Is It Region Locked? - Now It's Easy To Find Out!

Is It Region Locked?​

Have you ever wanted to play a mystic relic from the far east in your gamebox only to realize- "Hold the phone! My brain doesn't contain a near encyclopedic collection of information pertaining to the status of my gameboxes' region locking policies, and I'm late for school!"

Wonder no further, fellow entertainment junkie! I have lovingly crafted a small reference website so that you no longer have to scour the internet looking for forum posts about jamming erasers into your PlayStation!

In simple words, "Is It Region Locked?" is an easy to read website for quickly figuring out if a game console is region protected, and contains information and links about the various ways to bypass it.
While the basics are all there, I'm also looking for some feedback from people more familiar with console modding. I'm well aware that the methods listed on the site are not comprehensive, and I'd like to work with others to fill in some of the gaps. There's a To-Do list on the site that has a general idea of the kind of content I'd like to add.

I strongly encourage any critiques and criticisms, and if you have a lot to say, please email me and we can talk over IM.
I hope that you find the site useful!

isitregionlocked.info​

 

I can dig it.
Do you plan to add lists of games to each section with region locking?

Also do you plan to add systems like the wondermega for example? I dont know if it has locking and would be very much interested to know.

Oh be sure to add the HyperScan console for those individuals...

 

That's a nice site you've got so far!

Here's one I discovered recently that doesn't seem to be very well documented: Sega Genesis games can be played in a Pioneer Laseractive through the Japanese Mega Drive add-on pack, but compatibility is patchy at best. Sonic 2 and Sonic and Knuckles worked fine (even with Sonic 2 on top of Sonic and Knuckles), but Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition didn't, and gave me a message saying something about it being designed for use only with NTSC systems.

 

Snes is wrong, your "kinda" only applies to ntsc/u and ntsc/j. It's most certainly region locked ntsc <> pal as it has a different cic

But it's not called a snes in Japan. So Americans snes to Europe snes should be yes on your site.

 

Yes, I'd like to add game lists to systems that do game-by-game locking, like the 360.
And thank you for the system suggestions. I hadn't considered hardware variations like the Wondermega. I think I need to double check the 3DO now as well.

Thank you, let me know if you do more testing, so I can add a list of games.

It's half noted on the SNES page. Do you think it would be better to have separate listings for consoles like that? I think the PAL N64 page has the same problem. I think the biggest issue with the site right now is the lack of information about PAL stuff- it's my current priority.

 

I'd just list it as kinda and in your note state its not region locked between ntsc regions, (only cart shape), but is locked between ntsc and pal regions

And yes, n64 is exactly the same

 

Would signal output be considered locking of sorts?
I ask as I have been looking through a few games and noticed one said "PAL50 is not supported. Please change your display to a PAL60 format to continue."

It's not really region, but it's signal related so it's still locked in a way.

 

It's not region locking though, it's not having a display capable. If the game runs on consoles of any region, it's not region locked, regardless of its display requirements

 

At least 1 EU EA game is region locked (Elitersien 95, which I totally spelled right, doesn't work).
Also the Genesis 3 (which only came out in the US, there isn't a MD3 to my knowledge) doesn't have the tabs, and will play Japanese games just fine (I only have one, but it works easily).

 

Don't forget the region switch mod for the GameCube, as it actually switches the region instead of loading Japanese games on the US region setting. The XenoGC really just enables backup compatibility and really shouldn't be used as a region bypass. Not to mention the memory card compatibility issues between the regions.

 

I'd love to do some more testing with the Laseractive Mega Drive pac, but unfortunately I have very few Genesis games (or even Japanese Mega Drive games for that matter).

 

I've updated the site with the corrections I've received. I really appreciate everyone's input. Let me know if you'd like a contribution credit for any of these insights, I'd be more than happy to give shoutouts to those helping make the site more informative.

 

Anything I have said is common knowledge and I deserve no credit for it. Please do not add me to any footnotes. Just "The users of assemblergames.com" works for me.

 

Nice guide! Just have one suggestion, though. The X'Eye/Wondermega actually has a cart slot big enough for Japanese games, but still has the game-specific locks, however.

 

Good point, I should have specified it was the MD game.

 

With the XBOX One, It's another "Kinda". Digital games and DLC can only be redeemed as codes in the country they originated from. So, me being in Europe, I can't get DLC for a game released here from the American store, but I can if I have the American copy of the game. If I buy a digital copy of a game from Amazon.COM, I can only redeem it on an American Account, because Amazon.com is the American Amazon.

Same deal with PS4.

 

I'm gonna take a long look at the compatibility list. Internet lore tends to point toward most EA games being region-free but now I'm not so sure.

Thanks, I'll update the page. I think the PS3 is like that as well.

 

Maybe it's most US EA games. I don't have a PAL MD to test on, but I do have a lot of EA games.

 

Pretty sure there also was a method for the Dreamcast to boot import games without chip or boot disc
(used to initially do this on the PAL console releases)

Just cut the resistor next to the internal battery on the controller board. (can always be resoldered)

If I'm correct, the procedure went as follows:
- boot the console with a PAL game (it loads up the PAL code) and wait a while until you hear the disc spin down
- open the lid and replace with any import game
- press start and now it should boot your import game.

Depending on your console version, replace "PAL" console in this explanation with NTSC-J / NTSC-U.
Also, I can't confirm if it worked on every game though.