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Wii U Gamepads are region locked

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jaz013

Banned
But there is another reason for complain of people who doesn't even have the system and
has 0 plans to get one. But, hey It's cool to hate.

This. Most people I have heard complaining (at anything) always start with "I wasn't going to buy one" or "I don't plan to buy a...".

It's been a great launch, let me tell you, for both those enjoying the console and those expecting anything to point and say "I knew it/told you! Worst.console.ever!".
 
Stupid but this will only be a problem for people who are using a different region console so different region games... maybe Nintendo said in their mind "hey you like to import don't you? Why don't you import all of your controllers too :trollface: "
 

MormaPope

Banned
Someone moves to a different country, console shits out on them, they'll have to buy an entirely new package instead of the base console.

Also I really really doubt that Nintendo won't sell standalone gamepads in the future.
 

EloquentM

aka Mannny
People should care when anti-consumer practices like this come up. Same with license agreements that try to strip you of your rights and DRM that locks you out of content you've bought. Anyone can brush off these things if they try hard enough ("I'm connected online all the time so it doesn't matter if I can't play this single-player game with an internet connection!"), but these are issues everyone who puts down cash for games and systems should know about.
I know you're not comparing this to DRM. Only the gaming zealots of the web would give a damn about this and even still the majority of them will never encounter this problem. I agree it's stupid but really? Is this what everyone is in an upheaval about? People will complain about anything. *waits to get labeled as a Nintendo defense force member*
 
What if you are that person? The likelihood of such people is much higher on a gaming forum like this. If you happened to fall into that group, would you just shrug and say, "oh well, I'm in the 0.00000001% so I don't matter!"

Region locking hardware is just so ridiculous, I think posts that are all but defending the decision are the truly cringe-worthy ones.



The controller might break. Games supporting two controllers will come out. New edition controllers may be released. etc. etc.

People who "don't get it." try reading the damn thread.

I hate region locks. It's one of the things I hate the most about Nintendo hardware think region locking should be banned. I do not see why people would care about this or rather be outraged about it.

Someone moves to a different country, console shits out on them, they'll have to buy an entirely new package instead of the base console.

They were going to have to anyway since the gamepad comes with every console.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
This. Most people I have heard complaining (at anything) always start with "I wasn't going to buy one" or "I don't plan to buy a...".

It's been a great launch, let me tell you, for both those enjoying the console and those expecting anything to point and say "I knew it/told you! Worst.console.ever!".

Seeing the mountains of both basic and premium units at Best Buy the other day has me thinking otherwise, at least in terms of Nintendo's financial prospects.
 
Unfortunately nintendo has history for making decisions like this. Snes controllers were region locked, something I only discovered this year when the wireless US snes controller I bought failed to work with my UK snes. There's a good chance there's no technical reason for this, just nintendo region locking to prevent us consumers making savings by importing.
Anti- consumer decision if you ask me but I doubt nintendo care with their renewed love of region- locks (3ds being locked vs. the wonderfully region free ds).
 

GJS

Member
It's probably not a wireless standards issue. It's probably more the fact the the Gamepad has it's own firmware which would change by region for language and maybe TV options (I'm not entirely sure about this part). But it's not completely dumb and it's not exactly an accessory like controllers have been.

Also, you can't even purchase them right now so one step at a time.

Yes, the gamepad has its own firmware. The original article is all about the wiiU being unable to update the different region gamepads firmware.

Read the thread?

And how is it not just a controller anymore?



Or there are special edition controllers from specific regions that people want to import. Happens all the time.

Or the person imported their Wii U (or god forbid they moved to another region) and want to pick up another controller from a local shop instead of importing another controller from wherever their Wii U originates.

It's not just a controller that sends input to the console anymore. It has firmware for connecting to the wiiU, receiving signal, displaying the signal, it also has its own self contained programs such as the IR remote for changing TV channels.
 

