Nintendo is considering the possibility of no longer region-locking its hardware.

During a recent investor Q&A, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata explained that "region-locking has existed due to circumstances on the sellers' side rather than for the sake of the customers. In the history of game consoles, that is the current situation." He then went on to note that "as for what should be done going forward, if unlocked for the benefit of the customers, there may also be a benefit for us."

The Nintendo boss then went so far as to say that the company is considering doing away with region-locking in the future, even though there will likely be several challenges to overcome along the way. "Unlocking would require various problems to be solved, so while I can't say today whether or not we intend to unlock, we realize that it is one thing that we must consider looking to the future."

While this by no means confirms that the Big N's next gaming device won't be locked by region, at least there's a glimmer of hope for importers around the globe to hold onto.

Translation courtesy of NeoGAF user Cheesemeister.