Support NeoGAF

[L Thammy]

Funny enough, I actually saw a Miiverse post from a ten year old speaking against region lock (I'm assuming the person wasn't lying about themselves: it wasn't a new account). He was saying that he's American but his family has moved to Japan. He doesn't understand Japanese that well but he can't play Lego City Undercover in English.

Yes, Japanese gamers view region-locking as very undesirable, but are very hesitant to sign a petition or use their real names anywhere on the Internet out of privacy fears.

Is that the reason that there were all those charitable donations under Tiger Mask's name? Anyhow, I still think the Miiverse angle might be a good idea.

 

[Vinnk]

Japanese gamers in general mostly don't care. There are a few gamers really into WRPGs or FPS games that cared back in the day, but now most of the worthwhile ones get brought over to Japan anyway(and in a fairly timely manner).

I am an American who lives in Japan and the region-lock is a big deal for me. I can understand Japanese to an extent but with a text-heavy game like Phoenix Wright or SMT4 I would much rather play in my native language. I would need a dictionary in hand the entire way through. Not super enjoyable.

But if I just bought a US system then I would miss out on all the quirky, fun Japanese exclusives. And have to pay import fees for every game I buy. I don't need a localized Mario Kart the Japanese one is fine but I want a game like X in English.

Last gen I got around this problem by buying 2 Wiis. It was before I was married and I had some disposable income. But now with a family to support I can't buy 2 3DS systems and 2 WiiUs.

So I solved the problem by not buying any.

I got a good deal on a used 3DS so I have a Japanese one now. But Since I can't get any of the RPGs I want in English, I really only use it for mario games.

Nintendo. If your consoles were region-free I wold buy them day 1 and buy lots of games for them. Since they are not, I will wait for price drops and be a lot more choosy with my games. I know I am a small minority (the ex-pat Nintendo gamer), but it really is money being left on the table.

 

[Keyouta]

With the revelation of the backpedal on the EVO, I think people should turn their focus to region locking. Now this is obviously a different issue, but with lots of support and media, they could change their outlook on this!

https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAAYUKk9v5TtLQ

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Japanese gamers in general mostly don't care. There are a few gamers really into WRPGs or FPS games that cared back in the day, but now most of the worthwhile ones get brought over to Japan anyway(and in a fairly timely manner).

I am an American who lives in Japan and the region-lock is a big deal for me. I can understand Japanese to an extent but with a text-heavy game like Phoenix Wright or SMT4 I would much rather play in my native language. I would need a dictionary in hand the entire way through. Not super enjoyable.

But if I just bought a US system then I would miss out on all the quirky, fun Japanese exclusives. And have to pay import fees for every game I buy. I don't need a localized Mario Kart the Japanese one is fine but I want a game like X in English.

Last gen I got around this problem by buying 2 Wiis. It was before I was married and I had some disposable income. But now with a family to support I can't buy 2 3DS systems and 2 WiiUs.

So I solved the problem by not buying any.

I got a good deal on a used 3DS so I have a Japanese one now. But Since I can't get any of the RPGs I want in English, I really only use it for mario games.

Nintendo. If your consoles were region-free I wold buy them day 1 and buy lots of games for them. Since they are not, I will wait for price drops and be a lot more choosy with my games. I know I am a small minority (the ex-pat Nintendo gamer), but it really is money being left on the table.

I'm in the same boat. I have a Japanese Wii U and my main complaint is the COMPLETE lack of indie games on the Japanese eShop. I just want to play the same ones NA gets .

 

[Lord Ghirahim]

I think it's sad that Nintendo refuses to remove a restriction that drives people away from gaming. People can get other less restricted hobbies or invest in a non-Nintendo system until Kyoto gets its shit together I guess.

 

[dark10x]

People can get other less restricted hobbies or invest in a non-Nintendo system until Kyoto gets its shit together I guess.

That's exactly what I'm doing. I haven't purchased anything for my 3DS or Wii U since moving to Europe and I don't plan to buy many. I may import a couple of the titles I really want, but games that I might have previously impulse purchased, will remain on shelves. Furthermore, multiplatform games will always be purchased for other consoles.