Skyzard

Banned
Also I really really doubt that Nintendo won't sell standalone gamepads in the future.

But do any games support more than one? Can it even output to 2 things at once?

Seems strange tbh since I doubt it will be able to do that in the future if it can't at the moment and if so, you only really need one - unless they are of shoddy quality although I guess people will break em and they can make a little ensuring the regional prices ..but doesn't seem worth it.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
I hate region locks. It's one of the things I hate the most about Nintendo hardware think region locking should be banned. I do not see why people would care about this.

Then you are a hypocrite or lack basic comprehension skills. I and other people have already listed multiple reasons why some people may care or be affected by this ridiculous decision.
 

Dragon

Banned
While in practicality this is a non issue, one wonders what goes through the heads of the people making these decisions. To me, it costs more time and effort to implement this sort of thing. Why do it?
 

EloquentM

aka Mannny
Someone moves to a different country, console shits out on them, they'll have to buy an entirely new package instead of the base console.

Also I really really doubt that Nintendo won't sell standalone gamepads in the future.
Why don't you keep your original receipt and Call nintendo's customer service if that happens? Also, they already sell them separately in Japan.
 

The Hermit

Member
My+Body+is+Reggie.+New+footage+of+the+Wii+U_be15d4_3758076.gif
 

Coxy

Member
Why do people care?

Personally I find this a huge deal because I'd have to buy two systems anyway because it's region locked, so I would have one american console and pad and one japanese console and pad. When games using two pads appear, I will have two pads, but cant use them, and would have to buy another one for each console which would cost me another ~$300.
 
While in practicality this is a non issue, one wonders what goes through the heads of the people making these decisions. To me, it costs more time and effort to implement this sort of thing. Why do it?

They didn't do anything at all. This is a firmware issue. Wii U NA gamepads will connect to systems in Japan but the system update won't go through but everyone seems to be jumping over this point to be outraged. And when 2 controller games do show up, the 2nd one will probably be able to connect.

Let's be real here. People are looking for a reason to bitch. There's a lot to bitch about the Wii U system, but this is pretty much a non issue firmware problem that Nintendo probably didn't even think to look at because multiple gamepad support does not even exist yet.
 
Despite being a dumb decission, who gives a fuck?

Are you really considering importing one from Japan considering the price? Seriously?

And how many games support two Gamepads?

Or this is another let's spread shit over Nintendo stealth thread?
 

liger05

Member
Seeing the mountains of both basic and premium units at Best Buy the other day has me thinking otherwise, at least in terms of Nintendo's financial prospects.

wait to the december npd but you do know we had the same things said after launch yet it did 400k even though people there were mountains of units at best buy and other stores. Now it may well of had a terrible december but as we saw a few weeks ago going by the units you see in a store may not be the best indicator.
 
holy shit, i literally laughed out loud. nintendo really is clueless with the wiiU and they're clearly not kidding about region-locking this system.
 
Or maybe, just maybe, there are people who are concerned over this policy being extremely anti-consumer and are expressing as such in this thread? There is no need to throw accusations at people who are baffled at this, specially when it's perfectly reasonable to be.

Anti-Consumer?

Yeah It's a real anti-consumer practice for "worldwide controller collecters"
 

Dragon

Banned
They didn't do anything at all. This is a firmware issue. Wii U NA gamepads will connect to systems in Japan but the system update won't go through but everyone seems to be jumping over this point to be outraged.

Seems like from your description they did do something if what you say is accurate. Puzzling to me.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
yeah, I know the DECT cordless phones have different standards in each country


I'm pretty sure, WiFi is slightly different in each country too.
I'd be very surprised if this is the case with the WiiU controllers. It would mean that it would be illegal to import WiiUs to/from certain countries. I cant say 100% for sure though, but i think it is more due to trying to stop importing. Nintendo are afterall planing on expanding with the use of two WiiU controllers.


