The news is not that good I’m afraid, but there is going to be a huge shake-up of region coding which means the move from the current seven regions to three or four. This benefits the US most of all, as it would, allowing them access to Asian movies and games straight from the shelf.
From Gamers Reports through Engadget comes the news:
Though Warner was eager to abolish region code and there were no objection until the final decision, film companies not in AACS LA opposed it and it was decided that region code stays in BD-ROM. But it undergoes reorganization. Basically, Japan and other East Asian countries except for China are moved to Region 1. The new region codes are
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
Okay, this is a step in the right direction and great news for all those in Region 1. Now you can have direct access to Asian imports of Blu-Ray discs, and that will mean PS3 and DVD’s. However the news remains the same for those in Europe and the rest of the World, we’re still unfairly restricted against importing cheaper and more feature rich products.
What do you think of all this? I suspect if you’re in region 1 already you’ll be delighted, region 2 just as hacked off as ever. Or you might not care about regionalisation at all. Frankly I still hope for the removal of all regions on DVD’s and Game systems.
The current region coding is, from Sendit.com:
Region 01 – Canada, U.S., U.S. Territories.
Region 02 – Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, European Union, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (the Former Yugoslav Republic), Malta, Moldova, Principality of Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia,South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Kingdom (Channel Islands) Vatican City State, Yemen, Yugoslavia
Region 03 – Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong)
Region 04 – Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, Caribbean
Region 05 – Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa (also North Korea, Mongolia)
Region 06 – China
Region 07 – Reserved
Region 08 – Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
