DS Handheld to be Region Free

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DS Handheld to be Region Free

Posted by Zonk on Monday October 18, 2004 @03:30AM from the one-people-under-two-screens dept.

Thanks to GamingHeadlines for the news that DS games are not going to be region restricted. "Although this news may not specifically cater to American and Japanese folks, it certainly gives us Europeans the benefit of importing our DS systems from abroad..." I certainly think it caters to US gamers. Imported Japanese games can lead to wonderful things.

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Very cool. by Txiasaeia · 2004-10-18 03:34 · Score: 3, Insightful

Just like with the GBA, it'll be nice to try out games in Japanese before they arrive here in NA. Nintendo is really doing everything it can to make sure it *won't* screw over their customers.
Sidebar: will it really be cheaper for Europeans to import their systems from Asia as opposed to North America, though? Anybody?

--
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
1. Re:Very cool. by wolfmanXUG · 2004-10-18 03:34 · Score: 1
  
  I think this will be something the US gamers will like since this handheld appears to be ready to target a larger user base than previous gameboys.
2. Re:Very cool. by DJProtoss · 2004-10-18 03:40 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Whilst it is a good thing, i'm not sure its about nintendo working hard to not screw over - they region locked the gamecube, and the official mags paint importers as being only slightly better than hardened criminals. I suspect its more something about maximising the chances of a successful launch + the difficulties in building a half decent region coding setup into something thats already going to be a bit cramped (don't forget, they have to fit a gba in there as well! [assuming they go the same route as in previous gb's])
  
  --
  "Success is based on knowing how far to go in going too far"
3. Re:Very cool. by hibiki_r · 2004-10-18 03:56 · Score: 1
  
  will it really be cheaper for Europeans to import their systems from Asia as opposed to North America, though? Anybody?
  
  Not really. You'll need to get a local A/C adaptor if you want to charge your batteries. That adds around 10 euros to the price tag, so there goes all the money you 'saved' by importing.
4. Re:Very cool. by Zangief · 2004-10-18 04:01 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  And the original Gameboy too...
  
  Maybe some people will travel with their handhelds, and buy games overseas...Don't know how big is this market, but that may be one reason for Nintendo to do this.
5. Re:Very cool. by MaverickUW · 2004-10-18 05:22 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  It's really not about if it's cheaper. DS will come out in North America first. While it will only beat the Japanese DS by about a week or so, it will beat the European DS by months, so if anyone from Europe (likely english speakers obviously), it would be easy to import US games and systems to Europe and be playing stuff way early.
6. Re:Very cool. by Deliveranc3 · 2004-10-18 06:52 · Score: 1
  
  In Thailand Vietnam and China GBA carts were in all the markets next to fake watches and designer clothing. It's huge over there!
  
  The carts seemed authentic so I'm wondering if that is where they are made! But the point is they were selling them to tourists and doing a pretty ridiculous amount of sales.
  
  I picked up a WonderSwan on my travels, and about 5 japanese games. It's awsome, so I guess that answers your question. The reason why they want to promote these questionable sales still eludes me.
7. Re:Very cool. by antifoidulus · 2004-10-18 07:05 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Doubtful. Most electronics come with "universal" plugs nowadays. I plugged my GBA sp that I bought in NA into a Japanese outlet with no problem. They are usually 50/60Hz 100-220V. I doubt Nintendo will really make the manufacturing process more complicated by distributing different plugs to different markets(esp. when they don't intend to region lock the games)
  
  --
  Monstar L
8. Re:Very cool. by RzUpAnmsCwrds · 2004-10-18 09:26 · Score: 1
  
  "Doubtful. Most electronics come with "universal" plugs nowadays. I plugged my GBA sp that I bought in NA into a Japanese outlet with no problem."
  
  That's because Japan uses 110V, and 1/2 of the country uses 60Hz as well.
  
  Of course, you are right - most power supplies today *are* multivoltage.
9. Re:Very cool. by antifoidulus · 2004-10-18 10:42 · Score: 1
  
  Um, no, read the post again. I bought it in NA(the US to be specific), I looked at the plug, it is a universal adaptor. The electricity where I was(Tokyo area) was 50Hz, I know this because I brought a non-universal alarm clock, and it lost time because of the difference in the frequency....
  Please check your facts more carefully next time before trying to correct someone.
  
  --
  Monstar L
10. Re:Very cool. by bugbread · 2004-10-18 17:25 · Score: 1
  
  Cut the attitude, and read the parent before telling him to check his facts more carefully.
  
