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Army of Two has REGION LOCKED online play? What? WHAT!? photo

I actually cannot believe this, but in one of the most retarded bullshit moves ever pulled, EA has region locked online play with its latest game, Army of Two. What this means is that those who own a PAL copy of the disc cannot actually play the game with those who own the American version.

Upon searching through the PAL version's manual, this particular little tidbit of information was discovered, neatly tucked away and not actually promoted on the cover like it should have been -- because, y'know, CUTTING THE BALLS OFF OF YOUR ONLINE MODE IS PRETTY F'ING IMPORTANT:

"NOTE: The online game modes in Army of Two are not cross region compatible and is only supported between PAL discs."

If you happened to get hold of this game in the hopes of playing with someone across the pond, well sorry but it appears you're fresh out of luck. EA, in its infinite wisdom, has chosen to completely negate the entire point of online multiplayer by restricting a huge percentage of the players from each other. This is actually so mind-numbingly stupid I don't even know how to properly rant about it. It kind of speaks for itself.

Consumers from Europe who have tried to play with their American friends have been cockblocked thanks to this incredibly ludicrous situation that differentiates PAL versions of the game as "Army of Two (EU)" on Xbox Live. At least one PS3 player has said that both the MS and Sony platforms are subject to this region locking.

Just ... what the HELL, Electronic Arts? Despite the crappy reviews, I still wanted to play this, but now I certainly won't be bothering. European gamers demand a reason why you chose to do this to them and their American friends.


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71 comments | showing # 1 to 50

AngelsDontBurn's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:02
AngelsDontBurn
It's like they have Nazi in their blood. They were actually putting out some decent games but then this happened... THEN THIS HAPPENED! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It's not that big of a deal, but it's pretty awkward / lame. Hopefully they don't get used to this.
Scientist tz's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:04
Scientist tz
EA's throne sits atop a vast mountain of fail.
Person of Lordly Caliber's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:04
Person of Lordly Caliber
It can't be....an online component that is worse than Nintendo's? What's next, pay to access foreign servers? Pay to access your own?
Butmac's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:04
Butmac
Holy...

Jim it's ok, me and you are GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS. We will just beat Halo 3 again on legendary.

Now come here baby

/embraces
MaxVest's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:06
MaxVest
Yeah, well this is for that half-assed "coalition of the willing" support. See what it's like to go it alone, Europe?

Next time there's an empire to be built, you're not invited.
Miguelcar808's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:08
Miguelcar808
Maybe it's only worldwide on-line play in Czechoslovakia.
Chocobo Knight's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:08
Chocobo Knight
Wow. And I didn't think there could be any more faults with Army of Two. :7
wardrox's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:10
wardrox
Wait... is like having to pay for brawl online, or actual? :-P

Also, poop on this game.
CelicaCrazed's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:13
CelicaCrazed
Is this the same EA that removed online play from the Australian Wii version of MoH:H2?
pendelton21's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:14
pendelton21
I don't know about you guys, but I've got my torches ready.

WE MARCH ON EA TONIGHT!!!!
RAB's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:15
RAB
this game looked so interesting but you guys have shat on it so damn hard in the past days
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:16
king3vbo
Wow... thats fucking stupid. Why would anyone do that?
plkrtn's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:16
plkrtn
Part of me thinks "thats shit" but part of me thinks that I'll be avoiding those dickhead Americans who think its funny to be racist and sexist (seemingly the majority that won't STFU on mic!) so, negatives and a big positive!!
LarkOhiya's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:20
LarkOhiya
Nintendo has been doing this for months. as long as they have had their online.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:21
Samit Sarkar
Wow, what a pile of crap. And just when EA was starting to get in people’s good graces...

Also, LOL @ MaxVest
HarassmentPanda's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:27
HarassmentPanda
I hear the Czechoslovakian discs work cross-region; you should probably grab one of those.
ScottyG's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:31
ScottyG
I guess the game won't be making it into FNF then. :p
Cheeburga's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:33
Cheeburga
It has motion blur?
Emrah's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:34
Emrah
I won't be buying it either. Pal games costs a whopping 150usd here in my country, Turkey. I have to import the US versions of games, but if I can't connect to European servers, online lags balls.
Tino's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:45
Tino
@Lark: Really? Tetris DS and Mario Kart DS work great worldwide.

As for the actual story:

I can't believe EA went out of its way and likely paid more money to do this. I really want some info from EA about why. Hmm. Time to generate an e-mail about my "brother" who lives in Europe and we want to hit up co-op.
skullivan's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:46
skullivan
"Despite the crappy reviews,"

Well, to be fair, Destructoid gave it a crappy review but it got good reviews from most sites. A 75% average on Gamerankings is hardly crappy. This is also one of those cases where players are rating the game much higher than the critics (Lost Odyssey was the same thing).

That said, this online play crippling is just stupid. My brother lives in Japan (but his 360 is registered as US) so I'm hoping this won't keep him from being able to play with myself and my other brothers.
-PL-'s Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:49
-PL-
Yeah, I have the PS3 version, and it is region locked. Weak. PS3 version has a bigger problem though, the mic is basically unusable, making online co-op play and the 2v2 versus play extremely frustrating since you can't communicate with your partner. I think the actual game is fun, but it fails on so many levels that I'm positive I'll be trading this in for something else sometime soon.
Sharpless's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:50
Sharpless
I'm slowly joining Penny Arcade's train of thought on this one: It looks like a stupid game about stupid, stupid people. And apparently made by stupid, stupid people.
Corncobtacular's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:50
Corncobtacular
i feel like your giving EA too much credit to say that they would go to the trouble of region locking different discs. That sounds like a lot of effort with no payoff for a company that is paranoid about their bottom line.

