Non-USA retail editions of games

[malmsteenisgod]

Hi everyone, I'm curious about non-usa editions of games, for example a copy of Bad Company 2 that's from India. Will such an edition play online in the USA just fine? Why are the costs of these games much cheaper than the USA copy? Is it simply a matter of production costs? Is there anything to be aware of when buying a non-USA edition of a game that may affect its playability?

[Flibo]

I've never heard of such. I've bought games from Japan and Poland and they've worked just fine for me. I don't see why it wouldn't work for you

[greengiant912]

If it is legit, the pricing is alot different then US as they have to go by the standards of a particular country. Also note that due to localization the game might be missing somethings that the US has, alot of times censorship is a big issue in foreign countries.

[Union Of V]

It should be the same (can't imagine India censoring games) but do check the language. I used to buy all my games from France and I could choose all European languages bar English - gamed my way through high school French!

[Onion]

It should be the same (can't imagine India censoring games) but do check the language. I used to buy all my games from France and I could choose all European languages bar English - gamed my way through high school French!

 

Are French games cheaper than American games? I might just start playing in French since I speak it fluently lol.

[WhenKittensATK]

Some of the imported Bad Company 2 games are Single Player ONLY, so be careful. The imported Eastern European copies being sold on eBay only let you play Single Player.

 

Where ever you are buying it from and they don't post if it allows you to play Multiplayer, ask them.

 

I've imported a few games just fine. I've only noticed that Bad Company 2 was one that had some kind of restriction.

Edited March 21, 2010 by Krazyxazn

[potatochobit]

you need to do lots of research before importing, dont just buy randomly

 

there are lots of issues,

keep in mind some times you can only play online in the region you buy the game

if you buy WoW EU, you cannot play on US servers, there was a walk around for it, but eventually it was fixed again I think

same with Aion, you buy EU, you play EU only

 

most people import games from 'japan' though

with PS3 that is ok, not sure about Xbox360, but DVD systems dont allow it without modding/hacking your system with paying extra for parts

I know some JP PC games will not run if the game is not in japanese unicode and I even know of some anti piracy software that wont run the game unless your computer also has a japanese GMT time and marked living in an area of japan

 

most US games are able to download language packs, so no need to import

this is marked on steam if you have a steam account, just go to game info it will tell u what other languages are available

[Union Of V]

Are French games cheaper than American games? I might just start playing in French since I speak it fluently lol.

They're cheaper than in Ireland anyway! For example, Dragon Age DD on Steam UK:

[_TheAlexO]

i heard ea as been dishing out Bans for playing a non us region game in the us or something. you might want to do some more research before buying

[McGrimm]

I've heard that some of the price differences is to boost sales in regions that don't normally buy games or don't buy that type of game(fps, rpg...).

[malmsteenisgod]

Thanks for the replies. More specifically, I was looking at this ebay posting and thinking about buying it. He claims it will work fine in the US, even online, but like Shallowbay mentioned, could it result in a ban? So far anything I've tried to find by googling this has shown up with nothing related to this.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...#ht_2090wt_1165

Edited March 23, 2010 by malmsteenisgod

[Deathmineral]

I doubt it, I don't really see any reason for them to ban people for it but if you want to be sure you could try calling EA about it.

Edited March 23, 2010 by Deathmineral