Rumor: 3DS Won't Support Imports

[icyneesan]

Nintendo doesn't want me to play wacky Japanese games that involves touching little girls anymore D:

 

[Desworks]

Nintendo doesn't want me to play wacky Japanese games that involves touching little girls anymore D:

I know how you feel. I shall also miss the wackyness, along with the obscure JRPGs. Then again, Inazuma Eleven is getting a EU release, so I guess there's some hope for the future.

 

[Towowo2]

Just so you know. All your imported DS games won't become unplayable if inserted into a 3DS.
Also whats the big deal? Unless your frequently import games I highly doubt this will become an issue for most people.

One more thing, why does it seem that the second people heard about it being region locked there was what seemed like an outrage?

 

[Barbie Boy]

just one more reason to wait for another model, if I am to import an entire system I wait for the better one.

shipping will be a ***** for my 3ds games if this turns out to be true (which I suspected since DSi)

on another note, you can play imported games on DSi, only ds games with dsi functions are region locked

 

[twm1709]

but it sure doesn't hurt to make pirates jump through more code hoops.

Really? It hurts ME. What if I wanna play, say, super robot wars? Emulator it is then....

 

[Adzma]

Kind of funny actually. Now I'll only buy one if it can be hacked to play games from other regions. I did the same thing with the Wii. Nintendo are still stuck in the 1990s; no one likes or needs region locking anymore.

 

[mjc0961]

Plus it helps with any game updates and DLC (if the 3DS will finally join that party). PS3 is region free, but you have to get any DLC from the PS Store of the region that game came from. I've heard so many stories of people importing a US game to EU, and then buying DLC from their normal account which is the EU Store, and then saying "DLC DOES NOT WORK HALP!" only to become pissed when they learn they need a US account to get US DLC for their US copy of the game.

Region locking may be a bit restrictive, but it can also keep things simple as well.

 

[CrystalShadow]

It's disappointing, but hardly surprising.

What I want to know though, is how specific the regions are if this is implemented.

For home consoles we've had the PAL/NTCS divide just about forever.

For handhelds, it could be a bit more arbitrary.

Depending on just how restrictive the regions are, this could be anything from a slight nuisance, to a serious headache.

 

[matrix73]

So as a Canadian I can't drive down to America on holiday, buy a game while I'm there, and play it on my 3DS? Well....damn

 

[Raeil]

I seem to recall this being already known... that 3DS games would be region locked I mean. Note, this doesn't affect standard DS games at all, as they don't have any region based code, so no matter what type of DS system you play DS games on, they will play.

Kind of funny actually. Now I'll only buy one if it can be hacked to play games from other regions. I did the same thing with the Wii. Nintendo are still stuck in the 1990s; no one likes or needs region locking anymore.

Just so you know, the PSP is region locked for all non-game UMDs, the PS3 is semi region-locked, and the Xbox 360 is entirely region locked. So, the DS actually broke the mold in that it was entirely region free. Admittedly, since the 3DS is locked (only for 3DS games, not DS games) Nintendo has decided to rejoin Microsoft and Sony on this issue.

 

[Ariyura]

This sucks, I was planning to import The Layton, Phoenix Wright crossover because their saying that wont be localized. I really might change my mind about getting one. So many quirky Japanese games that I love.

 

[Adzma]

Just so you know, the PSP is region locked for all non-game UMDs, the PS3 is semi region-locked, and the Xbox 360 is entirely region locked. So, the DS actually broke the mold in that it was entirely region free. Admittedly, since the 3DS is locked (only for 3DS games, not DS games) Nintendo has decided to rejoin Microsoft and Sony on this issue.

That may be true, however the PS3 does not region lock its games, only Blu-Ray and Microsoft don't enforce region locking on the 360, it's entirely up to the publisher and most of them don't do it.

 

[Gindil]

And so, my interest in the 3DS has died with the hopes of getting better with Japanese through imports.

 

[SilverUchiha]

There are better ways to avoid piracy. Other game companies seem to do just fine with their methods. But region locking, disabling homebrew content (wii related), etc. All of this has annoyed me since the Wii came out and the products started getting the region lock. I'd love to be able to import certain games that are unobtainable here in the states. But, unfortunately, it doesn't do me any good with this kind of news.

(and I haven't been following the 3DS too much, so this is news to me)

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Well, that's disappointing. I've never imported games but I'm sure this will hit people who didn't catch this bit of news hard.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

Thanks, Nintendo.

I used to spend a lot of money to import Japanese games I liked and play them legitimately, but I guess I'll just have to pirate them now since there's no way I can afford to shell out $300 TWICE.

 

[snave]

OT: Rampant piracy in the face of them releasing games that cost about 5 cents to make but sell for ?40. The bastards make money hand over fist, there is no doubt they will do anything to squeeze as much as they can out of the consumer. It wasn't that long ago they said it was going to cost X but since it seems to be popular we're charging a lot more... really it's your own fault for giving us good press.

Uhh... production costs dude. Code and creativity doesn't come out of the ether. An argument based on the costs of publishing alone hold no weight. Also, if perchance you are American or Japanese as opposed to Australian or European, your cost woes aren't really that bad. Compare the cost of gaming to other modern media entertainment and you'll quickly see what comes out on top. Returning to the above list of countries, using this same comparison under Australian or European pricing, games do actually become markedly less competitive.

 

[JediMB]

Just so you know. All your imported DS games won't become unplayable if inserted into a 3DS.
Also whats the big deal? Unless your frequently import games I highly doubt this will become an issue for most people.

One more thing, why does it seem that the second people heard about it being region locked there was what seemed like an outrage?

I love Nintendo, but region-locking a handheld is so god-damned backwards that I'm still hoping for this to be some sort of hoax. Handhelds have always been region free, and recently the regular consoles have started taking steps towards abolishing the annoying region locks, so Nintendo decide to go in the complete opposite direction and make their new handheld region-locked?

I own a lot of imported games for both my DS and my (hacked) Wii. Probably roughly a 50-50 ratio of imports and local purchases. I'd like to be able to continue having the freedom to import at my leisure.

EDIT: I'd especially like being able to play the odd Japanese import, because I'm now trying to learn the language. It would help quite a bit, I think.

 

[LeonLethality]

So as a Canadian I can't drive down to America on holiday, buy a game while I'm there, and play it on my 3DS? Well....damn

You can, region coding pretty much works like NTSC-J (Japan) NTSC-U (North America, this includes Canada) and PAL (Europe) I am probably missing a few but the point is you will be fine with games from the USA.