Continuing with its predecessors' tradition, the Xbox One will also be region locked, Microsoft has confirmed. This would mean that users cannot purchase games internationally and expect them to work on a console purchased in their home county.
Both the earlier versions of Microsoft's gaming consoles, Xbox and the Xbox 360, had this region restrictions and Xbox One will retain them as it hits the shelves sometime in 2013. However, the option of releasing region-free games on the Xbox 360 is now up to the publishers.
"Similar to the movie and music industry, games must meet country-specific regulatory guidelines before they are cleared for sale," a Microsoft spokesperson told Digital Trends. "We will continue to work with our partners to follow these guidelines with Xbox One."
Nintendo's Wii U, Wii and the 3DS as well as Sony's original PlayStation and PlayStation 2 were all region-locked. PlayStation 3 was region-free, except for one title and Sony is yet to confirm if its upcoming PlayStation 4 will be region-locked.
Region locks limit the users of software and digital services to specific continents. For example, users of Xbox Live in the U.S. will see a different line-up of downloadable titles to what is listed in UK or Australia.
