News: Rumour: 3DS to be Region Locked? Page 1

Rumour: 3DS to be Region Locked?

11.01.2011

Rumour: 3DS to be Region Locked? on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

Rumour: The days of importing and playing portable games from around may be over according to a Nintendo Japan's support service.

A NeoGAF member received a newsletter from Nintendo of Japan earlier today, that unlike the DS and DS Lite, the 3DS console will employ region codes in both the hardware and software, preventing players from running games from regions other than their own.

There are no Region codes in DS and DSlite. But DSI, DSILL, 3DS has Regioncodes. The Region Codes are installed in each games and the 3DS itself. If the codes dont match, you cant play.

Nintendo has yet to officially confirm the region locking, but with the DSi, DSi XL(LL) being tied to a specific region, it's likely that the 3DS may follow suit.

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SirLink 11.01.2011#1

I REALLY wouldn't mind the 3DS or any other system for that matter being region locked if they would bring more games to the West. There are lots of great games that are only available in Japan and we have no chance of playing them at all if the systems are region locked.

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PMD 11.01.2011#2

I may be mistaken but I thought it was already confirmed to be region locked (or at least, it was very unlikely to not be locked). Not that it effects me, but I feel for all you Europeans who have to wait extra months to play the same game as the US.

Darkflame 11.01.2011#3

Thought it was confirmed already.
Really sad fact.
Regions used to a sensible, technical, restriction due to TVs. They are now purely used for publishers to abuse pricing differences.
Honestly, they shouldn't be legal, imho. Why should people from one country not be allowed to play a certain game? Is that not discrimination at worst, or price fixing at best?

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RudyC3 11.01.2011#4

FUCK Nintendo ! We're in the 2010 years !

I fully agree with SirLink above.

PMD said:
I may be mistaken but I thought it was already confirmed to be region locked (or at least, it was very unlikely to not be locked). Not that it effects me, but I feel for all you Europeans who have to wait extra months to play the same game as the US.

It's not about the wait. Seriously, there are tons of games which are already out which I'd buy but I don't have enough money to get them all on release day, so having to wait can sometimes be a good thing.

It's all about getting games at all. I recently had to import Arc Rise Fantasia from the US because it looks like it won't ever be released here. I can play it only because I'm homebrew enabled and had to alter the software inside my console, voiding the warranty in the process. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't be able to play it at all. On the DS I recently imported Sands of Destruction and Nostalgia, because they won't be released here either.

If the good games were released here, it wouldn't matter, but a lot of them aren't. So just let us import the games if you won't put any effort into bringing us the games themselves

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EdEN 11.01.2011#5

Makes sense, specially since the DSi is already region-locked.

ChaosOnline 11.01.2011#6

I've never really liked region locking as a practice, as it seems a bit to restrictive and even a bit counterintuitive. But since I don't speak Japanese or import games it really doesn't matter to me that much if the 3DS is region locked, it will be a bit dissapointing if it is but it won't affect me in any significant way.

Martin_ 11.01.2011#7

The fact that the 3DS' predecessor was region-locked means that this really isn't news. Nice try, though.

Yoshindo1 11.01.2011#8

While I too am of the camp that isn't really affected by this, I do feel that region locking is a step backwards for consumers. There are many great games that don't get released that gamers are willing to pay for. By removing region locks gamers are free to buy out of region games that publishers might deem too risky from a sales standpoint. However, each region has their own rating system that cannot account for the ratings of other agencies. This could be one reason for the locking of systems. Another could be control of inventory since each region has their own inventory and release schedules. If a game gets released in one region and other regions start buying up large quantities (which I don't think is what happens) there could be unnatural shortages which will lead to excess inventory later in other regions. But maybe the reason isn't even that complicated, who knows. As expected as this was, it's still disappointing.

Phoenom 11.01.2011#9

Guess I'll be getting a Japanese 3DSlite then. And keeping a close eye on the homebrew scene in the meantime.

RudyC3 11.01.2011#10

Phoenixus said:
Guess I'll be getting a Japanese 3DSlite then. And keeping a close eye on the homebrew scene in the meantime.

Considering this one will pretty much be permanently seeking access points to update itself without the player knowing it, homebrew will have a very hard time on the 3DS :/.

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LunarLuma (guest) 11.01.2011#11

^^^ Phoenixus, are their any flashcards for 3DS?

Lucia (guest) 11.01.2011#12

What? Damn that sucks, does that mean I can't download games/roms from another region? There goes piracy.

Phoenom 11.01.2011#13

Kafei2006 said:
Considering this one will pretty much be permanently seeking access points to update itself without the player knowing it, homebrew will have a very hard time on the 3DS :/.

Yup, if Wi-Fi is enabled at the time. Turning it off saves a lot of power on the DSi, so I doubt Nintendo wouldn't give the option for the 3DS. But yeah, that feature will certainly make things trickier.

LunarLuma (guest) said:
^^^ Phoenixus, are their any flashcards for 3DS?

...yeah, bit too early to answer that, no-one is even sure what kind of regular cartidges the unit will use yet.
Besides, if that game-installation feature holds true, there won't be any need for Flashcards outside of Piracy (and I condone that with full force).