Rayman Legends, for instance, is a game that I will buy on either PS3 or Vita (or both) as I can purchase local copies easily. I would have originally purchased it on Wii U but the region limitations will prevent me from doing so. That's really the long and short of it.

The world is becoming a global place and I know of many people who have left their home countries to work abroad. Nintendo is making it extremely difficult for us to enjoy their systems with these restrictions and they will lose sales as a result. I can't "PLAY THE GAME" with these restrictions in place.

 

[gngf123]

Hopefully the Smash situation has shown a few people that Nintendo can backpeddle if there is enough fan outcry.

Should we try for another planned push?

 

[Cheesemeister]

Hopefully the Smash situation has shown a few people that Nintendo can backpeddle if there is enough fan outcry.

Should we try for another planned push?

Media support is the best for spreading awareness. I'm aware of one upcoming story that should make the rounds soon.

Unless you have a suggestion?

 

[dark10x]

Hopefully the Smash situation has shown a few people that Nintendo can backpeddle if there is enough fan outcry.

Should we try for another planned push?

What was that situation again?

I'd love for them to actually back peddle, but I just feel as if they really don't listen. They exist in their Nintendo bubble which can sometimes result in great things but can just as often create frustration for consumers.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

What was that situation again?

There is no good summary of that thread (that I know of) but I think it was NOA told EVO they could not stream Smash Bros. Then it turned out they could if they filled in a form. Which they did. If there is a good summary (and/or if I'm completely wrong), let me know.

If we're going to pick odd backpeddling then the whole Let's play thing is a better example. Though in that case I feel it was Youtube saying to Nintendo it was a good idea (as Youtube wants its slice of the ad revenue).

Both of those are entirely NOA decisions though. Likewise the 50Hz VC can be presumed to be entirely NOE defining "original versions" (or whatever the internal VC design doc may say) as crappy 50Hz.

Earthbound peddling is a more solid example as that seems to be mainly driven by NCL and is more complex than a few legal things.

 

[dark10x]

OK, those are all good examples actually. I just feel like region locking is on a different level entirely and directly impacts all of their current platforms in a profound way. I would love to start buying Nintendo products more often once again, but with the way they go about their business, I'm not expecting much.

Would be so awesome if they did reverse it at some point, though.

 

[Cheesemeister]

The petition has reached 22,000 signatures!

 

[ASIS]

Man, this is kind of slowing down, let's move this train faster!

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Yeah, looks like the Evo thing kind of distracted people in their outrage against Nintendo. Hopefully this picks up again.

 

[Keyouta]

I would play Pikmin 3 in Japanese if I could, but darn region locking prevents me from doing so!

Let's keep the ball rolling, EVO shows Nintendo can change their mind!

 

[GeekyDad]

 

[Lordwindowlicker]

I completely support this, and think that Nintendo needs to cut the crap as far as region locking is concerned.

I'm aware that it's tradition for consoles to be region locked, but I think in the end its bullshit to keep it up in this day and age. And 3DS is the first Nintendo handheld EVER to be region locked, which pissed me off to NO end.

 

[Sendou]

I completely support this, and think that Nintendo needs to cut the crap as far as region locking is concerned.

I'm aware that it's tradition for consoles to be region locked, but I think in the end its bullshit to keep it up in this day and age. And 3DS is the first Nintendo handheld EVER to be region locked, which pissed me off to NO end.

DSi happened before it.

 

[Lordwindowlicker]

DSi happened before it.

I had no idea that the DSi was region locked.

I'm glad I never picked one up, now.

 

[Immaculate]

I had no idea that the DSi was region locked.

I'm glad I never picked one up, now.

DS games aren't region locked

DSi games on the store are.

 

[Jrs3000]

Who thinks there's a possibility they pushed back part of the summer update to include region free along with an account system?

 

[boyshine]

I think the real issue is that this is a "want", not a "need" - and far from a deal breaker when it comes to hardware purchases.

