

So just like the PSP you can buy games anywhere for the ps3.

Sites where you can get ps3 games and console:
http://www.play-asia.com/
http://www.lik-sang.com/

did i miss anything?

[The_One]

AFAIK, Even though both NA and Japan uses NTSC and Region 1 Coding, I don't think the games will be playable on NA's NTSC PS3 if the game is bought in Japan (or imported). At least this is what's happening with the PS2 (unmodded, of course) and did happen with the PS1.

[Kb-smoker]

AFAIK, Even though both NA and Japan uses NTSC and Region 1 Coding, I don't think the games will be playable on NA's NTSC PS3 if the game is bought in Japan (or imported). At least this is what's happening with the PS2 (unmodded, of course) and did happen with the PS1.well the games will be playable from anywhere. Just like the psp.

[CrumCon]

PS3 games will be redion coded just like any other disc-based console. Its just the trend these days

[Kb-smoker]

Gamesindustry.biz
Arrival of HD-TV could put an end to encoding, says SCE Australia MD

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia's managing director, Michael Ephraim, has suggested that games for the next-generation PlayStation 3 console may not be region encoded.

"If you look at the fact that it will support high-definition TV, which will be a global standard, there's a good likelihood that it will be global region, as for example we've done with the PSP," Ephraim told Australian IT.

The move would mark a significant shift for the company - PSone and PS2 titles come in PAL and NTSC formats and there is no crossover.

However, as Ephraim noted, PSP games are not region locked. As a result, more units than usual were imported into Europe following delays to the launch, with consumers confident that they would be able to play European games on their Japanese or US PSPs. Sony ended up taking the importers to court, and it seems likely that the company would want to avoid a similar situation when the PS3 launches.

One way of doing this would be to launch the console in all the regions within a short time frame - something which Microsoft is about to do with the Xbox 360, and which Nintendo has also hinted at. Sony, however, is still keeping silent on launch plans - CEO Howard Stringer recently suggested that the PS3 would launch in spring 2006, though he did not specify in which territory.

[Sephiroth_VII]

isn't it the same as the dvd region codes?

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Articles/Sources/Pioneer%20DVD-104S%20DVD%20ROM/images/dvd-region-map.gif

would be kinda messy, if bd-rom is supposed to be compatible with dvd...

[Kb-smoker]

isn't it the same as the dvd region codes?

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Articles/Sources/Pioneer%20DVD-104S%20DVD%20ROM/images/dvd-region-map.gif

would be kinda messy, if bd-rom is supposed to be compatible with dvd...
http://forums.e-mpire.com/showthread.php?t=49758

there is also talk of not having region codes at all for blu-ray players.