Hardware 3DS Region Free by Update or Buying a new 3DS?

[Kunoha]

Not even sure if this is a right place to post this. Oh well. Topic title not to be confused with the latest 3DS model

This post includes the news, my reasoning and that is all- Thank you for reading this.

*Ahem* Recent news say that Nintendo is reviewing Region Lock. *Shoves this link http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/...-company-must-consider-removing-region-locks/ up people's faces*

As for what should be done going forward, if unlocked for the benefit of the customers, there may also be a benefit for us," Iwata said. "Conversely, unlocking would require various problems to be solved, so while I can't say today whether or not we intend to unlock, we realize that it is one thing that we must consider, looking to the future.

Now let's look at Nintendo's reasoning behind the region lock, shall we?

From some people’s perspective, it might seem like a kind of restriction. However, we hope people can appreciate the fact that we’re selling our products worldwide,

Well, it would be nice to have some games people would want to play. If the game is not planned localized or ever and such, then how are we gonna play that game? Import a 3DS model from Japan when we already have one? Nah, I'll turn that down. Especially that I can't have more than one electronics at a time-

I'm not gonna quote the cultural crud, so I'll just wrap that up real quick.

From my understanding (and other people's comments in various places) Nintendo is scared because some kid is gonna play some eroge game from Japan.
Well, that's up to the parents or guardian to put a stop to that. There is no way a kid could import that game without a credit card.

Back on topic with the news, since Nintendo MIGHT drop their Region Lock BS, how are they gonna do that? By system updating to cancel out the region code on the games or will we have to buy a new 3DS if Nintendo ever decides to drop the region lock

 

[Armadillo]

Technically, they could do it by a system update.

But they won't. They are stuck in the past and always will be.

 

[Kunoha]

Technically, they could do it by a system update.

But they won't. They are stuck in the past and always will be.

So the 3DS hardware is not region locked? Thank goodness! I don't have to buy a new one, after all.

...Bump.

 

[Curry]

I thought the region lock was not because of the "playing a game you're not supposed to play", but more the "let's divide the world in different regions so we can somehow make more money". Sort of along the lines of dvd regions, american tv series behind 1 or 2 seasons behind on european tv and the fact that sometimes the release date of a game in the usa and eu can be months apart. Sometimes it's regulations/laws being a pain, but most of the time it's just money.

As for the nintendo become region-free, I highly doubt it. So far they only mention that they might think about it. And furthermore, why should they? What do they have to gain from it? The amount of customer annoyed by it is minimal, the amount of people who would not buy a console because of region-locks is too tiny to make a difference. On the other hand, region locks allow them to charge different prices for the same game in different countries for example.

 

[Kunoha]

I thought the region lock was not because of the "playing a game you're not supposed to play", but more the "let's divide the world in different regions so we can somehow make more money". Sort of along the lines of dvd regions, american tv series behind 1 or 2 seasons behind on european tv and the fact that sometimes the release date of a game in the usa and eu can be months apart. Sometimes it's regulations/laws being a pain, but most of the time it's just money.

As for the nintendo become region-free, I highly doubt it. So far they only mention that they might think about it. And furthermore, why should they? What do they have to gain from it? The amount of customer annoyed by it is minimal, the amount of people who would not buy a console because of region-locks is too tiny to make a difference. On the other hand, region locks allow them to charge different prices for the same game in different countries for example.

...Minimal. Minimal, you say?

Well I call BS on that. I assume those customers are not interested on Japanese games...

the amount of people who would not buy a console because of region-locks is too tiny to make a difference

...Well, the sole reason that I have a 3DS is because I consider my original DS outdated. I never knew about region lock until my recent years as a gamer.

other hand, region locks allow them to charge different prices for the same game in different countries for example.

I can always import online. No biggie.

 

[Curry]

...Minimal. Minimal, you say?

Well I call BS on that. I assume those customers are not interested on Japanese games...

Yes, I think the amount of people annoyed by it is minimal in the eyes of nintendo. To date about 45 million 3ds/2ds have been sold. How many people are annoyed or bothered by it? And how many of those did not buy a 3ds just because of that? Most people never realize there is a region-lock because they just buy the games at their local retailer or through the e-shop.

...Well, the sole reason that I have a 3DS is because I consider my original DS outdated. I never knew about region lock until my recent years as a gamer.

Many people will never know about region lock because how will they find out and why would they care?


