Hardware Owners of (J) 3DS - tell me about region lock

[Hanafuda]

So, my wife is Japanese. We live in the USA. And although she speaks English just fine, after I told her about the region lock on the 3DS she now wants to get a (J) console. The two main reasons are Animal Crossing and Tomodachi Collection, which she played to death on the DS. At first she tried my Animal Crossing out, and then got a japanese version (Doubutsu no Mori) from back home. She said the English translation of Animal Crossing was a pain in the ass and not interesting/amusing like the Japanese version. And chances are, she's right.

Anyway, with the region lock on the 3DS, if she gets a (J) console and uses it here in USA, how crippled will it be?? Would it be able to receive updates, use the (J) eshop, and etc? Would it be able to connect over wifi with other players in Japan (for Animal Crossing) using FC? I know it wouldn't be able to connect locally or wifi with (U) games which I know will suck since Animal Crossing is the main game she wants it for and that's kinda lame if you can't hook up with some other player(s). But she wants the game in her native language which isn't too hard to sympathize with.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Pyrii]

From what I read the 3DS is region locked.

EDIT: 3DS, DSi-enhanced and Download games are all region locked. Only original NDS games are region-free.

 

[broitsak]

Yeah its region-locked. Updates and them, i dont know.

 

[Lucifer666]

Yeah it should work just fine in the States if you get it imported.
Oh and also to correct you, Wi-Fi works fine across different region consoles.
I used to go to StreetPass meetups and we'd try to play MK7 via local play, but some of the guys had European and Japanese 3DS systems, so we'd all just play on-line.

@above he's not asking if it's region-locked; he's asking if it'll be able to connect to the Japanese eShop and receive Japanese-exclusive services and whatnot, seeing as they're in the States.

 

[Pong20302000]

works the same

you can change a setting so you can receive the Japan videos from the video app

everything else works fine
obviously you will have to import j games

 

[Lumstar]

Also be aware (J) model DSi and 3DS hardware are set permanently to Japanese language.

This does affect backwards compatibility! The handful of DS games who set their language to Japanese based on the console's setting, will play only in Japanese. Regardless of the game's native region.

 

[osm70]

Some games have online IP lock.

 

[broitsak]

@above he's not asking if it's region-locked; he's asking if it'll be able to connect to the Japanese eShop and receive Japanese-exclusive services and whatnot, seeing as they're in the States.

Yeah i see that now.

 

[Hanafuda]

Some games have online IP lock.

This matters. Do you know of which ones? Are any of them 1st party Nintendo games??

As for the warning about the J 3DS being set permanently to Japanese, that's kind of the point. In our household, my daughter and I (she's 9 and speaks better japanese than me, and I'm decent) are the only ones who'd be affected by that. My wife is Japanese and our 19 year old son from her first marriage (I adopted him) came here when he was 8 so he's perfectly bilingual.

 

[GamerzHell9137]

1. Would it be able to receive updates, use the (J) eshop, and etc?
Answer:Why wouldn't she???
Lets say you are on a Vacation in Europe and you have the 3DS with it.
You can play online and get updates and stuff, the place does not matter.
But you need to have a internet connection lol.

2.Would it be able to connect over wifi with other players in Japan (for Animal Crossing) using FC?
AnswerFC! Its like with all the other games. Like Mario Kart 7 and Kid Icarus Uprising.
You just need the Friend Code.

''I know it wouldn't be able to connect locally or wifi with (U) games'' is this true??

 

[Hanafuda]

''I know it wouldn't be able to connect locally or wifi with (U) games'' is this true??

Thanks for yours and others' responses above - but I should clarify that point. Since she'd be playing the Japanese version of Animal Crossing (Doubutsu no Mori), it would not connect locally or wifi with others in the house playing the (U) Animal Crossing. Same thing was true with the DS. In fact, I played Doubutsu no Mori for her just so she'd have someone to get other fruits and stuff from.