Angus 11.01.2011#14

This just makes things more confusing for me. In a few months I'll be spending a year in Japan so I'm probably better off waiting until I get there to buy a 3DS...but that would mean I'd have to import games at extortionate prices when I get home.

And does anyone know if games from different region can connect for local multiplayer? I presume they can seeing as they're the same game, but has anyone got any experience of it with the DSi or something?

Mason 11.01.2011#15

Martin_ said:
The fact that the 3DS' predecessor was region-locked means that this really isn't news. Nice try, though.

This is something that people always want to know about consoles, it's irrelevant whether DSi was region-locked or not.

I'm not happy that this is the direction that they've chosen to take. Nintendo are really going backwards in terms of region compatibility, whereas their competitors - Sony in particular with PlayStation 3 - have been less strict about it. It's only going to lead to people hacking the system so that they can play the quirky Japanese releases that don't stand a chance of coming out over here.

SirLink 11.01.2011#16

If they really want to stick with the region locks, why not make it optional for each game? They would still get what they want by placing a region lock on games that get a worldwide release to avoid competing with themselves in different countries. At the same time, they could keep the games that are sure to never get localized region free.

Region lock would be still annoying but it would at least eliminate the issue most people have with it: Not being able to play games that aren't available in their region at all.

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Mason 11.01.2011#17

SirLink said:
If they really want to stick with the region locks, why not make it optional for each game? They would still get what they want by placing a region lock on games that get a worldwide release to avoid competing with themselves in different countries. At the same time, they could keep the games that are sure to never get localized region free.
Region lock would be still annoying but it would at least eliminate the issue most people have with it: Not being able to play games that aren't available in their region at all.

Yeah, or let publishers choose whether they want their games to be region-locked, Xbox 360-style.

Yoshindo1 12.01.2011#18

Oh so that's why there were some American games that would not work on my friend's Japanese imported Xbox.

Birdo Is A Tranny 12.01.2011#19

SirLink said:
If they really want to stick with the region locks, why not make it optional for each game? They would still get what they want by placing a region lock on games that get a worldwide release to avoid competing with themselves in different countries.

It's not a question of Nintendo shooting themselves in the foot, at the end of the day they will still their money.

They only real reason they region lock their software and hardware is to make it harder for sellers to distribute their pirated software, and as long as there is pirated software (i.e. forever) Nintendo will continue to region lock its products.

Moogi 12.01.2011#20

Well, as long as Layton vs. Ace Attorney gets shipped West, I've got no problem with Region Locks.

If it doesn't get shipped.... well... ragequit.

meeto_0 12.01.2011#21

Makes perfect sense considering this is nintendo. Such a tight fisted company. I got a ps3 at xmas and checked out their online store (which loads so quickly its unsettling) and they have sales, games are discounted and there are special offers. Has anything on the wii ware channel or the virtual channel ever being discounted or on special offer?

There are loads of demos as well. In less then a month I have demoed 20 games. That isnt even physically possible with wii.

I can almost feel the anxiety from iwata at the thought of one of its consumers enjoying something thats been discounted, given away, or bought from a region thats cheaper. Its sad.

WP-Final 12.01.2011#22

At Xmas 2009, Sega discounted most of their Virtual Console games for a week or 2. That's the only time I've seen such a discount. I don't think it was repeated last year.

Nintendo make great games and decentish hardware. Would it kill them to throw a bone to it's large fanbase once in a while? Both Microsoft and Sony have weekly discounts and promotions. Nintendo are so out of touch.

( Edited 12.01.2011 12:52 by Ifrit XXII )

Lynk 12.01.2011#23

So much for the global village. I appreciate that there are differences in Digital Downloads (but they should be damn near simultaneous anyway) but if I want to buy a US (or even Japanese) copy, why should they be able to stop me (or have any real reason to if they can sell an extra copy of a game that may never be released here)? I used to go to a shop in Wales that imported certain American DS games, and I got some like Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, FFIII and the awesome Contact ages before they came out here.

You could always import a Japanese system if you were truly hardcore Smilie

( Edited 12.01.2011 17:20 by Lynk )

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~~sandyb99 12.01.2011~~#24

As per Darkflame I agree with all the comments and also thought it was confirmed already.
Regions were due to technical restriction regarding TVs. They are now purely used for publishers to abuse pricing differences.
Honestly, they shouldn't be legal, imho. Why should people from one country not be allowed to play a certain game? Is that not discrimination at worst, or price fixing at best?

TAG 12.01.2011#25

Nintendo! :-x

I'm going to Japan this summer for a few weeks and I'm also studying Japanese language in college now. I would have liked to have bought a couple of Japanese games to help with my Japanese. I can't to afford to buy two 3DSs, though!

Also, if I do a lot of traveling between America and Japan (like I eventually hope to do), I would like to be able to keep the same 3DS with me.

Region locks are bad.

*sidenote: The angry emoticon doesn't seem to be working.

( Edited 12.01.2011 20:24 by TAG )