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In response to the ongoing fan campaign and petition to end region-locking on Nintendo systems, Emily Rogers of notenoughshaders.com has posted an in-depth discussion with Nintendo 3rd-party indie developers here.
Most of the responses are critical of Nintendo still maintaining a region-locking policy.
Bottom line: going region-free would create more opportunities for consumers and developers alike. Make it happen, Nintendo!
In response to the ongoing fan campaign and petition to end region-locking on Nintendo systems, Emily Rogers of notenoughshaders.com has posted an in-depth discussion with Nintendo 3rd-party indie developers here.
Most of the responses are critical of Nintendo still maintaining a region-locking policy.
Jools Watsham said:In this era of digital distribution, region locking doesnt make much sense. Every game should be a simultaneous worldwide release, because DIGITAL. Right now, we have to submit our games to NOA and NOE, separately. This slows down the process and can make it difficult to achieve a simultaneous release in different territories. Being able to submit one game to Nintendo, and then have the option to release in all territories would be a big improvement on the submission system. The age rating boards also need to take note from the ESRBs example of how publishers apply for age rating. The European age rating systems is something that also slows down the process for us.
Bendik Stang said:I think Region Locking is a self-damaging form of DRM. It limits legal distribution and strongly motivates paying customers to start using pirated software. Imagine buying a product legally on a vacation or getting it shipped from a different region, only to find that it does not play on your hardware due to a region lock! Im sure many with that experience have been so frustrated that they have taken the time to figure out how to use pirated games instead.
Keng Jin said:I feel that region lock is an archaic mechanism in todays context. Goods move freely and information too. Why shouldnt games move freely too? Imagine if other products that we own or information is region locked too! Companies have to start thinking for their customers or risk losing out to other companies that have adapted.
Martin Pichlmair said:Region locking is a restriction that content publishers of old wished for. We, being a young indie studio, are not interested in restricting or controlling the access to our games. The more people can play them, the better. From our naive perspective, it is that simple.
Manfred Linzner said:Especially for handheld machines we think it is great to have no hardware region lock. Buying retail games on holiday would be much easier this way.
Andrew Augustin said:I personally do not understand the concept behind region locking. I cant see the benefits of this. Theres nothing worse than not being able to play a game that you are really interested in because of it not being able to play on your region specific console. It limits the potential for gamers to experience all the game for a system they support and it limits the amount of players a developer can reach out to. No good at all.
James Saito said:Although I understand that Nintendo region locked due to differences in regional content and ratings, I cant see why these things cant be worked around. Instead of prevention, I would instead like to see a disclaimer warning the player about regional differences but still allow them to play after agreeing to certain terms. People who buy out of region games already know what theyre getting into, and is really a very small portion of their consumers. But removing the region lock goes a long way towards showing that they are listening to their customers.
Jean-Francois Major said:I do understand the interest for a publisher to region lock a game. (Pricing, different publishers per territory, sensitive content and so on.) But in the end, gamers know what comes with importing a game. If that means having to play a game in a foreign language, they should have the choice to make that decision. We have to be forward thinking and respect the globalization of the market.
Jonas Kaerlev said:As a developer, region-locking doesnt make much sense to me. I understand the financial advantage of being able to prevent importing. However, if the lock was removed and people were able to purchase games abroad they couldnt play else-wise, then that would result in higher sales and even out the loss. Without region-locking, costumers are given more freedom and are more likely to be able to enjoy a larger array of franchises. This is important to me, as I know we have fans in Japan and China, and if we werent doing an all-digital release then they wouldnt be able to enjoy our games at all.
Xander Davis said:Its pretty clear we live in a fairly globalized society now, and building bridges with consumers everywhere is not only smart for a console holder, but opens up markets substantially to developers, especially smaller developers whose products could really use that kind of accessibility. That would be much more consistent with the type of global digital download and market accessibility were getting ever more used to every year online, but even region-specific digital stores on consoles seems odd. If theres a way to work out a universal ability to release a game globally, especially digitally, that would be very interesting. I truly believe listening to what gamers want is crucial, and nothing made that clearer this year than the controversies surrounding Xbox One. For any console-holder to make their devices region-free delivers on that kind of passionate demand.
Brian Allanson said:Many U.S. gamers are bilingual, and love to play games from all over the world. Sadly, not every game gets localized. Removing region locks means were given the chance to play games that wed never be given the opportunity to play! Ive always been an importer of games, even if I had to mod my system to do so or buy a foreign console. One game I still play is the Bleach fighting game for the PSP, which doesnt have an ounce of english in it, nor does it need any! Without region lock on the PSP, I was able to play many games that never came here plus the boxes smelt like Japan!
David Byers said:To be honest Im not sure where I stand on the region locking issue. Removing it I think would be great for consumers, but from what I understand having separate regions allows lower pricing in poorer countries. One thing I do hope for, especially as digital distribution becomes more prolific, is that most content will be localized thereby removing the need to import games in the first place.
Monty Goulet said:In my own gaming collection I have three imported titles. Shonen Jump Superstars, Last Window, and Xenoblade Chronicles. Given that you might assume that Im totally in favor of region free consoles but Im not 100% on other side of this debate. Consumer choice is always good. However, I can clearly see the reasons why Nintendo wants to lock down its systems, and just because Microsoft and Sony have decided against it doesnt make Nintendos reasons any less valid.
One of the main reasons I cant see why the abolition of region-locking will make any difference is purely personal; I simply dont import that many titles. Secondly, release dates are now closer together than ever before. In the case of the Wii U, Pikmin 3 will launch across all three territories in the space of three weeks. Are you honestly going to pay more to get the Japanese version? Now I know most of the debate is over titles that wont be released in certain regions so I want to mention that as well. Its a safe bet that if a region free console existed during Xenoblade chronicles, it would have never made it to Europe, and ultimately the US as the petitioners simply would have imported it.
Region locking allows Nintendo to manage its international business in a more effective manner, as it knows that money spent marketing games in a particular region will for the most part result in games being purchased in the same region, not from another. From a business standpoint, I can clearly see where Nintendo is coming from and support it, but as a gamer, I would love to be able to play more titles than what are available in just the US.
Bottom line: going region-free would create more opportunities for consumers and developers alike. Make it happen, Nintendo!