Tag: Region Locking
News Nintendo "Currently Investigating" The Idea Of A Region-Free NX
Satoru Iwata outlines company's "optimistic" position
Sony and Microsoft have effectively abandoned the practice of region locking their hardware, leaving Nintendo as the odd-one-out with its Wii U and 3DS - both of which will only play software from their host region. In the past Nintendo has argued in favour of region locking, but more recently...
News New Exploit Makes The 3DS Region Free Without The Need For A Flashcard Or Game Cart
All you need is an SD card and an internet connection
A new exploit has emerged which allows the Nintendo 3DS to play games from any region without the need for a flashcard or any software-based exploit. RegionThree merely requires an SD card and access to the internet, and has been tested on the latest version of the 3DS firmware. The catch is...
News Region-Locking May Be a Thing of the Past Soon According to Nintendo
Unlocking business benefits
During the Q&A session which followed the Nintendo of Japan's investor briefing last week, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata indicated that Nintendo are reconsidering the unpopular policy of region locking on its consoles. An unofficial translation made by the ever-reliable Cheesemeister on NeoGAF turned up the...
News Nintendo Region Locks Consoles To Get More Hardware Sales, Says Mitchell Corp Boss
"They want more people to buy their hardware"
Mitchell Corp founder Roy Ozaki thinks that Nintendo's region locking policy has more to do with shifting additional units than it does with controlling releases in different territories. While Nintendo has always exercised some kind of regional lock in its home systems, its portable devices have...
News Sorry, Contrary to Rumours the New Nintendo 3DS Will be Region Locked
Hardly surprising
In recent days a rumour, with no substantial source beyond hearsay, has been doing the rounds that the New Nintendo 3DS systems would be region free. We declined to report the rumour due to the lack of compelling proof, but nevertheless checked up in order to clarify the situation; as some may be contemplating pre-ordering a...
News Wii U And 3DS Developers Share Their Thoughts On Region Locking
"Region Locking is a self-damaging form of DRM"
Region locking has been something of a hot topic recently, with both Sony and Microsoft confirming that their next consoles would be region-free, allowing buyers to play games from anywhere in the world. That means that Nintendo is the only one of the "big three" which continues to utilise region locks...
Soapbox Why Region Locking Is A Total Non-Issue
Damien McFerran outlines why the current hot topic is hot air
In the first of what we hope will be a series of first-person discussions, Nintendo Life editorial director Damien McFerran shares his opinion on the recent calls for Nintendo to remove regional locks on its systems. Seeing as this is the first feature, we should point out that the views...
News Satoru Iwata - "There Are Some Reasons Behind" Region Locking
Will the importance of those reasons change in future?
One issue that's re-emerged recently is the region-locking applied to Wii U and 3DS. In light of Sony and Microsoft confirming that the PS4 and Xbox One will be region free, we recently questioned whether it's time for Nintendo to do the same. As highlighted in that feature, some fan...