Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Solderless Wii modchips on the way?]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/07/solderless-wii-modchips-on-the-way/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/07/solderless-wii-modchips-on-the-way/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/07/solderless-wii-modchips-on-the-way/#commentsFiled under:

If you've been curious about fixing your Wii to dabble with homebrew or play titles from other regions, but don't trust your abilities enough to mess with the console's innards, there might be a solution in the works for you. WiiNewz forum member Takrin recently posted photos of his hardware project in progress, a prototype modchip that requires no soldering to install.

With nothing to attach the modchip to though, how does it stay in place? Takrin suggests "double sided tape on one side" and "foam which presses it to your drive on the other." That doesn't sound like a very stable setup, but we hope to see this development spawn more sophisticated and accessible mods in the future. To be honest, if a monkey can't install it, we probably wouldn't be able to either.

[Via MaxConsole]

JoystiqSolderless Wii modchips on the way? originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 May 2007 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chiphomebrewmodmodchipmodchipsmodsnintendonintendowiiregionfreeregionssoldersolderlesstakrimwiiwiifreeMon, 07 May 2007 16:40:00 EST<![CDATA[Region free in Europe? Only with a HDTV]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/07/european-import-woes-better-get-a-hdtv/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/07/european-import-woes-better-get-a-hdtv/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/07/european-import-woes-better-get-a-hdtv/#commentsFiled under: ,

The other day I was out shopping in London and decided to pick up another game for my imported US PS3 (FEAR, for those of you who are curious). This is the first PAL region game I've bought, but knowing that the PS3 is region free I wasn't worried about compatibility issues. When I got back and put the disc in the drive, I was met by a very disappointing message: "This game not supported (80028F10)". Confused, and a bit pissed off, I did some Googling and stumbled on a very helpful thread on the official European PLAYSTATION forum.

It turns out that there's an issue with US/JAP PS3s running 576 lines of resolution (the European standard). That is, they can't do it. So European games that don't support 480i/p simply won't play. The only solution is to step up to the lowest common resolution for all regions, 720i/p. Of course, for that you'll need a HDTV and a high definition connector for your console. As a result, FEAR is fast becoming the most expensive game I've ever bought.

It's difficult to say whether this will affect people who are planning on nabbing themselves some US games for their PAL PS3s. If you have any anecdotal evidence showing that this works fine, then let us know. As for the Americans out there who are looking forward to importing Singstar next month, you'll probably suffer from this same problem if you've yet to take the plunge and gone HD.

JoystiqRegion free in Europe? Only with a HDTV originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 07 May 2007 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>EuropeHDTVRegion FreeRegionFreeMon, 07 May 2007 08:50:00 EST<![CDATA[How to get Double Agent for $48]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/20/how-to-get-double-agent-for-48/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/20/how-to-get-double-agent-for-48/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/10/20/how-to-get-double-agent-for-48/#commentsFiled under: ,


After doing the post about the Assassin's Creed collector's edition, we couldn't help but notice this little tidbit. It looks like Play-Asia is offering the region free version of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for a measly $44.90. Add $3.10 shipping and you've got your own copy for $48. That's $12 dollars of the retail price. Not bad at all. We've done a story or two on region free Xbox 360 games in the past. For the uninitiated, 360 games released in Asia are often region free. Not only that, but they are usually completely identical to their English counterparts, right down to the manual.

We haven't confirmed whether or not this is the case with Splinter Cell, but it's a fairly safe bet. Did anybody here get their copy from Play-Asia? For future reference, Play-Asia maintains a list of its region free 360 games. You might want to bookmark it if you enjoy saving money.

JoystiqHow to get Double Agent for $48 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>double agentDoubleAgentplay asiaplay-asiaPlayAsiaregion freeRegionFreescscdasplinter cellsplinter cell double agentSplinterCellSplinterCellDoubleAgentubisoftFri, 20 Oct 2006 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Wii isn't region-free, after all]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/15/the-wii-isnt-region-free-after-all/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/15/the-wii-isnt-region-free-after-all/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/15/the-wii-isnt-region-free-after-all/#commentsFiled under:

Talk to the hand.We've never really had a reason to dislike Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo of America's vice president of marketing and corporate affairs. Sure, she got a little drunk at E3 (seriously, watch that video, it's awesome), but who wasn't? But now...she's crossed the line. We reported yesterday that the Wii would be region-free for first-party titles, and left up to the publisher for third-party ventures. However, a UK Nintendo rep flatly denied her claims, and the official line from a U.S. rep was this:

"We've heard conflicting reports from lots of folks out there, but can tell you that Wii will be region encoded, as will first-party software."

