Hardware region locked?

[OGTiago]

That would suck major balls as I live in Europe and some games can only be found in JP/NA.

Fuck Nintendo if the lock it. Fuck them.QUOTE(gameandmatch @ Jun 22 2010, 09:57 PM) They would probably just region lock the Ware games and not the actual games.

They did it (region lock everything) with the DSi, why wouldn't they do it again?

I don't know, but I haven't heard a good reason for them to do it either.

Release games in Europe and I wouldn't care, but a lot of JRPG's for example get left out.

So I repeat. FUCK Nintendo if they region lock it.

 

[Hop2089]

I bet they will and I'm preparing to import if it's confirmed to have a region lock, however I think it will be limited like with the DSi. There's too many games released only in Japan that are good or even decent in the worst case. I can live without US games especially these days, I haven't found anything spectacular worth playing that's made in the US or Europe for Nintendo Handhelds in years.

 

[regnad]

Nintendo, if you do this, I may well not buy one until it's hacked successfully.

If you don't, I'll buy one immediately. I promise.

But that's the deal. Obviously my one single purchase should weigh heavily on your production decisions, so choose wisely!!

 

[syko5150]

@regnad If it is region locked then just buy a US 3DS at one of the many import shops like Game Hollywood in Akihabara

 

[ibis_87]

Don't think they are going to lock the actual games. They need the new machine to gain popularity, so I guess they'll hail every purchase, be it from within or from outside a particular region. Some downloadable stuff- maybe, but not the actual games. I hear they locked the DSiWare just to prevent technical issues with payments, currency conversions and loss of player's money. And then again, they did it when the DS as a platform was already insanely popular.

 

[CamulaHikari]

I really hope they won't >.<
There are quite a few games that do make it in the US but not in the EU, so then I would have to import my 3ds and all my games >.< My mom's so not going to like that.

EDIT: Finally 200 post~! Now up to the 300~!

 

[nutella]

Given that the DSi is region locked, I would imagine that the 3DS will be. I just can't think of a reason why they would. I could understand with consoles, but with handhelds I really just can't think of a reason that doesn't have to do with screwing over the consumers. (i.e. people who live in Australia and similar countries who have to pay outrageous prices for videos games)

 

[Overlord Nadrian]

I don't know, but I haven't heard a good reason for them to do it either.

They sometimes adapt the content of a game to the region it is released in, take a look at No More Heroes and the added/removed blood in the different versions. Also, they always make a bunch of games for every region, and if they didn't put a region lock on it, and if everyone just imported their games from another region, all games they made for that specific region won't be sold (hypothetically speaking, of course).

That said, I agree that it is a dick move of Nintendo to do because situations like that will never happen anyways.

 

[emigre]

Wouldn't region locking sorta kill the portability concept? For example if I go on holiday to Florida and I could very well buy a game to keep me entertained on the return flight.

 

[regnad]

I assume the attitude is that people who buy games in foreign countries while on vacation is such a vanishingly small percentage that it hardly counts.

 

[Rydian]

They sometimes adapt the content of a game to the region it is released in, take a look at No More Heroes and the added/removed blood in the different versions.Going off of this... In american stuff, generally violence is okay, while nudity gets censored out. In UK stuff, there's always topless chicks, but violence is centered out. If there's no lock, then people could get something from another region (when it's out there and is still being localized for their region), see stuff their society doesn't approve of, and think worse of the game and nintendo for including "such shit". Nintendo (and most companies) want to avoid that.

I used nudity and violence because those two are the most common differences between regions for movies, for games it's usually just general censorship (like blood), or slang one region gets that another doesn't (if an american gamer is told to find an NPC "in the loo", they most likely don't know where the hell to look).

QUOTE(Overlord Nadrian @ Jun 23 2010, 08:36 AM) Also, they always make a bunch of games for every region, and if they didn't put a region lock on it, and if everyone just imported their games from another region, all games they made for that specific region won't be sold (hypothetically speaking, of course).

Games in different regions have different prices. They might sell a game in a poorer country for 1/3rd of the UK price, and if it includes a language the UK person understands, they're likely to buy it from that region instead of the full-priced game in theirs.

It's to control content and price, basically.

 

[OGTiago]

I don't know, but I haven't heard a good reason for them to do it either.

They sometimes adapt the content of a game to the region it is released in, take a look at No More Heroes and the added/removed blood in the different versions. Also, they always make a bunch of games for every region, and if they didn't put a region lock on it, and if everyone just imported their games from another region, all games they made for that specific region won't be sold (hypothetically speaking, of course).

That said, I agree that it is a dick move of Nintendo to do because situations like that will never happen anyways.

I see what you're saying, but I only import if it's not/won't be available here.

So if they lock I will have no way to play those games, without a 3DS from there too.

 

[ProtoKun7]

If there was a game that told the player to find an NPC in the loo, then that's one weird game.

 

[popoffka]

@ProtoKun7

Actually, I hope it's not region locked, because I'm going to import one from US.

 

[waffle1995]

it region-lock if it has it own store and can be updated like the dsi

 

[BlueStar]

This is a big issue for me. I'm just not willing to go back to waiting so long for games after the DS. If Nintendo think it's going to cut back on importing with a region lock then it's out of luck because if it is locked then I'll buy a US system and have to import all my games.

Only issue might be if some of the online features are tied to a region.

Never understood the locking of the DSi, it's a portable system. You want to be able to take it on holiday with you and maybe buy a game at the airport to play on your way home. It's not like there's a problem with PAL/NTSC when you're not even displaying the games on a TV either.

 

[KingVamp]

Unfortunately I think it going to be region-lock too :/

 

[Rydian]

If there was a game that told the player to find an NPC in the loo, then that's one weird game.

In Breath Of Fire 2 you're trying to find one NPC, and somebody says they're "Worshiping the porcelain god". And yeah, they're in the bathroom. I didn't know what the phrase meant, so I searched around by myself to find them.

 

[Overlord Nadrian]

it region-lock if it has it own store and can be updated like the dsiYou're wrong, obviously. Take a look at the PSP and its store/updating/region lock.

QUOTE(Rydian @ Jun 24 2010, 07:46 PM) In Breath Of Fire 2 you're trying to find one NPC, and somebody says they're "Worshiping the porcelain god". And yeah, they're in the bathroom. I didn't know what the phrase meant, so I searched around by myself to find them.

Really?

/me grabs DS and DSTWO

 

[Rydian]

This is for the SNES version, I haven't played the GBA.

EDIT: It's when you're trying to get a certain piece of jewelry back from a witch, and you head to a "party" at a cafe.