I can understand the logic behind putting the Eternal Sonata demo onto the Japanese marketplace, but not other territories. After all, there is as yet no guarantee that the game will ever see the light of day outside Japan, althogh the fact that the demo is in English certainly leads one to believe this.

I can understand the logic behind certain movies and TV shows being region locked. I don't agree with it, but it makes sense to not alienate potential advertisers in other regions. (After all, if I can download episodes of stuff that isn't on TV over here yet, I have no need to watch them when they broadcast.)

What I do not understand is how MS decrees that a game can be released free of charge in one territory, but doesn't exist in another one!

Aegis Wing appeared on Live Arcade this morning. The game was designed by some MS interns, and is your typical side-scrolling shmup. A shmup designed with 4 players in mind, actually, which makes it quite difficult for a single player. MS put it on there for free, for a limited time, to US players only.

WHY?

I am struggling to think of anything that MS can come up with to justify this decision. Today of all days, they did not really need to release anything at all. The only people who will play Aegis Wing are the hardcore, and pretty much every single one of them will be enjoying the delights of the Spartan Laser once the Halo 3 beta goes public.

Europe and Australasia got something free, I suppose. The demo of At World's End! Yes, we get a DEMO, while you lot get a FULL GAME. A game that is only worth the price, admittedly, but that's not the point. (Of course I have a US account! I downloaded it within an hour of it being available.) The point is that Europe is getting shafted royally by ALL the console manufacturers. And I'm sick of it.

Sadly, I have no answer. As long as we Europeans sit and take it, they'll keep feeding it to us. We are even going to get Halo 3 the day after the US does. ONE day? What the hell is the point of a stupid and random delay like that? Why can't the game be released worldwide at exactly the same time? It makes completely no sense to me.

I hereby call on every non-US 360 owner to circumvent the system, and get the free game that you should have access to already! It's not hard to do, you don't void your warrantry, you just create an alternative Silver account with a US address. Download the game, and while you're at it snatch those free gamer pics and themes that the US keeps getting as well. Maybe the Armoured Core 4 demo while you're there. And you US types can make a European account, and get the At World's End demo, should you be desperate enough. Sadly, we have little else you'd be interested in. Cricket? Even I didn't download that one.

(Note to Venter. Give me a better choice of moods, or let me do custom. I am not 'craptacular, I am PISSED.)

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Feedback
	EmP - May 16, 2007 (08:46 AM) Enjoy having your US profile while it lasts; it's going to be revoked by the end of next month as MS crack down on outside-regionial accounts.
	honestgamer - May 16, 2007 (10:30 AM) On a side note, aren't you guys around 12 or 14 hours ahead of us? If Microsoft made the game available at the stroke of midnight for you all, you'd be getting it ahead of North America, where the game was made and where the audience is around 3 or 4 times larger. As for Aegis Wing, you're right. Microsoft's failure to release the free game in the UK is mystifying. You're also right abou the single-player mode. It just isn't much fun. In multi-player, though, the game is quite enjoyable. :-D
	carcinogen_crush - May 16, 2007 (11:47 AM) What about us unfortunate folk that don't even have a Live account? I refuse to pay $45 for a damned router. It's just crazy.
	honestgamer - May 16, 2007 (12:07 PM) You could always unplug your computer from the Internet and plug in your Xbox 360. That's what I did for a year or so before I finally got a wireless router. With the router, I can play my Xbox 360 and PS3 online, and I can download content on my Wii. Plus, I can play my PSP and DS online (though for the most part, only the DS has anything worth doing online). And... my wife can be online at the same time as me. That router was a fine investment. Dang fine!
	carcinogen_crush - May 16, 2007 (12:21 PM) Oh yeah; I never thought of that one. Hey, and that way I could buy SotN! Hurray! Hope it doesn't set my TV on fire or explode my 360.
	cheekylee - May 16, 2007 (06:44 PM) Alternately, just share your computers connection with WinRoute, or some other routing software. As to the time differences, all arcade games released at midnight US time turn up at ... midnight US time ... here in the UK. At 8am yesterday morning, Soltrio Solitaire still hadn't made an appearance. (I actually downloaded that while I was logged in on my US account!) As far as I am aware, Emp, the regional lockout thing that was in the last dashboard update only applies to video content. Although, I distinctly recall not being able to download the '24' gamer pics when the latest series premiered, so who knows what they are going to lock?
	EmP - May 17, 2007 (04:55 AM) That was the shill, that it would only lock-out movie stuff, but they expect the full crack-down to eventually block out incorrect-placed region accounts on out-of-region systems all together. As someone who's not quite got himself on Live yet, I'm hoping that it's all rumour and over-shooting threats, but I'm pessemistic at best.