My bet is that it would have taken more effort to make the discs compatible so they did nothing instead and the games just don't work by default. Not that they locked them, but that it's almost as if EA put out two different games.
Kif 's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:53
Kif
Their excuse is hilarious. It's not like they are the first game to feature online co-op, what gives them the right to talk about server load and latency and bullshit like that?
Bluefusion's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:53
Bluefusion
@LarkOhiya

Yeah, but we're soo used to Nintendo's online play being crappy that we've become numb to getting the shaft from it.
John B's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:56
John B
"Seriously F**ked Up" doesn't begin to describe this bone-headed move.
thebrassthief's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:56
thebrassthief
And I still have people ask why I don't like EA. And I still have people ask why I avoid EA games like the plague. And then I point out stupid shit like this to them.

I'll pass on this now...
Y0j1mb0's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 13:57
Y0j1mb0
Also, this game is FAIL LOCKED, as well.

Jim forgot to add that tidbit.
MechaMonkey's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:08
MechaMonkey
Sounds like EA isn't being a very good PAL to those who wish to play online. *activates Terrible Pun Alarm*

MaxVest, how much did your zinger machine cost? I really need to invest in one of those.
ATuin's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:12
ATuin
Good, I hate you limeys anyway!
Horatio Caine's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:18
Horatio Caine
Yanks only have to play with other yanks if they want to get this PMC ish down. Fist pound to that.
MaxVest's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:24
MaxVest
@MechaMonkey: If you're looking into it, I suggest getting a newer model that you can silence in public.
Wodkaredbubu's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:26
Wodkaredbubu
After playing (or actually trying) several ranked matches (I got disconnected 8 out of 10 times) with somebody else from Europe I `m glad that on top of that crappy netcode we don`t have to deal with Oversea connections, too.

Yeah, it sucks not being able to play with your cross atlantic friends. On the other hand though, some kind of region filter is something many people are begging when they just finished a lagging round of Halo or Cod 4. EAs method though is just a little extreme...
TurboHyperFighting's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:40
TurboHyperFighting
I'm with Wod. It is a bit extreme to simply lock cross-ponders out. However, I'm FOR the option of choosing which realm you search for and play games on. For latency's sake, people, give us a CHOICE to play with people outside our region/country or local-yokels. Don't outright deny it.
njsykora's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:41
njsykora
So no local play, playing via LAN requires Gold accounts on both sides, the online is region locked and this game is supposed to be all about co-op multiplayer?

EA, this is the point. You quite clearly missed it.
Pyramid Head's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:42
Pyramid Head
I wondered what the (EU) was next to the game title in the 360 guide.

Can't say I'll miss you Americans.
xenon's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:50
xenon
Samir said: "Wow, what a pile of crap. And just when EA was starting to get in people’s good graces..."

Before letting EA get in their good graces, people should evaluate what EA *does*, not what EA says. Hopefully this will work as a reminder.
UglyDuck's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:52
UglyDuck
Can you do co-op online mode with any other game where this doesn't happen? I'm just wodering whether the difference in frame-rate caused too many bugs, like if you had a car with the left wheels smaller than the right and you'd be constantly turning in circles...

Tis retarded though. There's things you can do... it didn't have to be this way.
DGX Goggles's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 14:59
DGX Goggles
Wow, sure I wouldn't have been surprised if that had been done to the PS3 version (probably wouldn't have cared either), but pulling this shit on the 360 version also? The whole point of XBL is the international compatibility, some of the best games I have played have been with international players, and the fellows I know across the pond are an absolute blast in CoD4. This is a load of bullshit.
Kaspar's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:00
Kaspar
First Nintendo with their shit, now EA.

WHY THE FUCK DO YOU KEEP SCREWING EUROPE IN THE BUTT.
pixelsword's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:02
pixelsword
IS THE PS3 VERSION LIKE THAT TOO? Kotaku said so far, only the 360 version is locked.
Wack's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:09
Wack
This seems like an actionable dispute. Sue the bastards.
Yummyspoot's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:16
Yummyspoot
I never knew we hated the UK that much...
AaronLindes Neighbor's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:20
AaronLindes Neighbor
RE: title

...in the butt?

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fbGkxcY7YFU"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fbGkxcY7YFU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></objec
Scape's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:43
Scape
Do they really just sit down in meetings and decide that this is a good idea?
Mr Wilson's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:49
Mr Wilson
i lol at you fail Aaronlindes
Necros's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:53
Necros
Godammit, EA. How does this benefit anyone?
-PL-'s Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 15:56
-PL-
Pixelsword: Yes, the PS3 version has region locking. I can't play with one of the guys on my friends list because we keep getting a region locked message.
bazooie's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/11/2008 16:04
bazooie
yes, this sounds like a network middleware / fps constraint. I wonder if the network platform was third-party, or in-house...
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