Digital Region Lock (ps4/x1)

[orangpelupa]

Sony has clearly state in their FAQs that PS4 games are not region locked (digital and physical).
http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2013/10/30/playstation-4-the-ultimate-faq/

But in reality we have region lock activated on:
1. ALL Digital Games.
2. ALL DLC (physical/Digital game from US need DLC from US).
3. Some DLC are locked to 1 account + 1 machine, while others only for 1 Account (e.g. Killzone)


Am i getting this correctly?
Any idea why the inconsistencies in DLC?

it is confusing to have physical game from region X only can use DLC from region X altough the PS4 from region Y capable of playing Region X physical games in PSN region Y. Then the DLC locks, even sony themselves lock Killzone DLC only for 1 account. While the others do the normal 1 Account + 1 machine.

from what i gather, problem 1 and 2 already available since PS3 era but problem 3 only appear on PS4?

thanks

EDIT:
forgot mentioning X1 lol

X1, microsoft also the same saying there no region lock for games. The DLC also unlocked, but they suddenly region-lock the DLC and resulting some consumer remorse -> http://gbatemp.net/threads/xbox-one-digital-downloads-now-region-locked.362564/.
But generally the consencus is x1 games and DLC are completely region unlocked.

 

[Strange]

From what I know, they are not region locked. It's just that the DLC must also come from the same region for it to work. So in reality different regioned games are in fact different versions.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

From what I know, they are not region locked. It's just that the DLC must also come from the same region for it to work. So in reality different regioned games are in fact different versions.

Possibly to do with adhering to tax and customs import duties. A physical disc must cross a border where it can be subject to tax, a digital download does not.

 

[Dave Baumann]

Content frequently has to be altered for some regions (i.e. no blood, etc.).

 

[Cjail]

From what I know, they are not region locked. It's just that the DLC must also come from the same region for it to work. So in reality different regioned games are in fact different versions.

Not exactly.
The product ID of the game must match the product ID of the DLC for them to be compatible.

 

[Rurouni]

It's basically the same explanation. Of course there can be multiple region that have the same product ID, but to be safe, just buy the DLC from the same country as the game itself.

As Dave said, the content might be different between regions/countries/product IDs, can be as simple as because of the language or content censorship. Thus the DLC must be made to match the region of the game.

Anyway, the OP mentioned a DLC being locked to a machine. I find that hard to believe. Is there an example of that DLC locking?

As for region locking games, no, games are not region locked on PS4. You can play the games you buy on any console as long as you're using your account. Other accounts on a single PS4 should also be able to play any games from any region as long as the one (or several) account who bought it is registering the console as primary.

 

[orangpelupa]

some DLC are locked to macine + PSN, some just to PSN.

the China rising is using default Machine + PSN. https://store.sonyentertainmentnetw...eeth/cid=UP0006-CUSA00110_00-XPACK03000000000
but the Killzone DLC locked to PSN (no machine lock). https://store.sonyentertainmentnetw...maps/cid=UP9000-CUSA00190_00-COOPEXPANSION001

 

[Nesh]

Not exactly.
The product ID of the game must match the product ID of the DLC for them to be compatible.

Usually DLC are locked by region not by country. For example, all EU games I bought that were non-UK (i.e Greece or Germany) with DLC codes, the codes were valid in my UK EU account.

 

[Cjail]

Yeah usually but sometimes the UK product ID differs from the EU/AU one.
Shadow Fall for instance has a different product ID in UK.

 

[orangpelupa]

hmm about different game region need different DLC.

any idea why its working fine on PC but problematic on console? even considering different content, language, etc.
on PC i use BF3 Russia special edition, but DLC from Asia/singapore. It works perfectly fine. Then i buy Watch Dogs India but redeem on Uplay ASIA. its also working fine.

man.. i read some nightmares about region lock in GameFaqs... its scary how you can easily blow lots of dollars and getting incompatible content.

generally they confused why the PSN Store did not tell that the content in incompatible before buying. why it tells incompatible after it.

 

[Dave Baumann]

PC BIOS / system doesn't have a single region identifier, console hardware/firmware does.

 

[orangpelupa]

but the console game itself work across region. the problem is just on the digital side.

 

[orangpelupa]

confirmed region lock
The Last of Us Remastered Bonus DLC
Destiny day-one free DLC

i cannot redeem it on my US account but can on Asia account. The content did not appear in US account although Asia account is logged-in.

 

[Nesh]

confirmed region lock
The Last of Us Remastered Bonus DLC
Destiny day-one free DLC

i cannot redeem it on my US account but can on Asia account. The content did not appear in US account although Asia account is logged-in.

This was always the case

 

[Rurouni]

confirmed region lock
The Last of Us Remastered Bonus DLC
Destiny day-one free DLC

i cannot redeem it on my US account but can on Asia account. The content did not appear in US account although Asia account is logged-in.

Just to make sure, you've got the Asia version of both games and have download the DLC successfully and you already set the Asia account as the primary account for the console, then you want to use your US account to play the games (while the primary account still the Asia account) but can't access the DLC?

 

[orangpelupa]

@rurouni
yes that is correct.

@Nesh
yeah i kind of get that from the explanations on previous posts and with TLOU+Destiny, now i experienced it first hand >_<

i was wishing PS4 is released in modern era, so hopefully it can be more "lax" in their region lock. Like in Origin where i can buy game from anywhere and use DLC from anywhere

 

[PenguinJim]

But in reality we have region lock activated on:
1. ALL Digital Games.

Even the ones on discs? Video games are digital; they all break down into 0s and 1s. "Digital games" is a way of distinguishing video games from analog games, such as board games or physical sports.

And "digital" is not a synonym for "download"! And "digital download" is redundant, as downloads are digital! And... and... OK, I should stop letting this get to me.

X1, microsoft also the same saying there no region lock for games. The DLC also unlocked, but they suddenly region-lock the DLC and resulting some consumer remorse -> http://gbatemp.net/threads/xbox-one-digital-downloads-now-region-locked.362564/.
But generally the consencus is x1 games and DLC are completely region unlocked.

No, no, no! I don't know how that rumour hasn't died, but error 0x87de07d1 is not a result of region-locking. It's an error resulting from a bad license check, and should have been fixed in Xbone's April update (?). Alternatively, switching the console off and on again should fix it! (How do we still live in an age where people encountering errors haven't tried switching the device off and on again? )

 

[Michellstar]

(How do we still live in an age where people encountering errors haven't tried switching the device off and on again? )

Whoa. Thanks, you´ve just reminded me that i still have to watch the special last episode of "The It Crowd"

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It's not that great.

 

[Michellstar]

It's not that great.

Ouch

Never mind... At least is something