Just like we shouldn't have complained about 50Hz PAL releases?
Just like Earthbound fans shouldn't have begged for a Western release for years?
They listened before, they can do it again. If they don't want bad press, they know what to do.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Let's convince Nintendo to go region-free!
- Thread starter Cheesemeister
- Start date
Just like Earthbound fans shouldn't have begged for a Western release for years?
They listened before, they can do it again. If they don't want bad press, they know what to do.
D.Lo
Member
I honestly believe they have done it to combat piracy.
All Nintendo handhelds were region free before, but then came the devastating piracy on the DS. The DS Piracy was likely the worst of any device in history. Even in the worst days of the PS1, PS2, Amiga etc, you didn't have mothers buying $15 piracy devices for their young children that instantly allowed theft of 200 games on a single $10 SD card. No risks of bricking, no firmware updates, no hardware mods, no complicated copy procedures, just a $15 cart, drag and drop.
They have definitely added it to the 3DS because they feel that any flashcarts would still be locked to a region unless both locks are broken. As most piracy is centered in asia, the flash carts would be locked to asian 3DSes. And there the motivation ends for asian-centred manufacturers. So even with a crack, piracy remains quarantined to one region.
And this is playing out. All 3DS cracks and prototype flash carts so far have not been able to run outside of the hardware's region.
Don't blame Nintendo. Blame every single person you ever saw pirating DS games. Admitting to piracy seems to get you banned here, as does accusing others, but I have little doubt a huge number of people in this very thread pirated DS games. They caused this.
All Nintendo handhelds were region free before, but then came the devastating piracy on the DS. The DS Piracy was likely the worst of any device in history. Even in the worst days of the PS1, PS2, Amiga etc, you didn't have mothers buying $15 piracy devices for their young children that instantly allowed theft of 200 games on a single $10 SD card. No risks of bricking, no firmware updates, no hardware mods, no complicated copy procedures, just a $15 cart, drag and drop.
They have definitely added it to the 3DS because they feel that any flashcarts would still be locked to a region unless both locks are broken. As most piracy is centered in asia, the flash carts would be locked to asian 3DSes. And there the motivation ends for asian-centred manufacturers. So even with a crack, piracy remains quarantined to one region.
And this is playing out. All 3DS cracks and prototype flash carts so far have not been able to run outside of the hardware's region.
Don't blame Nintendo. Blame every single person you ever saw pirating DS games. Admitting to piracy seems to get you banned here, as does accusing others, but I have little doubt a huge number of people in this very thread pirated DS games. They caused this.
it was amir0x! i saw him do it. he's a witch!
D
Deleted member 125677
Unconfirmed Member
While I agree that piracy was a huge and widespread phenomenon on the DS, why would you do this when you lay out the consequences of it in the very same sentence?
D.Lo
Member
That said my post above does not apply to the Wii U. But there's obviously more of a history of region locked home consoles, it's not as much of an outlier.
I didn't accuse any individual. Just said that lots of people did it.
This argument makes no sense whatsoever. So you can only pirate games from your region. How does that improve sales? It's not like you could buy any other games.
Randomly accusing some undefined mass of people is so much better.
D.Lo
Member
That's not what I said at all. It means if a Japanese/Chinese region flashcart is made, it won't work in a US 3DS. Which is how it seems to have worked so far.
Anyway, sorry Cheese I shouldn't have started this in your thread.
Nintendo might do something, they did with the 50Hz VC games (sort of...), and that was for a region they really don't care about.
Problem is, nothing really stops them from making a US or EU version of their card (I guess).
lo zaffo
Member
I don't want to be rude but I think that region lock diminishes value of Nintendo hardware. I was happy for Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Ds, I'm sad for Nintendo Wii console, and following Nintendo 3Ds and Nintendo Wii U (these latter two are not compelling enough at the moment).
I've said this before and I will say this again: region lock is one thing that will create demand for devices that also allow piracy. Only reason why I could see myself getting one is bypassing the region lock.
And we all know the crack will happen. The more popular 3DS gets the more demand a device like that generates. The day there's R4 3DS or whatever is here is also the day where we count how good product Nintendo offered to customers. After all the only real way to fight piracy is through offering a superior service. Region locking fights against that ideology.
It should never be rude to state a fact.
And we all know the crack will happen. The more popular 3DS gets the more demand a device like that generates. The day there's R4 3DS or whatever is here is also the day where we count how good product Nintendo offered to customers. After all the only real way to fight piracy is through offering a superior service. Region locking fights against that ideology.
It should never be rude to state a fact.
D.Lo
Member
It's true though. I feel trapped with region locked consoles. It's okay if there's an easy solution however (like the freeloader).
Progress may at least be slowed down, and piracy centres likely care most about their local markets.
That's true. It's one hell of a trade off though. Treating your customers like criminals just for potentially slowing down piracy.
Starwolf_UK
Member
So, do these flashcarts need different firmware for each region? Those flashcarts appear to be SD card pass-troughs for games and one game per SD card. In other words they mimic putting a cartridge into the slot. Plus one game and possibly wiping saves if you switch out means it currently lacks the market appeal of 100 games on a SD card and the tech is too expensive to use in mass producing counterfeit games.