The timing is also extremely bad here, just coming off the DRM-campaign it seems much more like "well, let's try to make Nintendo remove region locks as well LOL", it doesn't come across as something anyone is really passionate about or truly upset over. So, why should Nintendo respond in a world where region locks gets more and more common? Digital movie and streaming services even lock down on a per country basis. It would be great 10-20 years ago, but now? In a few years everything is digital anyway, and it won't matter if the hardware/software is region free when the only way to buy games is from region specific online stores.

 

[toddhunter]

I think the real issue is that this is a "want", not a "need" - and far from a deal breaker when it comes to hardware purchases.

I have not purchase a Wii U because of region locking. It is a deal breaker.

The timing is also extremely bad here, just coming off the DRM-campaign it seems much more like "well, let's try to make Nintendo remove region locks as well LOL", it doesn't come across as something anyone is really passionate about or truly upset over.

There are lots of people passionate about it. See this thread and the petition and the twitter feeds.

So, why should Nintendo respond in a world where region locks gets more and more common? Digital movie and streaming services even lock down on a per country basis. It would be great 10-20 years ago, but now? In a few years everything is digital anyway, and it won't matter if the hardware/software is region free when the only way to buy games is from region specific online stores.

The PS4 is region free and the Xbox one just changed to being region free. There may be a US PSN store, but I can still buy from it if I want and play the games (and do so!). If anything region locks are getting less common and a digital future for Nintendo is still a long, long way away.

I can't really agree with your assessment of the situation. It is by no means the only thing Nintendo is doing wrong, but it is something they need to fix.

 

[Infernal Monkey]

DS games aren't region locked

DSi games on the store are.

DS retail games with DSi 'functions' were region locked too (on DSi systems only), like Sonic Classics Collection and Solatorobo.

 

[Pie and Beans]

I think the real issue is that this is a "want", not a "need" - and far from a deal breaker when it comes to hardware purchases.

The timing is also extremely bad here, just coming off the DRM-campaign it seems much more like "well, let's try to make Nintendo remove region locks as well LOL", it doesn't come across as something anyone is really passionate about or truly upset over. So, why should Nintendo respond in a world where region locks gets more and more common? Digital movie and streaming services even lock down on a per country basis. It would be great 10-20 years ago, but now? In a few years everything is digital anyway, and it won't matter if the hardware/software is region free when the only way to buy games is from region specific online stores.

You don't seem very clued up on how this all works. No region locking isn't becoming "more and more common", its becoming less common.

As with regards to digital stores, I can create another account on both PS3 and Xbox 360 to access the content of every other region on Earth, and purchase points from those areas through online sites to make use of them. PS4 and Xbone will most likely use the same system.

Word to the wise: don't randomly defend a corporation over something it is objectively doing bad. Paints a target right on your back.

 

[boyshine]

You don't seem very clued up on how this all works. No region locking isn't becoming "more and more common", its becoming less common.

As with regards to digital stores, I can create another account on both PS3 and Xbox 360 to access the content of every other region on Earth, and purchase points from those areas through online sites to make use of them. PS4 and Xbone will most likely use the same system.

Word to the wise: don't randomly defend a corporation over something it is objectively doing bad. Paints a target right on your back.

I'm not defending anything, it's possible to discuss both sides you know. I'm just saying that the timing is off and that the cause itself might be outdated looking towards the digital-only future. This could've been pushed a loooong time ago, yet it came on the tail of the DRM-campaign. 3DS launch? Wii U launch? Nothing.

I have posts supporting the case and done a lot of "work" supporting it on Miiverse as well. So feel free to "target" me, but anyone getting angry at someone over this has to grow up. It's not like Nintendo is watching this thread, counting pro's and con's to make their decision regarding region lock or not

 

[toddhunter]

I'm not defending anything, it's possible to discuss both sides you know. I'm just saying that the timing is off and that the cause itself might be outdated looking towards the digital-only future. This could've been pushed a loooong time ago, yet it came on the tail of the DRM-campaign. 3DS launch? Wii U launch? Nothing.

The timing was actually based on the xbox one being changed to be region free. That move pretty much invalidates any contemporary argument about why Nintendo "has" to region lock.

So the timing is completely appropriate.

 

[Javier]

Sort of related, but there's been a surge of people asking in some of the Japan-only VC communities (most notably the SNES Fire Emblem games) to localize and release the games in the West. I'm guessing it's as a result of this campaign, and people are being more vocal against Nintendo.