I agree that this most likely wont be an issue for most people.
 

zroid

Banned
People should care when anti-consumer practices like this come up. Same with license agreements that try to strip you of your rights and DRM that locks you out of content you've bought. Anyone can brush off these things if they try hard enough ("I'm connected online all the time so it doesn't matter if I can't play this single-player game with an internet connection!"), but these are issues everyone who puts down cash for games and systems should know about.

Fair enough, but this of all things is incredibly minute in terms of being "anti-consumer". You can't even purchase a GamePad separately from the console, for crying out loud. When you can, maybe this will be amended -- as someone said, the GamePad can connect to the console, it just detects the wrong region on a software level and rejects it once you've booted the system up.

If people are going to start a fuss about Nintendo's anti-consumer practises, how about something that actually affects someone? Like, region locking of software, for one thing.
 

liger05

Member
They didn't do anything at all. This is a firmware issue. Wii U NA gamepads will connect to systems in Japan but the system update won't go through but everyone seems to be jumping over this point to be outraged. And when 2 controller games do show up, the 2nd one will probably be able to connect.

sounds like a reasonable explanation to me.
 
Zefah you are really being unreasonable. If you need another controller why won't you buy one on your local store? How can this even compare to DRM?
 

miksar

Member
Then you are a hypocrite or lack basic comprehension skills. I and other people have already listed multiple reasons why some people may care or be affected by this ridiculous decision.
It still doesn't make it a legitimate complaint. There are legitimate complaints about Wii U right now (GamePad battery life, loading times, slow eShop/firmware downloads, to name a few), but here I mostly see people who don't ever plan to buy a Wii U making up theoretical circumstances in which it may be an issue. You shouldn't complain about small things when you have much more important issues.
 

MormaPope

Banned
Despite being a dumb decission, who gives a fuck?

Are you really considering importing one from Japan considering the price? Seriously?

And how many games support two Gamepads?

Or this is another let's spread shit over Nintendo stealth thread?

The Wii-U is like a month old, if there is never a game that supports two gamepads/the Wii-U can never support two gamepads than that'll sorta suck.
 

blamite

Member
Okay, I'm not defending this. I think it's a shitty thing to do and that Nintendo really had no good reason not to have region free controllers.

With that said, I don't really anticipate this becoming a huge problem in the way region-locked games are. Yes it's dumb, and yes it should be fixed, but the actual impact won't be that much.
 

RazorK1d

Member
Why does anyone care? Why is this a big deal? They don't even sell the GamePad separately and who imports first party controllers from different regions? Why would anyone get upset at something that could possibly affects like 0.1% of the userbase under very specific conditions?
 

Gummb

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about Rayman Legends Wii U.
So, this effects me if I move to a different country, break my current controller, and am incapable of importing another controller.

Yeah...

I don't care.

[EDIT] Also, maybe there is a logical reason Nintendo is doing this. It's obviously a deliberate move. We just don't know it. Move on...
 

MormaPope

Banned
"The circumstances in which this can effect someone are varied, therefore it doesn't matter" is a defensive and shitty attitude no matter how you cut it.
 
The hell? How did people not see this coming? The controllers have their own firmware customly made for the different markets and probably work on different certifications, I sure as hell wasn't expecting a japanese controller to work on my PAL console.

It's not just a controller anymore, it's got it's own internal storage and stuff like that.
 

speedpop

Has problems recognising girls
So I assume it's all to do with the firmware and the Gamepad is tied to that certain Wii U after whatever updates/when you turn it on for the first time.

I would like to see them test out two new units. One JP and one US and then swap around the Gamepads to see if there is still a problem. But of course that requires more money than is worth at the current moment.
 

Oersted

Member
I read the article. It really says that you can actually connect US controller to Japanese Wii U, or vice versa. However, the online update (didn't know it actually updates controller's firmware) recognizes the region of the controller and prevents you to progress.

But there is another reason for complain of people who doesn't even have the system and
has 0 plans to get one. But, hey It's cool to hate.


.
 
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