[Mister Bump]

I know bits and pieces have been said about bringing games consoles to NZ and the implications, but I thought I'd make a topic specific to them for fellow gamers. I will limit this to the 3 main current consoles - if anyone needs any info on older stuff, just ask.

Ok, so you're moving to NZ and you want to be able to continue killing people in Modern Warfare - what do you need to know?

Coming from the UK.

Consoles

All consoles will work on the power supply, as I'm sure you're aware, just with a new plug. 360 is easy, as it has a standard PC style plug going into the power brick - replace this whole lead rather than changing the plug. Ditto PS3 - the transformer is internal, but same idea. Wii is a bit more of a pain (typical!), as the PSU is a complete unit. I personally still just use a UK to NZ plug convertor on the end rather than hack the plug off.

Games, Media etc

PS3 games - all games are region free, worldwide, so not an issue.

PS3 BluRay - you're in luck! Aus/NZ is in the same BluRay region as Europe, so all BluRay movies will work no problem.

Xbox 360 - Uses same region as the UK (and rest of Europe I believe, but not 100%), so all games bought in NZ will work a-ok on your UK console.

Xbox DVD - NZ is region 4 and UK is 2 - most DVDs bought in NZ will not work on your 360.

Wii - same as 360 - all games work fine.

Online

PS3 - setting up new accounts is free and easy(ish). You can set up a Aus/NZ account if you feel the urge, although there isn't any real benefit, especially if you have lots of friends on your UK account. UK DLC works fine on NZ games.

360 - I have chosen to keep my Xbox Live account as UK for now, which is easy to do, as long as you still have a UK credit card to make the yearly payments. The only disadvantage to this I have seen so far is the new 1vs100 'shows' are at UK evening times - i.e. 7am NZ time! You can have your account switched to NZ by MS, which would mean you could pay by NZ CC, but also you would get the Aus/NZ marketplace, which is probably even slower to update compared to the US than the UK one! Again, you can set up a NZ Silver account if you really feel the urge - no real advantage though.

Wii - n/a online is entirely location of console based.

Coming from the US.

Consoles

Again, as you are no doubt aware, the power issue is going to be you biggest concern. You will need a step down for all three consoles. The Wii doesn't draw much power and a cheap little step down should be fine. The 360 and PS3 however draw a lot more power and although a cheap step down will work, I would suggest something a bit more heavy duty - especially the PS3, as a blown transformer in one of those babies is pretty much the end of the line!

Games, Media etc

PS3 games - all games are region free, worldwide, so not an issue.

PS3 BluRay - some discs will work, some won't. You are probably best just importing US discs to play. If you are dead set on buying discs from NZ high street stores, use this site: http://bluray.liesinc.net The info is for US discs on UK players, but the it should work both ways - if a disc is stated a region free on the US release, it should be region free on the NZ release.

Xbox 360 - Roughly 70% of NZ 360 games will work on your US 360. Difficult to find out which however, as there isn't much call for importing EU games to the US. Sites like www.play-asia.com test 360 games and list whether they work on other region consoles. Again, they test US -> EU not the other way around, but if you have 3 green ticks on a game, you're probably going to be okay! Renting is always a good option if you aren't sure!

Wii. - NZ games will not work on an unmodified US Wii, sorry.

Online

Pretty much the same as I said in the UK section. If you have a US credit card, keep your US accounts, because the various online stores get updated far earlier in the US compared to other territories. Please be aware with the PS3 that DLC (downloaded content) IS region locked, so if you buy a NZ PS3 game, do not attempt to download any extra content for it from the US PSN store, as it will not work! Instead set up a NZ PSN account and download from there.

If you fancy killing little ol' me online, feel free to add me! My XBL GamerTag is Mister Bump and PSN is MisterBump (no space). :nice1

[nickiware]

this is great my 10yr will be very pleased with 360 advice,thanks a lot

[brumnurse]

Many Thanks for posting this useful info

had been debating whether to bring the wii, or the 360 or both.