 

[L Thammy]

Miiverse isn't giving up. Why should you?

https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADbUV58m1zJcg
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADOUV52FtFOlA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADMUKlX7EdhwA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAD4UV52CTPZyQ
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAACNUKEXPybLSg
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADzUV58pzDEMw
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADbUV58nwqOEg
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaWzfnhijg
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADOUV51-GTtAg
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAAYUKk9gzMzcA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAABtUV58f4K4Dg
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADOUV51681jGA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaWzd1S-1g
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaWzc-531g
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAD4UV52BL_wew
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAD4UV52BYwnBg
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAAYUKk9k1A6-g
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADbUV58a-Pa0A
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADzUV58a5woMQ
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADzUV58vj4lqA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAABtUV58qASAHw
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaWzgeCYwA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAAYUKk9pWnHZA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADOUV52CoORKQ
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAAYUKk9nWucGA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAADYUV6ms9m15w
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAABtUV58cv-LEw
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAAABUaWzUpDMPw
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAD4UV510mfdHA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAAD4UV510MgNNA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADzUV58YPZk7Q
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAADYUV6m9B4AyA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADbUV58YXSmQA
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAABnUYnVH19uzw
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYQHAAABAADYUV6mohKFiQ
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADMUKlX3Ll0Gw
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAABAADzUV58Xmh6lQ

Sort of related, but there's been a surge of people asking in some of the Japan-only VC communities (most notably the SNES Fire Emblem games) to localize and release the games in the West. I'm guessing it's as a result of this campaign, and people are being more vocal against Nintendo.

It's always been like that. You have people whining in the Glory of Heracles community that don't know what the game is. The Vegas Stakes community is full of complaints about the VC selection.

 

[Javier]

It's always been like that. You have people whining in the Glory of Heracles community that don't know what the game is. The Vegas Stakes community is full of complaints about the VC selection.

There used to be posts like this, but it definitely seems more prominent now. Like, half the posts being about asking the game to be localized.

 

[Keyouta]

It's great that the campaign is continuing, I don't want to see it end until region locking is abolished.

 

[ASIS]

I'm not defending anything, it's possible to discuss both sides you know. I'm just saying that the timing is off and that the cause itself might be outdated looking towards the digital-only future. This could've been pushed a loooong time ago, yet it came on the tail of the DRM-campaign. 3DS launch? Wii U launch? Nothing.

I have posts supporting the case and done a lot of "work" supporting it on Miiverse as well. So feel free to "target" me, but anyone getting angry at someone over this has to grow up. It's not like Nintendo is watching this thread, counting pro's and con's to make their decision regarding region lock or not

Actually, considering that the movement started from this very thread I doubt Nintendo ISN'T eyeing this place as a hawk. They may not respond directly to us, but I'm sure they are hearing our cries. Now we have cry so loud that it could defen their ears.

Spoiler

just wanted to be a bit poetic, but the point still stands dammit!

 

[zsidane]

First, let me emphasis that I am 100% against region locking and dream of the day that Nintendo hardware can run games from any region.

I read Iwata response regarding the issue and I can't help but understand his point of view and arguments.
Nintendo operates in many countries around the world, mainly in Japan, North America and Europe. NA and European business is done by fully owned subsidies. Looking deeper into Europe, not all operators are owned by Nintendo. Sure France, UK, Germany and other big markets are directly operated by Nintendo, but what about other countries? Turkey, Scandinavian countries and some others are operated by "partners" and "official licenced" partnerd. Same thing for South Africa and probably other latin american countries. There may be other countries I am forgeting but you get my point

From what I understand, Nintendo is trying to protect these partners by having in place tools & mechanisms that allow them to "protect" partner's business.

What I want to ask is, do you honestly believe that Nintendo under it's current structure and how it operates, can afford to anger their representatives and partners?

Please feel free to correct any wrong information (I did not do a lot of research...).

 

[toddhunter]

From what I understand, Nintendo is trying to protect these partners by having in place tools & mechanisms that allow them to "protect" partner's business.

