How to Identify Your PS3 Game Region

Apr1

11:00 AM

This guide serves to answer an many questions that you may have with regards to the region coding of PS3 games.

If you arrived here asking “What region is my PS3 game?” “How do I see what region is my PS3 game?” “How does region coding affect my PS3 gameplay?”, you have come to the right place.

First of all, I would like to thank Benjamin for laying the groundwork for this FAQ.

How do I identify my PS3 game region?
R1, R2, R3, R4 – Which is better?
Same Game, Same Title Different Price – Region coding is an important factor
Missing Scenes – Censorship in certain game regions
Online Play – Missing Players & Laggy Gameplay
Download Content – Extending the Lifespan of Your Game
Misc – Box Art, Cases & Manual

1. How do I identify my PS3 game region?

The easiest method and fuss free method would be looking at the cover of said game.

R1

All Region 1 Games comes with a censorship logo on its cover. These ratings/content guides are unique to Region 1 games.

The body that is responsible for these ratings is the ESRB which stands for Entertainment Software Ratings Board. See one of the above logos in the cover and you have an R1 copy of a game.

R2

If you are lucky enough to take a trip round Europe the following logos would be found on every game in Europa. No worries, the PS3 is REGION FREE and so any game bought from anywhere in the world will work on your set (I cannot stress this enough).

More abstract art than a proper game content description, you would often see the first row of icons on the rear of the game. It can be quite amusing to make out what you think a game is about just with the “descriptions”.

The second row of numerals basically refer to the suitable target ages that the game is suitable for. This would be would on the front of the cover of the game.

Still too hard to make out? Check the wordings under the numerals. Look for PEGI and there you have it, an R2 game, found predominantly all over Europe.

Games from Japan fall under the R2 category as well. Once again, the easiest method would be checking out the rating board logos.

R3

We have finally hit home! In the past, R3 games did not have any form of rating board logos. But now we see more games that come with game rating logos from Taiwan.

R3 games that have pass through the censors in Taiwan often come with 3 characters on the box front: ?, ?, ?.

The above would be a sample of games that have less risque content like Uncharted 2.

For us Singaporeans, anything that has excessive violence or nudity comes with an MDA sticker (cost passed to the consumer, grr).

R4

And finally, the country with the most draconian censorship laws and board, Australia.

In case you are more savvy with text than visuals the follow product codes will also suffice

BLUS – R1 USA

BLES – R2 Europe

BCJP – R2 Japan

BCAS – R3 Asia

BLAU – R4 Australia

2. R1, R2, R3, R4 – Which is better?

There honestly is no perfect answer to this. Better is a relative term in this case. It really depends from game to game.

The only person who is able to determine which game that he prefers (better) would be end user himself.

The following sections will highlight the differences between games of different regions.

3. Same Game, Same Title Different Price – Region coding is an important factor

If we were living in the age without the Internet and credit cards, the only game region that would be available to us would be the region that local suppliers give to us. Choice brings about many questions and many answers as well.

There are a few scales that we can compare game of different regions. One of which is price.

From the most expensive to the cheapest usually follows this order: R1 > R3 > R2.

R1 games usually are the most expensive. Correction. R4 games are the most expensive, thus not a popular choice for imports.

In general, when faced with a choice, one should not pay more for an R2 game if an R3 game is priced equal or lower. Likewise, an R1 game would be a good deal if it was cheaper than an R3. BUT, there are a few considerations to take note of.

In summary, R2 games are the cheapest followed by R3 and R1 and R4 being the most expensive. Do note that expensive does not equate a good buy.

4. Missing Scenes – Censorship in certain game regions

You would be surprised when I tell you that your local MDA cleared game is no more censored than the US import game.

In terms of violence and nudity, we are pretty liberal as the Americans.

To date, the only game that has been subjected to the snip would be the R4 version of Grand Theft Auto 4.

With that in mind, do note that censorship does and will affect the price of a game. Why pay more for less?

The Germans are pretty stringent when it comes to violence when it comes to picking video games. Thankfully, they prefer to ban the game outright for sale in their country hence does not affect the content of R2 Europe games.

5. Online Play – Missing Players & Laggy Gameplay

The beauty of the current generation of consoles is the ability to play online with friends. The problem is, although you and a buddy may possess the same game, you may not be able to play together due to differences in region.

The biggest culprit thus far has been games from Konami. Winning Eleven suffers from high latency and owners of R2 copies of the game (Pro Evolution Soccer) and R3 copies (Winning Eleven) all suffer from the same fate. Metal Gear Solid Online is another such title – Owners of different regions of the game are only able to play with same region owners. R1 owners would have to join in multiplayer games with players based predominantly in the US in this instance.

Thankfully, most, if not for a few black sheep, games have a global server and matching is based on latency (lag) in order to deliver the smoothest gameplay possible.

The irony of having choice is that despite having so many regions to choose from, we have to make an informed decision and usually it takes trial and error in order to determine if a game has a global server.

6. Download Content – Extending the Lifespan of Your Game

Download content (DLCs) are often microtransactions that add content to your existing game.

Coming in the form of additonal map packs, characters or levels, such content is often paid for and thus requires a fair bit of research before taking the plunge in making your purchase.

The general rule of thumb is that if your game is an R3 copy, the safest choice would be to purchase any additional content from the R3 store.

However, not all is lost. Some games are able to share their DLCs across regions. Notable examples would be Rock Band and Assassin’s Creed II in which their DLCs can be used across regions. Offenders? Resident Evil and Guitar Hero are potentially painful examples to the wallet.

R1 stores require a US credit card, R2 stores require a European one. But you can always make funding with a suitable prepaid card. So even if you enjoy Rock Band or Sing Star, there is always a method for you to make payment.

So what happens if you made a DLC purchase incorrectly? The only alternative, sadly, would be to purchase a disc of compatible region.

7. Misc – Box Art, Cases & Manual

Just like music cds (remember those?) the box art of a game may differ from region to region.

Take Heavy Rain for example.

Which do you prefer? If you preferred the R1 cover, be prepared to pay a small premium for it.

To accommodate users of a specific region, the manuals contained within a game may come in different languages.

R3 copies of a game often come with Chinese text, while R1 copies may come with Spanish in them.

From time to time, bonuses may be included with different regions of games.

Recently, God of War Collection R1 included a demo code for God of War 3. Similarly, Final Fantasy XIII R1 has a bonus code for beta for Final Fantasy XIV.

But, that does not mean other region users are shortchanged. A notable example would be the R3 copy of Uncharted 2 which came with a cosmetic upgrade for multiplayer guns and a LittleBigPlanet Premium them.

This entire post is a continuous work in progress. If there is a need to update this guide or to fix any errors in reporting present please contact me at the end of the post.

Credits to Benjamin, once again, for laying out the framework for this long and detailed post.

Contact the author of this post, Gerald Chan, at geraldchan@qisahn.com. Follow his tweets @changerald