Persona 4 Arena is Region-Locked Because the Dollar is Weak
Against the YenS  Many did a double-take when Atlus confirmed
Persona 4 Arena is region-locked on the PlayStation 3—that
means, only Japanese consoles may play the Japanese version;
North American consoles can only play a North American version.
It's the first time since the PS3's release in 2006 a game has
featured complete region-locking. (The Xbox 360 version also
will be region-locked.)  Atlus released a statement last night,
both explaining the decision and vowing that it is not going to
become standard policy for the publisher.  In a nutshell, Atlus
is worried that the dollar's weakness against the yen could lead
to "mass importing" of Persona 4 Arena that would "cannibalize
the performance of a title in one territory to the benefit of
the other." At current exchange rates, the $59.99 that Persona 4
Arena will cost in the United States comes to about ¥4,778; the
game is ¥7,329 in Japan. So, without figuring in shipping costs,
the North American