PlayStation 3 games are unlikely to be region coded, according to Sony’s Australian managing director, Michael Ephraim.

Unlike its predecessors, the PlayStation and the PlayStation 2, the PS3 is tipped to allow gaming and movie playback from discs bought in any part of the world, rather than being limited to playing discs only from a specific region.

The PS3’s support for HDTV standards was cited as one of the key reasons the company is considering abolishing its practice of region coding.

According to Ephraim,

“If you look at the fact that it [the PlayStation 3] will support high-definition TV, which will be a global standard, there’s a good likelihood that it will be global region, as for example we’ve done with the PSP [PlayStation Portable].”

Sony’s announcement follows an Australian High Court ruling that mod chips purchased to circumvent the Playstation’s region coding do not infringe copyright laws.

Should Sony make region coding obsolete with the Playstation 3’s release, consumers will be able to purchase PS3 games and movie discs from anywhere in the world, which may turn out to be significantly cheaper than purchasing them exclusively from their home territory.

Source: Australian IT

Discuss in the forum!

Related:

• Playstation mod chips legal, says Australian High Court
• Warner Bros. to support Blu-ray format
• HD DVD: no region codes and relaxed copy protection systems