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Nintendo remains committed to region-locking, says Iwata

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata says that Nintendo remain committed to region-locking despite the growing discontent in the community and movement to have the Japanese company remove the locks from both the 3DS and Wii U.

In an interview with IGN Iwata says that the company’s region-locking policies — which can be traced all the way back to the NES — are not “solely out of business ego” and that he hopes “that game fans can understand that…there are some reasons behind it.”

Region locking is typically applied to hardware — consoles, Bluray and DVD players etc — and restricts the software than can be used with it. This is done to maintain retail relationships and ensure international partners are not affected by the import market. In an ever globalising world though, region-locking seems like an antiquated and draconian system. Especially for those who spend extended periods away from their home region. Recently, both Sony and Microsoft have allowed the PS3, PS4 and Xbox One (with the Xbox 360 to a lesser extent) to remain completely region free, with locking available at the publishers’ discretion.

Iwata admitted that “It might seem like a kind of restriction. However, we hope people can appreciate the fact that we’re selling our products worldwide. There are always things that we’re required to do in each different region, which may go counter to the idea that players around the world want the freedom to play whatever they want.”

So despite the best efforts of those on the Miiverse and even an online petition it looks as though Nintendo are sticking to their guns.


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