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Seeking help from someone who knows about Japanese PS3 games

PostPosted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 1:24 am
by Chrysolite
I have a rather strange problem...

I visited Japan recently, and, having confirmed that Japanese PS3 games will work on American PS3 units, I bought the Japanese versions of the Ratchet & Clank: Future games because I wanted to play them in Japanese and hear the Japanese dub. Well, when I got home and popped them in my PS3 they worked alright, but with one very odd and disappointing problem: they were in ENGLISH. O.O Everything was-- the menus, the dialogue, the subtitles... everything about them was virtually identical to the American version I already own, and yes, I did check the options menu and there were no Japanese language options-- not even for subtitles. This is really frustrating for me, because on top of having paid more for them than I paid for my American copies, I was just really looking forward to playing them in Japanese, plus I just plain don't get why I'm having this kind of problem. I mean, I know they're the Japanese version because they have the title printed in katakana right on the disc, for crying out loud, and I'm 99% positive they aren't bootlegs or anything because the packaging doesn't show any sign whatsoever of being fake and plus, I bought them at BookOff, a legitimate and widely-known store in Japan similar to Hastings.

Am I missing something? Do I have to adjust a region setting on my PS3 or something? Any help would be greatly appreciated! :thumbsup:

PostPosted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 12:28 pm
by ShiroiHikari
Ummmm...well, that's a problem I've never run into before. It's possible they didn't bother to translate any of the menus or anything, but...that seems odd to me. Are you sure it's a legit Japanese release of the game and not a bootleg?

PostPosted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 6:57 pm
by Atria35
I'll ask a friend of mine. As Shiroi said, it might be a bootleg instead of an official release. But my friend has a ton of Japanese import games and hasn't had this problem.

PostPosted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 2:36 pm
by Chrysolite
ShiroiHikari (post: 1444802) wrote: Are you sure it's a legit Japanese release of the game and not a bootleg?
If it's a bootleg, it's the most well-done bootleg I've ever seen. It has everything a legitimate release should have: the disc labels are professionally printed, the artwork inserts have all the warnings and company logos that you'd expect from a legitimate game, and they each have a full-color instruction booklet in Japanese printed on glossy paper complete with detailed technical info and everything. Besides, it doesn't make sense to me that a bootleg intended for sale in Japan wouldn't have any Japanese language options.
Atria35 wrote: I'll ask a friend of mine.
Thank you! :D



EDIT: Okay, I've solved the problem. Turns out all I needed to do was change my PS3's system language to Japanese. :red: Thanks anyway, though, guys! :thumb:

PostPosted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:01 pm
by Bobtheduck
Chrysolite (post: 1444723) wrote:I have a rather strange problem...

I visited Japan recently, and, having confirmed that Japanese PS3 games will work on American PS3 units, I bought the Japanese versions of the Ratchet & Clank: Future games because I wanted to play them in Japanese and hear the Japanese dub. Well, when I got home and popped them in my PS3 they worked alright, but with one very odd and disappointing problem: they were in ENGLISH. O.O Everything was-- the menus, the dialogue, the subtitles... everything about them was virtually identical to the American version I already own, and yes, I did check the options menu and there were no Japanese language options-- not even for subtitles. This is really frustrating for me, because on top of having paid more for them than I paid for my American copies, I was just really looking forward to playing them in Japanese, plus I just plain don't get why I'm having this kind of problem. I mean, I know they're the Japanese version because they have the title printed in katakana right on the disc, for crying out loud, and I'm 99% positive they aren't bootlegs or anything because the packaging doesn't show any sign whatsoever of being fake and plus, I bought them at BookOff, a legitimate and widely-known store in Japan similar to Hastings.

Am I missing something? Do I have to adjust a region setting on my PS3 or something? Any help would be greatly appreciated! :thumbsup:


I've only bought one non-American PS3 game, and it was Uncharted 2. As it turns out, it's the same way. English only. No option for non-English. Seems American made Sony games (I guess) have all the languages on the disc, and lock it to your system's region. My guess is this wouldn't apply to non-Sony owned games and non-English games.