Nintendo DS. It did ok.

Oh they are trying to protect them alright, which is fair enough. Here is the thing though, as I've said before though, I have not purchase a Wii U because of region locking. This is mostly due to my experience with the 3DS where I made a big mistake.

So how does region locking protect Nintendo of Australia? It means they are not getting any more money from me. Is this irrelevant given there are many, many more people who are happy to pay up? Well probably, but unless people speak up, the true value of removing it will never be known, hence this campaign. Is the Wii U doing well here? Absolutely not and Nintendo will be looking for answers. Importing is a big deal in Australia and I believe pricing is a big issue for adoption.

Hence I believe removing the region lock is an answer and hence their efforts to protect profits are understandable but ultimately counter productive.

 

[sakipon]

Nintendo DS. It did ok.

DS did ok, but did partners lose some profits? Most likely, yes. I have my suspicions especially about the DS Pokemon games. They came out earlier in the US and were also cheaper than the late European releases. Hardcore fans imported the US versions. I believe the problem was especially rampant in regions like Scandinavia, where games aren't translated and therefore are identical with the US releases anyway. UK is covered by NOE, so in theory partners aren't applicable there.

However region lock isn't the answer to this issue of protecting partners, wordwide release dates are.

 

[ASIS]

First, let me emphasis that I am 100% against region locking and dream of the day that Nintendo hardware can run games from any region.

I read Iwata response regarding the issue and I can't help but understand his point of view and arguments.
Nintendo operates in many countries around the world, mainly in Japan, North America and Europe. NA and European business is done by fully owned subsidies. Looking deeper into Europe, not all operators are owned by Nintendo. Sure France, UK, Germany and other big markets are directly operated by Nintendo, but what about other countries? Turkey, Scandinavian countries and some others are operated by "partners" and "official licenced" partnerd. Same thing for South Africa and probably other latin american countries. There may be other countries I am forgeting but you get my point

From what I understand, Nintendo is trying to protect these partners by having in place tools & mechanisms that allow them to "protect" partner's business.

What I want to ask is, do you honestly believe that Nintendo under it's current structure and how it operates, can afford to anger their representatives and partners?

Please feel free to correct any wrong information (I did not do a lot of research...).

His arguments are very solid... Until you stop viewing their systems in vacuum. The other video game systems are all region free, and have more support than Nintendo's consoles. In fact, their most successful family of all time (The DS family) was Region free for the majority of its lifespan. Therefore what he needs to address are the following matters:

1) Why these legislations are unique to Nintendo.

2) Why modern times allegedly disallow Region free policies when they were fine in the past.

These matters were neglected completely by Mr. Iwata's arguments. Wait, no that's not correct. He did in fact talk about the first point, but he asserted that this problem wasn't exclusive to Nintendo when, in fact, it is.

So no, I for one am unsatisfied with his reasoning. I'm pretty sure he has more convincing pieces that could change our minds. But as long as he remains silent about them, I won't change my position. Pointing to "parental control" is an almost insulting excuse, but at least it confirms that this whole ordeal is tied to the software, not hardware (if it was tied to hardware then they could have just said so and we'd have nothing to go against, it's done, they can't go back).

 

[Mr-Joker]

Miiverse isn't giving up. Why should you?

Because Nintendo isn't going make the console region free.

 

[Bulbagarden]

Josh, the creator of the petition, has written an editorial for us on Bulbagarden about why Nintendo should go region free.
http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Editorial:_Why_Nintendo_needs_to_go_region_free

Because Nintendo isn't going make the console region free.

Defeatist attitudes help nobody. We've clearly seen that Nintendo can and have changed their minds in response to feedback from consumers, especially now that they have a direct line to people they know to be customers through Miiverse. A sustained campaign has the best hope of creating change.

Might be worth mentioning here.....the recent delay to the Summer firmware update is potentially a good sign for this campaign. We've operated under the assumption that they can remove the region lock through firmware, though none of us are really certain exactly how hard it is for it to be removed. It's more than just a few lines of code, that's for certain. There's the possibility that the delay may have been so that they could include region lock removal in with all the other big changes.

