WHY territorial Lockouts?

I guess it’s not so much the fact that I was forced to violate yet another conviction I once held dear (i.e. never to purchase any “game enhancer” cheat device) nor supporting companies I despise almost as much as Nintendo. It’s really the pretentiousness and outright contempt Sony and indeed all video game companies have against their most loyal customers. But maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself, so I’ll back up a bit.

Recently I purchased Konami 80’s Arcade Gallery for Playstation, fearing it might not work. My fears were confirmed when after loading I was treated to a red circle with slash screen and some foreign instructions probably saying something along the lines of, “This game is designed for use in Japanese systems only…” So if they know it’s the Americans they’re keeping out, why the hell not write this in English? To my knowledge there’s not too many people using modified U.S. systems in Japan (Then again, I’m no expert – stranger things have happened).

My day was exponentially improved when the friendly NCS representative explained that by utilizing a Game Shark (or other similar devices) this hideously oppressive new technology could be defeated. She gave me the codes and after purchasing this device (usually used for evil rather than good), I was once again enjoying timeless classics from my childhood.

It’s bad enough Sony, Nintendo, and Sega don’t give us access to their complete library of software. In all honesty, I can’t see any genuine reason for doing this, and it can’t have anything to do with the electrical current like it is with European software (or at least in the past). It is nothing short of mean-spirited, angry, ugly, and bitter resentment of Americans on behalf of these companies. Why else would they deliberately sabotage the U.S. versions of their own products to not play Japanese software? It would certainly take less time and effort to just give both countries the same product and let only die hard, fanatical players (who are, consequently, their most loyal customers) import foreign games that we all know are illegal in the United States. Why not just let the police handle this, for Christ’s sake?

I’ve never heard any of this stated publicly. I think the main reason is because the pro magazines wouldn’t want to piss their suppliers off, a good enough reason as any, I suppose. But what other reason could it possibly be other than that these companies simply don’t like Americans? Seriously, can anyone give me any better reason? Furthermore, it’s partially Americans’ fault we’re in this situation. Sure they (of should I say WE) have nothing to do with the lockouts in the first place, but our lethargic approach to this and many other important issues is certainly a large factor in its continuation. If enough people bothered to complain or took the time to write and call these companies… well, that probably wouldn’t work either. Now I’m being too idealistic. Never mind.

I sincerely hope that there will come a day when players of all nationalities may enjoy foreign as well as domestic software without any form of modification to their system. Players should be judged not on the country of their origin but on the numbers in their scores. Territorial lockout technology serves only to increase resentment and hostility amongst video game enthusiasts of all countries.