Originally posted by: brxndxn
Yup. If you read the fine print, importing or playing out-of-region games is illegal. So I guess my arcade is breaking copyright laws by having Japanese games, right?
- M4H
Since when does a media company decide what the laws are by writing them in fine print? It is NOT illegal to play anything out-of-region.
It's a violation of the license agreement. Like someone else said, you're not buying the software, you're buying the license to use it. You aren't allowed to violate the terms of that agreement.
The out-of-region protection is just there so they can charge more for the same thing in some countries and less in others. It deters the global market and maximizes their profits.
I thought region coding was because movies come out later in other countries, and they don't want people in those countries to be able to buy the DVD before it comes out in theaters... That's for movies at least.
If you OWN an import game, it is most definitely not illegal to play it in the wrong country.
You don't OWN it.
It's just like Microsoft's license agreements. They say you're not allowed to resell their software or move it to a different computer - but, you most certainly can. If you buy something from a company, they cannot say that you must throw it away and not sell it.
Wow, you're all about violating those license agreements. Tell you what, give me your full name and address, I'll pass it along to Microsoft, and we'll see what happens when you violate their license agreements.