 

[toddhunter]

These matters were neglected completely by Mr. Iwata's arguments. Wait, no that's not correct. He did in fact talk about the first point, but he asserted that this problem wasn't exclusive to Nintendo when, in fact, it is.

I liken it to the situation with Sony and Microsoft and their online stores. As many PAL gamers will know, despite how good PS+ has been the PAL PSN store is an absolute joke this generation in terms of pricing and release delays. Microsoft have not suffered the same issue.

Sony's answer has always been that it is the way it needs to be because of their structure and how it is all set up.

The true answer of course, just like Nintendo, is that they need to fix that shit. Because at the end of the day it is 2013 and they want to sell things to us.

 

[Soulhouf]

Stop being defeatist. It's a terrible thing.

 

[Deleted member 13876]

Looks like we're stagnating. Maybe the Smash Bros turnaround could reignite some momentum.

DS did ok, but did partners lose some profits? Most likely, yes. I have my suspicions especially about the DS Pokemon games. They came out earlier in the US and were also cheaper than the late European releases. Hardcore fans imported the US versions. I believe the problem was especially rampant in regions like Scandinavia, where games aren't translated and therefore are identical with the US releases anyway. UK is covered by NOE, so in theory partners aren't applicable there.

However region lock isn't the answer to this issue of protecting partners, wordwide release dates are.

Anecdotally speaking I've been importing Pokemon games since Gold/Silver. Got the US Gold, US Crystal, US Sapphire, Japanese Pearl and bought the EU Diamond when it came out. For the most part these were not cheaper at all due to import taxes and specialty shops taking a hefty margin. Despite the region lock I wouldn't have imported X or Y because like you said, a timely worldwide release gives you almost no reason to do so whatsoever. Regardless I doubt they really lost a lot of sales because of Pokemon game imports. These games sell anyway, and the hardcore were often inclined to get the second version when it came out in our regions.

Unfortunately worldwide releases on Nintendo platforms are still not a universal thing and niche games still don't come over at all at times, so I am very much still pissed that they put these hardware locks in place despite a long history of not doing so in the past.

 

[Cheesemeister]

That's 23,000 signatures!

 

[Eteric Rice]

Am I the only one that feels the unified account system where we can re-download lost games on our, or other systems is more important at the moment?

I mean, region free would be great. But I think an account where I can re-download my games on a new system is more important.

 

[Cheesemeister]

Am I the only one that feels the unified account system where we can re-download lost games on our, or other systems is more important at the moment?

I mean, region free would be great. But I think an account where I can re-download my games on a new system is more important.

Deflection is not a valid argument for region-locking.

 

[Keyouta]

Am I the only one that feels the unified account system where we can re-download lost games on our, or other systems is more important at the moment?

I mean, region free would be great. But I think an account where I can re-download my games on a new system is more important.

I think focusing on region lock should be first, especially with all the support it's gathered. Later, definitely, something should be done about the account situation. We can easily start a campaign, but I'd like to do it after region locking is dealt with.

 

[toddhunter]

Am I the only one that feels the unified account system where we can re-download lost games on our, or other systems is more important at the moment?

I mean, region free would be great. But I think an account where I can re-download my games on a new system is more important.

If they had a unified system? I still wouldn't purchase one because of the region locking.

So no.

 

[neo-berserk]

the thing is;nintendo sell more console this way.They wont back off.

 

[Keyouta]

Seems to me they're missing out on a number of console sales from having their systems region locked. Plus, hardware manufacturers make the majority of their money through software, not hardware.

 

[toddhunter]

the thing is;nintendo sell more console this way.They wont back off.

More consoles? Do you think people pick up Nintendo consoles because of that region locking goodness?

No, they will sell more without it for sure. The only question is how much more and if that is enough to offset the reduced profits they get from price gouging. Raising our voices is a nice way to let them know.

That aside, not a lot to lose at this stage with the Wii U. They want answers to the poor sales? Here is one answer, if only one piece of a larger puzzle.

 

[Deleted member 13876]

I've seen quite a few people who'd want to buy a special edition 3DS or a color that's not available in their region, but don't because of this lock.