Word has it that Nintendo's new console will be restricted by region.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24714
A NeoGAF user has posted text from an email newsletter released by Nintendo Japan's support team supposedly confirming the system will have region-locking. The newsletter states that games released for the device in Japan will only be playable on devices from that region.
It has been long suspected that the system would have some sort of region-locking, especially since the Nintendo DSi was the first Nintendo handheld to support the feature. Nintendo claims that it has been instituted in order to combat piracy.
The Nintendo 3DS releases in Japan on February 26.
i don't get why people can't just be happy they have the system. I never imported a European game, they are so many games in America that I haven't bought that I'm curious about, but don't have time for. How do these people have TIME to play American games and import games from all around the world? They need jobs to pay for the systems, so how do they have Time to play them.
They still might, this is not confirmed yet. Besides, region locking wouldn't matter to most gamers.
They still might, this is not confirmed yet. Besides, region locking wouldn't matter to most gamers.
But they charge sales tax online in New York.....
Could just not get a 3DS and play something else.
Always sad to see a game company doing things that make it hard for the honest consumer to buy games. I wished they went with other alternatives to combat software piracy.
Could just not get a 3DS and play something else.
Always sad to see a game company doing things that make it hard for the honest consumer to buy games. I wished they went with other alternatives to combat software piracy.
:confused;
Or I can give Nintendo the middle finger. This has nothing to do with combating piracy and you have been drinking too much cool aid if you believe that. Seriously, do you really believe the PSP2 is a real alternative?
It's not just people down under, but places like Europe, for example the UK where games prices are set at 1USD=1 British Pound meaning a 50 pound game cost $78.753USD!. Also the asinine english to english translation delays. It's all bloody english and only an absolute tiny number of words have mixed meanings. Then there are some people who can play Japanese games.
Import gaming is a tradition outside of the US I can do without and Nintendo just poured salt into the wound.
I have a feeling that this also has to do with the parental features restricting specific ESRB, PEGI, CERO and etc. ratings. Since each region has their own rating system, each game would logically have it's respective rating encoded in the game in order to make this feature work.
I have a feeling that this also has to do with the parental features restricting specific ESRB, PEGI, CERO and etc. ratings. Since each region has their own rating system, each game would logically have it's respective rating encoded in the game in order to make this feature work.
Honestly I don't buy that explanation, Germany has the USK, Britain the BBFC and yet neither gets separate releases on any platform with parental controls.
My apologies for coming down hard on you. Unlike The Perms comment, I didn't pick up any sarcasm from yours and that last line threw a spanner into a machine already on fire.
I on the other hand don't believe those phones and Ipods will ever be suitable gaming platforms as a replacement for a real portable. They lack a unified control scheme that is also ergonomic, a shattered market with no standards, vague system requirements, size conflicts between functions, drains power out of the device that is often critical to be up 24/7, power requirements that far exceed current and near future battery tech. Toss in most games are glorified flash games. No, just no.
The PSP2 might be a threat should Sony stop trying to talk sideways in to it like a phone. Even then, given the games I expect them to get won't make for a good match for my tastes.
My apologies for coming down hard on you. Unlike The Perms comment, I didn't pick up any sarcasm from yours and that last line threw a spanner into a machine already on fire.
I on the other hand don't believe those phones and Ipods will ever be suitable gaming platforms as a replacement for a real portable. They lack a unified control scheme that is also ergonomic, a shattered market with no standards, vague system requirements, size conflicts between functions, drains power out of the device that is often critical to be up 24/7, power requirements that far exceed current and near future battery tech. Toss in most games are glorified flash games. No, just no.
The PSP2 might be a threat should Sony stop trying to talk sideways in to it like a phone. Even then, given the games I expect them to get won't make for a good match for my tastes.
No apologies necessary. That was a poorly written comment on my part.
While I entertain the possibility, I have similarly low expectations of phones being a comparable gaming platform. It doesn't help that the current crop of games seem to be cultivating an expectation of very low price points. I was thinking that really fun and really big menu-based or turn-based games could be a real possibility on the iPhone, but the fact that most games are priced and made at such low cost means that I can't really expect a Tactics Ogre or Dragon Quest on the platform. Game Dev Story sounds neat, though.
........
While I entertain the possibility, I have similarly low expectations of phones being a comparable gaming platform. It doesn't help that the current crop of games seem to be cultivating an expectation of very low price points. I was thinking that really fun and really big menu-based or turn-based games could be a real possibility on the iPhone, but the fact that most games are priced and made at such low cost means that I can't really expect a Tactics Ogre or Dragon Quest on the platform. Game Dev Story sounds neat, though.
Square is planning to release a port of the PSP Final Fantasy Tactics remake on the iPhone at a premium price point. It will be interesting to see how that goes. I really hope it works; I want more substantive games on that platform.
This is bad news if Nintendo happens to make a Tingle RPG or Captain Rainbow game for the 3DS. What the hell is someone in North America supposed to do when Nintendo absolutely refuses to bring those games here?
I have a feeling that this also has to do with the parental features restricting specific ESRB, PEGI, CERO and etc. ratings. Since each region has their own rating system, each game would logically have it's respective rating encoded in the game in order to make this feature work.
Honestly I don't buy that explanation, Germany has the USK, Britain the BBFC and yet neither gets separate releases on any platform with parental controls.
Didn't the UK agree to switch to PEGI last year since that is what the rest of Europe uses? Germany does have USK, and because of that there are several games that didn't get released in that country because they thought they were too violent.
