Nintendo of Japan have confirmed in an email that the Nintendo 3DS will be region locked.
Sadly this means that those of us in the West will undoubtedly miss out on some of the more obscure Japanese 3DS games that would never be released outside of Japan.
damn…
worse news if you live in Europe you are seriously f-ed because you can’t even import US-releases that means even more waiting for me TT
Great move nintendo. Gives us more of a reason to pirate it. I’ll give it a week until they hack it :)
Thank for fueling the pirated market nintendo.
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As long as Ouendan 3 isn’t released. I”ll be happy. But I want it to be released. UGH! This sucks!
This move really doesn’t make sense; all it does is encourage piracy.
I give them a week tops before they hack it.
This is Nintendo’s worst move for marketing their console. And I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to pirate it this time, I’m seriously neither waiting 2+ months for something to be released on Spain, nor having to play it in Spanish (there are tons of mistranslations in the games, so I hate to play them in Spanish :P), nor paying 50€+ for a game, when in the US, you can get them for 30$.
No way I’m paying 250€ for a handheld I won’t enjoy.
I’m quite sad they decided to Region Lock it… D:
Wow, really. Why does it have to be this way, in this day and age? I really don’t want to have to buy two 3DS systems in order to enjoy every good release.
Were you guys honestly really that surprised considering that the DSi was region locked as well? I certainly expected this.
DSi was less on the radar because it was just an updated version of the DS, which most people had already. Which WASN’T locked.
Rather than play at Nintendo’s game and get multiple 3DS’s, I’ll just wait for the inevitable custom firmware/soft mods. You did it to yourself, Nintendo.
We live in a global economy! We should be able to experience everything everyone else does!
Bad move, you just motivated the pirates if the 3DS was region free people would pay for there games, but now a lot of people won’t. I’ll buy all my games, but it’s only a matter of time until the 3DS is hacked effectively.
Well, time to set sail.
Keep in mind that Nintendo was partially successfully against combating piracy with the Nintendo DSi. Hackers have still been unable to “hack” the DSi console without relying on flash carts like the R4i or Acekard.
Just means us PAL gamers need to import a US system. Yes, it will be a hassle and there will be shortages, but apart from piracy (and how long will it take to hack anyway?) it’s my only real option.
Guess I got to wait.
People would be trying to hack it left and right even if it weren’t region locked. Don’t kid yourselves into thinking this move will be the single biggest factor that leads to pirating on the 3DS. The biggest factor is that all games have a price tag higher than $1. This is a secondary factor at best. More importantly, it’s an excuse for people to pirate the system and legitimize what they’re doing with what they believe is a justified reason. “Can’t play this game because of the region lock.. I’ll just pirate it.”
Awww, Nintendo, why did you have to do this? Now I have to pirate you. Sorry. I don’t think I can live without my Japanese games. : /
Wrong move I pay for every game I buy on the ds but patience is not one of my virtues how can you do this to a handheld console that you take to other countries at one stage 3DS game sales will show due to piracy
Does anybody know the reason for this?
I hate this too, but there’s got to be a reason, right?
hi there goody i am a master chief and friends with the borg collective the borg likes too asembalte technolgy resitance is futile
Logic, how else are we supposed to play great titles that we want to play when they’re region locked? Buy another 3DS
Last I checked, not playing games isn’t a travesty. Plenty of people get by without ever knowing about games that weren’t released in the United States.
It’s also of interest to note people would probably pirate it even if it weren’t region locked because they don’t want to ship it in from Japan. Some people are legit but most aren’t. This whole thing just gives people an excuse to think pirating is okay because they’re doing it with good reason.
for that region? I don’t think so.