Archive for RCCGB FORUM Message Board for Members of the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain to discuss club events and all things theme park related.          RCCGB FORUM Forum Index -> Anything Goes coaster-andy Playstation 3 help need PLS I have a quick question to ask some brainy person on this board. A friend of mine as asked me if he was to import a Playstaion 3 from USA, which would save him 100 pound. Is this person able to use English games and Blue Ray DVD's on this console. I think that you cannot as the format is different he cannot unless he also imports every blue ray movie or game from USA as well. I look forward to a answer and thank you now to anyone who can lay this to bed for me. Death Playstation 3 help Hail Andy! I'm not a gaming expert (I only ever play World of Warcraft nowadays!) but I'll try and assist ye here... coaster-andy wrote: A friend of mine has asked me if he was to import a Playstaion 3 from USA, which would save him 100 pound. Remember that he'll have to pay import and customs charges to have that bought into the UK, and these can add up to quite a bit I believe. Some companies might be willing to label the package as a gift, but this could be a downfall to ye both if HMRC find out - That's technically smuggling I think. coaster-andy wrote: Is this person able to use English games and Blue Ray DVD's on this console. I think that you cannot as the format is different he cannot unless he also imports every blue ray movie or game from USA as well. From what little I know of grey-import gaming, he'll probabally only be able to play North American video discs (DVD and Blu-Ray) and games on that console reliably. Many systems still use region encoding, although this Sony UK website FAQ page suggests that multi-region compatability is available on UK-spec machines. Also, remember that the U.S. mains voltage is 110V~, <=30A, 60Hz (Ours being 230V~, <=13A, 50Hz, as if ye didn't know! ) - So your friend would also need access to a U.S. > E.U. power transformer and (From what I know of BAL-SAGOTHs Ritual in Minneapolis with their UK-purchased equipment) they aren't cheap! Dare I also mention that UK-PAL and US-NTSC are two totally different image standards? (Although this might not affect RGB and/or HD connections.) For more info, here are the official Playstation III home pages for the U.K. and the U.S. They should be able to fill in anything that I've missed out on. Sony PS-III UK: http://uk.playstation.com/ps3 Sony PS-III US: http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3 Personally, I'd advise that it might work out cheaper and easier for thy friend if (s)he avoids buying from outside the E.U. Although machines sold almost anywhere in Western Europe should work in the UK without trouble (And might be cheaper if bought from Spain or Germany) machines from different continents can be a right compatibility and maintenance pain for the unwary! Farewell, and hope this helps ye and thy friend a little! >> Death << On the other hand though: Given the choice between the PS-III and it's competitors, I'd personally choose an Xbox 360 every time! In my own opinion they're more functional, more user-friendly, use tried/tested technology, and cost a good £150 less! reg Right, as far as I know, it should be okay on games, as they are not 'region formatted'. I bought a PS3 game in the US 2 weeks ago and it works fine. BUT you can't play online multiplayer in the European zone with a USA game. Secondly, other forums have suggested the PS3's internal transformer is not up to handling the 110v to 240v power difference. Therefore, he could well find it blowing after a short period of time. A suitable power converter could be expensive. Thirdly, he will have to import all his Blu Ray discs, as they are area coded, a bit like DVDs, but they are not coded into country or continental regions, but rather zones 1, 2 and 3. Lastly, he won't be able to get any of the firmware updates, or possibly even access to the Playstation Network on a US machine. This could cause a problem with future games that require new firmware. To be honest its not worth the bother now the prices have come down. The 60gb models have all but gone, and the new 40gb model does not have backward compatibillity, so that means no PS1 or PS2 games on it. Once he has taken shipping ans possible customs charges, he might not be saving that much at all. coaster-andy Thank you both for your reply and you answered all questions which myself had answered and more but need to make sure I was not dreaming and making it up in my own mind. I will now relay back to him my thoughts and yours t and hopefully kill that idea. Shame really as if you look at games in USA to UK on Amazon it works out at exchange rate 50% less we do live in rip off Briton. krusty_the_clown Andy, I looked to buy a PS3 when I was in Vegas in November but as stated previously now that the price has come down there isnt that much difference in buying out there, with all the possible problems and buying a UK one. As Greg stated the games arent region locked but the films are. You wont be able to watch any region apart from US (region 1) All in all, id just advise buying here, however I did get one of the last 60gigs availiable. Im not sure if id be saying this if I could only get the 40g with out the backwards compatability Barry reg With regard to DVD, some region 1 discs will play on my PS3, but its only a few out the 25 or so I have. But only BluRay with the european zone code will work.        RCCGB FORUM Forum Index -> Anything Goes Page 1 of 1