How dare you, Kaplan? We trusted you; put our ability to play quirky Japanese Wii games in your hands! You failed us, you fibbing...fibber! A curse upon your soul!

JoystiqThe Wii isn't region-free, after all originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Sep 2006 20:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>KaplanLiarLockoutPerrinRegion freeRegionFreeFri, 15 Sep 2006 20:37:00 EST<![CDATA[Wii not even remotely region-free]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/15/wii-not-even-remotely-region-free/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/15/wii-not-even-remotely-region-free/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/15/wii-not-even-remotely-region-free/#commentsFiled under:

Remember when Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan told Wired News that first-party Wii games would be free of regional shackles? Well, it turns out that she never received the internal memo stating the exact opposite: The Wii will not be region-free. Not even a little. Some confusion arose after David "there's no DS redesign" Yarnton told UK press that the system would indeed be region-locked. Were Kaplan's comments misinterpreted somehow? After all, having region-free games and a region-free system are two very different things. We took the issue to a Nintendo US spokesperson and received the clarification we desired, unpleasant as it was.

"We've heard conflicting reports from lots of folks out there, but can tell you that Wii will be region encoded, as will first-party software."

It's a segmented world after all.

JoystiqWii not even remotely region-free originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 15 Sep 2006 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>importingregion freeregion lockingRegion-freeregion-lockedRegionFreeRegionLockingWiiwii region-freeWiiRegion-freeFri, 15 Sep 2006 20:25:00 EST<![CDATA[Moto GP for 43 bucks]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/22/moto-gp-for-43-bucks/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/22/moto-gp-for-43-bucks/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/22/moto-gp-for-43-bucks/#commentsFiled under: ,

Racing fans rejoice! Like GRAW, Blazing Angels, and Far Cry before it, Moto GP '06 has no region encoding. That means you can pick up a copy from Play-Asia for the delectable price of US $39.10 plus $3.90 shipping. A brand new 360 game for forty-three simoleons isn't bad at all. Those of you in doubt can check out X360F's previous proof of this amazing deal.

Anybody know of any other region free games out there?

[Via del.icio.us]

JoystiqMoto GP for 43 bucks originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Jun 2006 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blazing angelsBlazingAngelsfar cryFarCrygrawmoto gpmoto gp '06moto gp 06MotoGpMotoGp'06MotoGp06play asiaplay-asiaPlayAsiaregion 0region freeRegion0RegionFreeThu, 22 Jun 2006 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Region-free PS3, free online multiplayer confirmed]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/23/region-free-ps3-free-online-multiplayer-confirmed/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/23/region-free-ps3-free-online-multiplayer-confirmed/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/23/region-free-ps3-free-online-multiplayer-confirmed/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

FFXII Japanese magazine spot During a Q&A session with media over lunch after yesterday's GDC keynote, Sony's Phil Harrison confirmed that PS3 software will be region free and that multiplayer gaming will also be free.

While we'd heard rumblings of the region-free set-up for games back in early November, we hadn't heard any official confirmation outside of Australia until just the other day. Importers (as well as online gamers) should be quite pleased with the development, though this move likely won't follow for Blu-ray movie discs. It's good to see the region-free status of PSP games spread to the PS3's.

If online multiplayer is included as part of Sony's free basic service (known internally as the "PlayStation Network Platform"), then what would constitute Sony's premium service besides the typical content downloads for games? Subscriptions for movie and/or music services, perhaps? And going back to the region-encoding news, it's heartening for our friends on the Continent to hear Phil's following statement: "It's possible for developers to put all the TV formats - PAL, NTSC, HDTV, and so on - on the disc." Can Sony bring the world together with games?

[Thanks, DarkFlash; image taken from Final Fantasy Odyssey]

See also:

JoystiqRegion-free PS3, free online multiplayer confirmed originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 Mar 2006 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>basicBlu-rayconfirmationencodingGDCHDTVkeynotemovieNTSCPALPhil HarrisonPhilHarrisonPlayStation Network PlatformPlaystationNetworkPlatformpremiumPS3PSPregion freeRegionFreeSonysubscriptionsThu, 23 Mar 2006 02:00:00 EST