BUT, you what can not be counterfeited. Purchases from the eShop. The structure is also set up to allow separate funds for each country too (I like to think those times I bought 1000 Yen worth of Wii Points and spent them on the other Wii shops* contributed to that). It is not a perfect solution but it would be much better. Plus it might force NOA to stop treating VC releases with contempt (of course, you won't get Club Nintendo for out of region purchases). Of course lack of account system and Club Nintendo link only working for your Club Nintendo country could make for some serious restoration problems (imagine if you only got your US games restored**).
The official PR line whenever asked about region locking has been about age ratings. That is what parental controls and education are for. A simple disclaimer to parents about ratings not being consistent worldwide (see how an ESRB T rating means censoring buttocks while a PEGI 12 rating allows those but needs a breast reference removed) and to check those websites to learn more, if in doubt stay away would be helpful.
*-Back before October 23rd 2008 someone figured out Wii Shop connection is based on region selected and all Wiis have the full list of countries, only firmware normally stops you selecting certain ones. Also a fund wipe only occurred <> Australia as lots of people in 2006 were taking advantage of the Australian dollar. After that date the Wii Shop had some sort of region based key given to you on your first connection which would not let you into countries outside of that regions list.
**-This effectively happens on the Wii shop. Out of region purchases pre-October 23rd 2008 could not be re-downloaded as the item does not exist in the countries you have access to and you can not switch to the country to re-download it.
Suggesting it has to be one or the other is a false dichotomy. Unless the suggestion is imports of a US version make localising the European version non-viable which to me sounds like forcing me to pick up the tab (waiting for the FIGS translation and helping fund it by my eventual purchase of the European version as my choice is restricted).
That makes no sense at all. Couldn't they just simply make a american region flash cart as well?
A region lock does not prevent piracy.
Isn't the PS3 basically region free? How's that working out?
2 things that are easy enough to do and don't put their machines at greater risk of piracy or require a major restructure of their operations.
If Nintendo's choice is bad press vs making it easier to crack their system worldwide...they are going to settle for the lesser of two evils. (bad press).
You'd have more luck getting Nintendo to make a more normal accounts system above getting them to remove region lock.
Encouraging worldwide releases of ALL titles via the eshop is a more realistic thing to request. That way region free really wouldn't matter in regards to content....and it's something easily doable without risk to Nintendo's hardware.
What's your point? Isn't Wii region locked? How's that working out?
Which game that didn't get an international release on DS but got one on 3DS got a translation into your language? From the top of my head I can think of Virtue's Last Reward and Devil Survivor: Overclocked as games which respective DS predecessor/version didn't get a release in Europe ... but neither of them was localized for the 3DS either. Both just have English text.
While a local release is definitely great, there's not of a point to it if it means that you a) still have to play in English whether you want to or not and b) have to wait longer for the game (hey, man, I'm glad DS:O got released 2 years after the US release). The games that wouldn't get a release normally are expected to sell small numbers anyway, so that a localized release wouldn't make sense.
However, the reason why there are quite a few DS games that got released in the US, but not in Europe or Australia is not really a region-lock issue. More important was that just a ton of people pirated certain games as soon as they were available in English (and the DS software market was in a pretty bad condition for a long time; hardware sold great, software ... not so much).
Yeah Persona 4 Arena is the only region locked game on that machine.
Region locking stopping piracy? Yeah I wonder. Sony and Microsoft haven't unlocked this timeless wisdom I guess?
Exactly that. Region locking doesn't have anything to do with piracy.
PS3 is region free and it basically doesn't have piracy.
DS is region free and it had lots of piracy.
Wii is region locked and it had lots of piracy.
Vita is region free and it doesn't have any piracy.
I could keep going on.
Cheesemeister
Member
Even if that were the reasoning, gratifying the paying customers should trump frustrating hypothetical pirates with what would be a small hurdle for them.
littlebirdtoldme
Banned
not happening.
Removing the region lock is as simple as a software update. If they have contracts that bind them with 3rd parties, they can renegotiate them or at least start releasing their games as region free, thus putting pressure on 3rd parties to do the same. Allowing access to foreign eShops is also a matter of a simple software update. The 3DS and Wii U already allow you play games from any eShop from your region, they just need to allow you to select ''out of region'' eShops.
Explain to me how would removing RL require ''a major restructure of their operations''?
Yes, region locking has always successfully stopped piracy. Piracy on 3DS will become widespread once they make an R4 equivalent and then it will be a simple matter of installing the correct firmware.
Cheesemeister
Member
That's what people said about Xbox One's DRM reversal!
Awesome Miiverse post: https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaWzNywt6Q
The difference with the Xbox DRM situation was that it was pretty much all gamers making noise about it. Not just Xbox fans. Then came the gaming media jumping on it. Then mainstream press followed. I also assume preorder numbers came into play in that too.
This is something that only the super hardcore Nintendo fan cares about. I don't see it getting nearly as much traction. Plus this is stubborn ol' Nintendo we're talking anout here.