That is why I doubt nintendo will change their mind. They say they are thinking about it, but in the end it is just a matter of money(just like why the new 3ds gets released in the usa/eu much later). Personally I hope they will make their current and future consoles region-free, I just doubt they will. If it doesn't earn them money or they are not forced to change their ways by either the consumer or the competition I don't think they will do it.

 

[EarthBound 2]

Nintendo is hungry for money like Microsoft.

 

[Pippin666]

Nintendo is hungry for money like Microsoft.

it's not only about "money". Just take Bravely Default for instance. The J version of the game have less clothes on the girls wich is not tolerate in the USA. So region !

Pip'

 

[Kunoha]

Many people will never know about region lock because how will they find out and why would they care?

True, true. But the ARE some people that want to play games that has never been bother to be localized. Take Danball Senki for instance. Or any games that are region exclusive.

 

[Celebrimbor360]

From my understanding (and other people's comments in various places) Nintendo is scared because some kid is gonna play some eroge game from Japan.

Are there any eroge games on 3DS though? I mean officially released ones. I think Nintendo has been kid friendly all the time.

 

[shinkodachi]

...Minimal. Minimal, you say?

Earth calling Kunoha, Earth calling Kunoha... Back on your feet, take a deep breath. That's good. One more. Good. Now, listen.

It is minimal.


I've personally imported many games from Japan. Region locking is an important matter to me, but I have no side to take on this debate. Technically there's nothing to restrict a region free console today as the difference between NTSC and PAL bears no relevance anymore. Then you have the PS3/PS4, which not only is region free, but also has a universal power supply unit (i.e. it works across US/Europe/Australia/Japan without an expensive power inverter). Even the Nintendo DS was region free, so it's not like the concept is foreign to Nintendo. That said, I don't know about the politics behind Nintendo's decision to make the Wii U and 3DS region locked. Let's get to it...

Why region locking sucks

• US/European/Australian gamers can't import games from the other respective region(s), even though they're all English speaking territories. E.g. if you live in the US you can't buy an Inazuma Eleven game, even though they're published by Nintendo in Europe. This leads to the problem that gamers must campaign for games to be released in their region, just like in Operation Rainfall to bring The Last Story, Pandora's Tower, and Xenoblade Chronicles to the US despite English versions of the games being present in Europe.
• If you travel in another region, move to another region, or have friends living in another region, you can't buy/exchange local games for the console you bought in your region. (The only exception here is if you're Australian/European and import from Europe/Australia, since PAL and AUS systems/games are interchangeable.)
• You may miss out on special content available only to a certain region even if the game is available in your region. E.g. a limited edition bundle only available in a specific region or in-game content that differs between regions.

Why region locking isn't a problem

• Unless you speak/understand Japanese, not being able to import from Japan is a non-issue as Japanese games rarely have an English language option. (The only exceptions being select games such as Ace Attorney 123: Wright Selection and games where language is not a priority such as arcade fighting games.) This effectively reduces the number of people affected by region locking.
• Buying games outside of your local region can be very expensive. Not only must you take into account differences in currency (and possible processing fees), but also the cost of international shipping and customs duties. If applicable, you may also have to pay tax (e.g. VAT) for the games you import. These numbers easily add up, again effectively reducing the number of people affected by region locking.

I think that covers most of the points I had in mind. I hope Nintendo makes their consoles region free in the future, even though I'm not affected by region locking. (I still import many games from other regions, especially Japan, as I stated above. It's just a non-issue IMO.)

 

[Kunoha]

Yes, it is a non-issue, I guess. But at LEAST developers would release their games to all regions. Even though that region doesn't give a crud about that game. ((Thankfully, the first game of IE was released.))

Speaking of which, why did Nintendo go and enforce region lock back then? Was it because DS and GBA games couldn't be region coded?

Are there any eroge games on 3DS though? I mean officially released ones. I think Nintendo has been kid friendly all the time.

That, I dunno. I kinda exaggerated there. That said, even A (CERO Rated) games have some material that parents doesn't want their child to see. (That is what I am assuming.) Even though A (CERO) rated games and E (ESRB) rated games are just practically the same.

Questionably, why even put in region lock when people don't have a problem with that? I mean, people didn't care about region-free back in the GBA-DS era, so why encode them in games now? Besides greedy reasons.

 

[tbb043]

They probably can't just go totally region free because some 3rd party publishers in favor of the region lock might get pissed if a past title suddenly isn't locked anymore.

What they maybe could do is make it optional for publishers in the future or something like that.

Not saying they will, just rambling on my part.