 

[osm70]

Some games have online IP lock.

This matters. Do you know of which ones? Are any of them 1st party Nintendo games??

As for the warning about the J 3DS being set permanently to Japanese, that's kind of the point. In our household, my daughter and I (she's 9 and speaks better japanese than me, and I'm decent) are the only ones who'd be affected by that. My wife is Japanese and our 19 year old son from her first marriage (I adopted him) came here when he was 8 so he's perfectly bilingual.

I know only of Mario Tennis Open, but there may be more.
But it can be EASILY bypassed by using proxy.
edit:typo

 

[The Minecrafter]

Some games have online IP lock.

Couldn't you bypass the IP lock by using a japanese proxy or something similar?

 

[osm70]

Some games have online IP lock.

Couldn't you bypass the IP lock by using a japanese proxy or something similar?

Some games have online IP lock.

This matters. Do you know of which ones? Are any of them 1st party Nintendo games??

As for the warning about the J 3DS being set permanently to Japanese, that's kind of the point. In our household, my daughter and I (she's 9 and speaks better japanese than me, and I'm decent) are the only ones who'd be affected by that. My wife is Japanese and our 19 year old son from her first marriage (I adopted him) came here when he was 8 so he's perfectly bilingual.

I know only of Mario Tennis Open, but there may be more.
But it can be EASILY bypassed by using proxy.
edit:typo

(I already said that you can)

 

[retrodoctor]

If both of you get Japanese consoles, you'll be fine. The only problem is that you'll have to import your games for almost twice the price as the US retail.

 

[Hop2089]

If both of you get Japanese consoles, you'll be fine. The only problem is that you'll have to import your games for almost twice the price as the US retail.

Pretty much, 3DS games on Play Asia sell for $59-$70 so use the cupons if you have any that aren't expired, they come in every order from there so if you have other games coming after the one you bought use it on that.

 

[chris888222]

So, my wife is Japanese. We live in the USA. And although she speaks English just fine, after I told her about the region lock on the 3DS she now wants to get a (J) console. The two main reasons are Animal Crossing and Tomodachi Collection, which she played to death on the DS. At first she tried my Animal Crossing out, and then got a japanese version (Doubutsu no Mori) from back home. She said the English translation of Animal Crossing was a pain in the ass and not interesting/amusing like the Japanese version. And chances are, she's right.

Anyway, with the region lock on the 3DS, if she gets a (J) console and uses it here in USA, how crippled will it be??
not really
Would it be able to receive updates, use the (J) eshop, and etc?
yes
Would it be able to connect over wifi with other players in Japan (for Animal Crossing) using FC?
yes to a large extent, because some games (Mario Tennis Open) have an IP lock. You will need a Japanese proxy but remember proxies can be slow like fuck
I know it wouldn't be able to connect locally or wifi with (U) games which I know will suck since Animal Crossing is the main game she wants it for and that's kinda lame if you can't hook up with some other player(s).
Mario Kart 7 is international btw

But she wants the game in her native language which isn't too hard to sympathize with.

Thanks for any help.

Forgot to add, for stuff like Nintendo Video and TV, you will need a Japanese proxy.

 

[Hanafuda]

If both of you get Japanese consoles, you'll be fine. The only problem is that you'll have to import your games for almost twice the price as the US retail.

We don't need to use retail importer channels to obtain stuff from Japan. But, the games themselves cost more in Japan, so yeah more expensive.

 

[chris888222]

If both of you get Japanese consoles, you'll be fine. The only problem is that you'll have to import your games for almost twice the price as the US retail.

We don't need to use retail importer channels to obtain stuff from Japan. But, the games themselves cost more in Japan, so yeah more expensive.

Games are ¥4,800 - ¥6,090 on average (I think).

 

[chris888222]

I have no idea where I heard this from, but it seems that Mario Tennis Open IP lock was done by Camelot.

True enough, other Nintendo online titles (like Mario Kart) have international online.