This is something that only the super hardcore Nintendo fan cares about. I don't see it getting nearly as much traction. Plus this is stubborn ol' Nintendo we're talking anout here.
Cheesemeister
Member
Don't be a Debbie Downer! Every little bit of support helps.
That's a little different though. The Xbox One isn't out yet so changing the policies is a lot easier to do now since its not out. With the 3DS and Wii U, there are millions of units in the hands of the consumer. If this campaign would have started before the launch of the 3DS maybe then it would have a better chance of making a difference. Its tough to change when the system has been in place for a few years and people are just now speaking up about it.
Region locking does not prevent piracy. There. But it prevented me from getting a Day 1 3DS. YThey propably don't care with those sales numbers, I do.
Technical: a region lock check and a check for authentics are two completely different things. One can be as simple as reading a single variable from a file header, the other is a very thorough and comlplicated process involving encryption.
Technical: a region lock check and a check for authentics are two completely different things. One can be as simple as reading a single variable from a file header, the other is a very thorough and comlplicated process involving encryption.
Definitely true, but we'll never know for certain if we don't try. If it fails, well, then that's the way it is. There's currently a strong "together we are strong" vibe going around, after #PS4NoDRM and Microsoft's sudden decision. So, if we can use some of that to get heard by Nintendo that would seriously be awesome. Even if it's too late to unlock Wii U and 3DS, making your voice heard can never be a bad thing.
Even if it's too late, it's already a small win if we achieve that Nintendo takes the gamer's opinion into account the next time they have to decide whether they want to region-lock a plattform (even if they decide that the gamer's opinion isn't worth a damn and keep the region lock in place, at least it was considered...
).FrozenCell
Member
Larry Hryb just flipped the region discrimination switch on Xbone, next Nintendo WiiU-3DS updates could do the same?
Their facebook page is funny will all those shinny brand-new facebook hashtags!
Reminds me last week on Wii U's France official page, they asked for which app or service (no games) we want on eShop... Bad buzz followed with many "games first" and "old removed Wii channels" complains.
Reminds me last week on Wii U's France official page, they asked for which app or service (no games) we want on eShop... Bad buzz followed with many "games first" and "old removed Wii channels" complains.
Cheesemeister
Member
Awesome!
Did more media catch up on this do you know?
Jaded Alyx
Member
Too bad about the typo.
IdreamofHIME
Member
PS3 is region free?
Nice I will import a copy of Persona4 Arena from the US to the UK ^_^
....wait.
Nice I will import a copy of Persona4 Arena from the US to the UK ^_^
....wait.
Atlus are scum. Add that to $50 3DS game and shameless day one DLC.
Sakura
Member
The XBO being region free doesn't exactly mean much, as I doubt there will be many Japanese exclusive titles coming out for it, if at all. Maybe Europeans can benefit from it? But either way it's not as big a deal as the PS4 being region free.
Anyway, I'm sure it's already been said, but Microsoft's DRM reversal came about before the console was released. Nintendo is not going to release new firmware to reverse the region locking on the 3DS or Wii U. It just isn't going to happen. It's a minor issue the vast majority don't care about, and I doubt it's as easy to solve as simply hitting a switch.
Anyway, I'm sure it's already been said, but Microsoft's DRM reversal came about before the console was released. Nintendo is not going to release new firmware to reverse the region locking on the 3DS or Wii U. It just isn't going to happen. It's a minor issue the vast majority don't care about, and I doubt it's as easy to solve as simply hitting a switch.
It's publisher-based, they decide the region lock. After the Atlus debacle with P4A they vowed never to region lock again, so yeah - PS3 is region free.
Cheesemeister
Member
Sakura
Member
Isn't it publisher based on the 360 as well? My American games work on my Japanese 360.
Cheesemeister
Member
New Reddit post to upvote!
http://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/1gs8nq/top_posts_in_e3_miiverse_community_looks_like_the/
http://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/1gs8nq/top_posts_in_e3_miiverse_community_looks_like_the/
Lord Ghirahim
Member
1 is false. 2 is irrelevant to the matter at hand. I don't even understand 3.
GhostTrick
Banned
I stand by my original post!
The only reason for region free was always to play the badass japanese games upto a year earlier.
This is no longer the case as Japan is making crappy games right now.
NOE is fucking awesome. Awesome 60hz conversions, great translations, fast releases, sometimes before Japan from what I remember.
It's just NOA that is lacking.
The only reason for region free was always to play the badass japanese games upto a year earlier.
This is no longer the case as Japan is making crappy games right now.
NOE is fucking awesome. Awesome 60hz conversions, great translations, fast releases, sometimes before Japan from what I remember.
It's just NOA that is lacking.
Isn't 2 pretty much exactly why the region lock could be annoying? Seeing as less games might come over.
And it's not just about importing from japan anyway. No region lock would force Nintendo to do worldwide releases just like Sony did this gen.
So because you're happy with your personal situation, people less fortunate than you don't have any reason to speak up?
What the fuck is wrong with you?