-
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.
bad rumour killed, New 3DS is region locked.
- Thread starter ShogunDarius
- Start date
Or other lesser known games of any genre.
The Maverick
Member
This would be the exact time that Nintendo could use some good will too.
Starwolf_UK
Member
Sometimes you are left without a choice in the matter. The point was I don't think getting $40 games for $30 on release is at all realistic in America let alone getting these shipped to Europe for that.
It would be nice to have the choice though. Of course the eShop is a completely different matter, there is no shipping of anything and if we look back to DSi the digital stores are probably the reason. Wonder if it would be better if the store was region free but BS currency conversion was applied (ala Steam).
Majority of the profits come from the Japanese market. Software costs significantly more in Japan than in America. About 50% + more. Since 3DS is the best selling game device in Japan currently in terms of hardware and software, Nintendo makes sure that Japanese customers cannot import games from other territories for cheaper.
The mediocre sales of PS Vita hardware and software don't inspire Nintendo to change their policies either. It is really annoying especially for western 3DS owners because they miss out on games like Rune Factory 4 and get game delays like SMT IV. Nintendo either needs to commit to localizing these games themselves or finding another way to protect Japanese software profits while removing region lock.
One day my grand children will talk of a region free Nintendo handheld.
I will sit down in my big armchair and pour myself a nice glass of whisky
and I will cry, as it will be one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.
No longer will they need 3 consoles to play games, they will be truly free and limitless.
I will sit down in my big armchair and pour myself a nice glass of whisky
and I will cry, as it will be one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.
No longer will they need 3 consoles to play games, they will be truly free and limitless.
Godzilla's Left Toe
Member
One day my grand children will talk of a region free Nintendo handheld.
I will sit down in my big armchair and pour myself a nice glass of whisky
and I will cry, as it will be one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.
No longer will they need 3 consoles to play games, they will be truly free and limitless.
So you didn't own a DS or GBA?
I did but I was too young to care of actually how big a deal it was.
This sounds like a bunch of shit to me. The months that it takes for games to get localized should be more than enough for Japanese games to drop in price far enough for the difference not to matter. That's putting aside that the games would be in English.
Immaculate
Banned
Never thought I'd see this anywhere other than 4chanExclusive response from the "alien" that got Nintendomination to run the rumor.
It allows Nintendo to charge more from gamers outside North America. Oh, wait, you meant a defense in regards to consumers' benefits? Sorry.
Seriously, I think region locking is born from NCL's obsession with control. That same obsession is behind them not allowing users to move their digital purchases via a standard activation/deactivation procedure that doesn't involve calling technical support.
geordiemp
Member
The only way companies that do anti consumer practices learn is when the market does not by their products like they used to....
oh wait ?
Reap what you sow
Yes, I was speaking about home consoles.
PSP was probably region-free* because 3DS, GBA, GBC, GB were... As a device you carry around, it seems to be logical.
I remember travelling from Europe to the US when I was young, buying Final Fantasy Legend in a store in downtown NY, and putting it in the console asap.
I find "a long history of region-locking" stupid when they started region-lock their portables six years ago after nearly 20 years of region-free portable consoles.
And region-locking on consoles till Wii was usually a joke, they nearly never really tried...
* actually, it's not region-free, btw, and PS3 isn't either. Both are region-coded, but there's only a single PSP game and a single PS3 games that use the region locking... XBox, on the other hands, has a lot of region-locked games, unfortunately.
I'll eat a bus if that happens.Watch the NA version have purple buttons.
Really? I see it (and variations) all the time on Tumblr.
KojiKnight
Member
<_< Am I the only person that wants the purple buttons?
The 3DS isn't region free. I assume you mean the normal DS. (You might wanna edit that)
Never heard of this rumor before though, but it made me realize just how much of a selling point it would be to me if the N3DS was region free.
Never believed it anyway. Fuck region lock.
But to set things straight, someone tell Gamespot that Nintendo does not have a long tradition of region locking their HW, actually all the handhelds until the 3DS were region free. Game journalism...
Ofc, this time is the worst to have a region locked system, both for us and Nintendo.
Sigh.
Still getting a N3DS, very hyped for it.
But to set things straight, someone tell Gamespot that Nintendo does not have a long tradition of region locking their HW, actually all the handhelds until the 3DS were region free. Game journalism...
Ofc, this time is the worst to have a region locked system, both for us and Nintendo.
Sigh.
Still getting a N3DS, very hyped for it.
Ultimadrago
Member
Seriously. Who honestly believed this?
No, there are countries where games get outright banned, so they would be breaking the law I think.
yep. don't give a damn about region locking. those buttons tho....