 

[Kunoha]

3rd Party Publishers? Why in favor of the region lock? What is their reason behind that?

 

[shinkodachi]

What they maybe could do is make it optional for publishers in the future or something like that.

You might be on to something here, though.

Think about it: the PS2 and (original) Xbox are region locked mainly due to differences between PAL/NTSC video signals. Since Nintendo didn't join the HD era with the Wii, it was bound to the restrictions of PAL/NTSC regions as well. Only with the PS3 did we get a region free console for the first time with the exception of a few titles (mainly Persona 4 Arena). However, at the same time the Xbox 360 remained region locked, though it was up to the publisher to enforce it. This leads me to believe the different companies just have struck different agreements with publishers and distributors. As the Wii U is the first Nintendo home console with the potential to be region free, it seems the real reason holding that from happening is that Nintendo hasn't negotiated it to be a possibility with its publishers/distributors.

As for Nintendo handhelds prior to DSi/3DS, I'd like to believe Nintendo simply didn't implement any region locking. It could have been that Nintendo wasn't forced to implement region locking to its handhelds the same way as their home consoles, but during the time of the DSi such agreements had possibly expired and renewed, now forcing Nintendo to do just that. So the reason for the 3DS to remain region locked can very well be a political one.

Unfortunately it's not as simple as "but Sony's doing it, why can't Nintendo?" Both companies operate differently and have a different presence in different regions. Sony has the stronger foothold globally and likely has better options to strike agreements as it wants. It would explain why the PS3 was essentially region free while the Xbox 360 was only partially so (depending on the game publisher). For the Wii, there was a legitimate reason to keep it from being region free and that's adhering to the standards of analog video specifications (NTSC/PAL). Wii U finally has true digital output, overriding that archaic necessity of not mixing video signals.

That's just my theory though.

 

[Kunoha]

Well, it didn't seem like politics is making Nintendo go "region lock for life".

If they did, Nintendo would have said they couldn't remove it. So with my understanding with the recent news, Nintendo is still the enforcer of the region lock.

EDIT:

They probably can't just go totally region free because some 3rd party publishers in favor of the region lock might get pissed if a past title suddenly isn't locked anymore.

//Imports a Rockman.EXE Operate Shooting Star from Japan

 

[shinkodachi]

If they did, Nintendo would have said they couldn't remove it. So with my understanding with the recent news, Nintendo is still the enforcer of the region lock.

Do you seriously think that's how some agreements work? I've signed my share of different agreements due to work and some agreements specifically state not to talk about certain matters. In particular, Nintendo could be under pressure not to reveal who is responsible for region locking in the Wii U / 3DS. I'm not stating this is fact, but it's a possibility. I also want to stress I'm not taking a side in this discussion so I'm not defending Nintendo for its practices. This however could be one possibility.

As for a previous question that you had, "3rd Party Publishers? Why in favor of the region lock? What is their reason behind that?" You should seriously ask Atlus. They were under fire for region locking Persona 4 Arena for PS3. I'm quoting Wikipedia as it has a nice brief of the reason for that decision: "because both the Japanese and NA versions are virtually identical and with their release dates only weeks apart, a region lock was put in place by one of the higher ups in Japan in order to prevent reverse importation (as the price of games in the United States is cheaper than the price in Japan)."

Let me know if you believe that statement.

 

[EarthBound 2]

I'm Gunstar Heroes maniac.So did Nintendo port that game on 3DS?

 

[shinkodachi]

I'm Gunstar Heroes maniac.So did Nintendo port that game on 3DS?

You should ask Sega...

Kunoha here's more thought to what I posted above, a quote from the Atlus press release concerning Persona 4 Arena's region locking: "Importing, as great as it is for gamers who otherwise can't get access to a title, can also cannibalize the performance of a title in one territory to the benefit of another. While we're all one big Atlus family, the reality is that the dramatic difference between the Yen and the Dollar makes for a dramatic difference in price. So the decision was made, perhaps at the expense of some of our fans, clearly at the frustration of many, to region-lock Persona 4 Arena." [..] "For many of you, there is no explanation that resonates, no justification that atones for this fact." [..] "The decision to region-lock P4 Arena was a business one," http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/07/atlus-addresses-persona-4-arena-region-locking

Make of that what you will. Publishers want region locks, that's fact. In the case of Atlus, backlash from fans caused them to step back on region locking.

 

[ov3rkill]

All the pros and non of the cons, in my humble opinion of having a region free device.