Europe, New Zealand and Australia ( PAL)Ĭonsole makers have their own policies when it comes to region lockouts.The regions are quite broad and themselves have the occasional exception. Games designed for the North American market, for example, will not work in Europe or in most Asian and African countries. Either hardware or software encoding can prevent games from running in undesignated parts of the world. Much like the film industry, the videogame industry still practises region lockouts, which is about digital rights management to prevent the use of certain products or services, such as a hardware device or multimedia, outside of a given region or territory. Not every marketplace handles games the same way. Online store owners need to familiarize themselves with each country’s videogame region, rating system and policies before even considering selling abroad. What about the not-so-obvious ecommerce world of video games?

It’s always a good approach not to assume the same rules apply in all marketplaces.

Many toys are prohibited in certain marketplaces. Mundane items, such as disposable contact lenses, can be sold in one country without special attention, but controlled in another. It’s challenging enough that you have to deal with different currencies, taxes and language barriers, but even the items you sell abroad can cause nightmares in the wrong marketplace.Įxceptions to what can be sold in each country are often learned the hard way. To increase your chances of video game ecommerce success, read on! Each marketplace has its own rules ecommerce sellers must abide byĮcommerce can be daunting, especially for sellers who want to broaden their online reach, offering their products on international marketplaces. The following article will highlight why selling video games on foreign markets requires extra research and attention to detail. By the same token, it’s also pretty complex due to restrictions and regulations varying from market to market. Selling video games on international online markets can be very profitable: the video game industry is thriving.

Selling games online law