And there is at least no technical reason for Nintendo and other publishers to not release multi-region or all-region ("region free") titles.
(or at least therer wasn't on Wii and DSi - I assume similar structures are in place on newer devices)
Not a defense, but some notes:
1. Games are released in different regions, with different laws, regulations, rating systems, censorship, retailers, return policies, languages & cultures, etc..
2. Games publishing & distribution rights are sold off to different companies in other regions. The movie & music studios do the same thing. Here's an explanation Acing the Deal-The art of negotiating film distribution
3. Software costs, and currency foreign exchange values. Purchasing cheaper software from other regions.
4. People change their shipping address for online orders to pay lower taxes, and there are many more loopholes in any of the "deals" threads..
5. It's not a technical issue, it's a legal issue... sigh..
We want access to games as soon as we can, and knowing a game exist in another region that you can't play on your hardware is lame, especially when you are willing to endure a different experience.
With online distribution we want access to everything, it will come but not as fast as we want.
It actually started with the DSi. It really is a shitty practice
Probably because it makes it harder for people to make R4 like game cards and fake pirated game cards. It happened a lot on GBA and DS. I have no ideas why Wii U is locked though.
The worst thing is I remember Iwata using Region free as a selling point for DS, saying you can take it anywhere in the world and still buy games for it. Sad that they did a 180 on that stance. =/
protomouse
Member
Region locking needs to go.
Take Shovel Knight, for example. The game is due out later this year on Wii U in PAL territories. Meanwhile, it's already out in North America and available globally on Steam. As a European, what is preventing me from picking up the game on Steam instead (meaning a lost sale for Nintendo)? Well, I actually like my Wii U and wish to support indies on the platform. But at the same time, I don't wish to support Nintendo's ass-backwards policies.
I mean, it's still a pain in the ass to buy stuff off the North American PlayStation store - but at least it's possible.
Take Shovel Knight, for example. The game is due out later this year on Wii U in PAL territories. Meanwhile, it's already out in North America and available globally on Steam. As a European, what is preventing me from picking up the game on Steam instead (meaning a lost sale for Nintendo)? Well, I actually like my Wii U and wish to support indies on the platform. But at the same time, I don't wish to support Nintendo's ass-backwards policies.
I mean, it's still a pain in the ass to buy stuff off the North American PlayStation store - but at least it's possible.
MikeXXIeaf
Banned
Region locking makes sense.
The only reason why Sony doesn't do it is because there is a lot of overlap between their Japanese and American audiences.
The only reason why Sony doesn't do it is because there is a lot of overlap between their Japanese and American audiences.
Tempesta di Fuoco
Banned
Region locking doesn't bother me one bit, even though it's always a nice option to have. Most of the games I really want come to the US anyways, and the ones that I do want to come to the US but do not are lengthy JRPGs that do not lend themselves well to importing.
Umm no. As a private user, I'm allowed to buy every product as long as it's not forbidden. And that usually only applies to stuff such as guns, weapons, drugs, and so on. Yes, I'm even allowed to order games on which it says "For sale and use in Japan only".
Point 1 is pretty general and is only remotely related to region locking. In fact, in Europe there are a lot of different ratings, cultures, languages, etc. and yet nobody is thinking about region locking to individual countries. If someone was to argue like that, it's incredibly inconsistent - but I know that Iwata did that in the past. Then again, he's not been too smart in the past few years (not meant as an excuse for his stupid statements).
Points 2, 3, and 4 make a lot of sense from a corporate perspective.
This post makes no sense whatsoever.
This is one Nintendo policy that no one should be able to advocate in favour.
Only Nintendo remains, from the big 3 companies, wasting money and time to keep region locks in place when it makes no sense to do so. It is like they want to lose money to prevent them from getting money from people that want to buy their games. SMH.
Only Nintendo remains, from the big 3 companies, wasting money and time to keep region locks in place when it makes no sense to do so. It is like they want to lose money to prevent them from getting money from people that want to buy their games. SMH.
And this is why games released for Europe are usually in EFIGS languages and NA games are English only, usually with French & Spanish packaging depending on the publisher. Sometimes there's even a difference with NA English & UK English.
Nintendo's NA release are mostly English text & voice with additional French & Spanish packaging. Looking at the back of the boxes is ugly since it's full of trilingual legal text.
I'm just trying to show there are logistics...
Like many, I'd put up with fumbling through Japanese menus to play action games or resort to Internet menu translations, but that's not the general public.
Gonzo The Great
Banned
What's even the reasoning behind it?
Similar threads
- Poll