Movies on DVD, for example, have often been sold for very low prices in regions of Asia where street piracy is rampant. In order to stop consumers in the Western World from simply buying in bulk from developing countries, region locking was enforced. This led to entire databases of "region hacks" for DVD players being built, and gave another reason to make hardware modifications to games consoles.
Now, according to Shuhei Yoshida, President of Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment, the PlayStation 4 will be region free when it launches this holiday season.
And yes, PS4 is region free :D
-- Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) June 11, 2013
Does this make a difference to your interest in buying a PS4?