Cheers

Laurie

[pleccy2000]

Thanks - I've noticed that my UK XBL account connects me to UK servers when playing Forza 2 and PES 2009 rather than local ones which is really annoying :( The lag is terrible

[IanW99]

...
Coming from the US.

Consoles

Again, as you are no doubt aware, the power issue is going to be you biggest concern. You will need a step down for all three consoles. The Wii doesn't draw much power and a cheap little step down should be fine. The 360 and PS3 however draw a lot more power and although a cheap step down will work, I would suggest something a bit more heavy duty - especially the PS3, as a blown transformer in one of those babies is pretty much the end of the line!
...


In actual fact many PS3s sold in the US actually already have a suitable power supply to work in NZ.

The problem is that on the outside it clearly states that they only work on 110V but if you open the PS3 then the PSU actually states 110~240V which means it will work without issue.

Whether you want to invalidate the warranty by opening the PS3 is another story.

Ian

[nifta]

cheers for the info! i was wondering about UK wii & 360 games & xbox live - good to hear they're fine.

[dilanium]

I will happily say that our US PS3 is still running fine after a year of being plugged in with just a plug adaptor. I can ask my friend who brought her 360 to see if that just needed the same if you like. :)

[Sporty]

Great info. We have WII and PS2, but important one is WII cause I am doing WII FIT every day. :D

[dianney]

Thanks for this great info, my 2 eldest lads have been asking me about their 360 which i couldn't answer them. They will be so glad to know all will be well for them to use their 360 if we make it out to new zealand. I have sometimes felt it was a big decision for them to make new zealand or 360!!!!
Good to know they wont have to decide between the two now.:D

[GrumpyGoat]

We have US PS3 and I just put a NZ computer cord into the slot (in lieu of a plug converter) and it works fine.
Our US PS2 also works fine with a plug converter but then, it clearly states on the outside that it works 110-220 50-60hz

The only thing we needed the step down transformer for is the TV and VCR--everything else works with a plug converter.

[Rubyshoes]

You will need a power converter for the Xbox 360. OH followed some bad advice and blew the power cord on his by just using a plug adaptor. Hopefully it didn't blow the whole system. I'm ordering a new power cord off of Amazon this week to see if the system still works.

[robininman]

thanks for that, i was hoping my 360 would work, what is live like will i still be able to play the UK or will the lg kill me lol

[IanW99]

thanks for that, i was hoping my 360 would work, what is live like will i still be able to play the UK or will the lg kill me lol

Just to be clear, if your 360 is for the UK market, you won't need a 'power converter' for it.

Rubyshoes post above is in relation to a US xbox 360.

Couldn't tell you about xbox live, but my kids happily play online games from around the world including the UK so doubt the lag will be too severe, the timezone difference could be more of an issue.

Ian

[emaino]

One of the first things I did when we arrived was to get a XBox 360.

Does anyone know if it is possible to play US games in it? US games seem to cost half the price of a NZ game.

[ricky1981]

Generally it won't be possible (there are one or two exceptions), UK games will work but they aren't much cheaper by the time you pay to ship them over.

[PonyGirl]

Wii. - NZ games will not work on an unmodified US Wii, sorry.



So does that mean a modified Wii will play other formats?

[canuck-31]

One of the first things I did when we arrived was to get a XBox 360.

Does anyone know if it is possible to play US games in it? US games seem to cost half the price of a NZ game.

Check to see if the game is region free - if it says that it's for a specific region then you'll be risking it.

[canuck-31]

So does that mean a modified Wii will play other formats?

I've heard modified Wiis will play other formats. It's one of those friends of a friend stories: they moved to NZ with a North American Wii. Initially they couldn't play anything but their NA games but once they got it modified, they were able to play games bought in NZ.

[joules1000]

My partner was wondering about all this. Aseveryone has said very useful stuff.
On the tech front has anyone had any joy with bbc iplayer over there?

[IanW99]

My partner was wondering about all this. Aseveryone has said very useful stuff.
On the tech front has anyone had any joy with bbc iplayer over there?

Check out the BBC iPlayer (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=26810) thread.

Ian