  First, there is no "universal adaptor". Japan and NA use the same "parallel flat prong" plugs. That does not make them universal. Continental Europe uses a completely different shape, which is different again from the UK, which is different yet again from China, etc.
  
  Second, as the parent said, "That's because Japan uses 110V, and 1/2 of the country uses 60Hz as well." Yes, the electricity in Tokyo is 50Hz. Tokyo is in the 50Hz half of the country (eastern Japan). Osaka is in the 60Hz half of the country (western Japan).
  
  There was nothing in the parent's post that was incorrect. Please read posts in their entirety before telling people to "check their facts more carefully".
11. Re:Very cool. by bugbread · 2004-10-18 17:27 · Score: 1
  
  And, for the measure, the GBA sp sold in Japan does not have universal power supply either. It only supports (I believe) 100 - 120 V power. It doesn't support 220 V power used in the UK.
12. Re:Very cool. by antifoidulus · 2004-10-18 23:22 · Score: 1
  
  HAHAHAHAHAHA, cut the crap. The grandparent was talking about having to buy a 10 Euro AC adaptor, not a 1 euro little prong adaptor that you can pick up almost anywhere. I was talking about using a universal power converter, you really need to check your facts before posting.
  Oh, and Japan and the US do not use the same parallel flat prongs............Most in the US have a ground to use, and the parallel flat prongs are of different sizes. In Japan, they are not the same size. So thanks for making yourself look dumb, please try again!
  
  --
  Monstar L
13. Re:Very cool. by bugbread · 2004-10-19 01:12 · Score: 1
  
  If the grandparent was talking about having to buy a 10 Euro AC adapter, guess what? YOU STILL FUCKING DO! The Japanese Gameboy Advance SP supports, according to the AC adaptor I'm holding in my hand right now, "AC100V 50/60Hz 7VA". and (written directly below that) "AC120V 60Hz 4W".
  
  Hibiki said "You still have to buy a 10 Euro AC adaptor". You said, "No you don't". The Gameboy Advance SP AC adaptor IN MY FUCKING HAND says you do.
  
  You're right about the plug stypes. America has two standard plugs, one with a ground, one without. And you're right about that one prong being wider than the other. I forgot about those (I was thinking of adaptorless compatibility, not exact identicality). I was wrong.
  
  I can be wrong. Everyone is fallible. So if you argue with me, you may be right, and you may be wrong. But when it comes to the Gameboy Advance SP sold in Japan having a universal power converter, you're not arguing with me, you're arguing with Nintendo and with Hosiden (the manufacturer of the AC adaptor). And in this case, as much as you might want to believe you're right, you're not.
  
  How was that for a second try at making myself look dumb? I personally think we both managed to make ourselves dumb. Wanna go for best out of 3?
14. Re:Very cool. by bugbread · 2004-10-19 01:14 · Score: 1
  
  By the way, as you told the person who wrote the following post to check their facts:
  
  "Japan uses 110V, and 1/2 of the country uses 60Hz as well.
  
  Of course, you are right - most power supplies today *are* multivoltage."
  
  Which part of this was incorrect?
Region locked? by Krilomir · 2004-10-18 04:16 · Score: 1

Has there ever been a handheld gaming system that was region locked? I know all of the previous Game Boys were region free - and I've always assumed it also held true for what little competition Nintendo has had in that field. It would have been bigger news if the Nintendo DS was going to be region locked...
1. Re:Region locked? by kingsmedley · 2004-10-18 04:28 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  To the best of my knowledge, the only region locked handhelds were the TurboExpress and the Nomad. But it should be pointed out that both these units were actually handheld versions of home game consoles (TurboGrafx-16 and Genesis, respectfully), and as such inherited their regional locks.
  
  I've never understood why regional locks seem to be so crucial to the software models of home game consoles, and yet so undesirable in the portable market. The only reason I can see for the difference is to cater to international travellers. Are the sales to inter-region travels really that significant?
  
  --
  Must... think up... something... clever!
2. Re:Region locked? by HAKdragon · 2004-10-18 05:01 · Score: 1
  
  For what it's worth, the PSP will have regional lock outs.
  
  --
  "Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."
3. Re:Region locked? by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-18 05:34 · Score: 0
  
  Not for the games it won't. Region lock out is for Music/Video playback only.
4. Re:Region locked? by Zangief · 2004-10-18 05:40 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Apparently, the PSP will be soprt a region lock too...Sony probably can't do better than that.
5. Re:Region locked? by gl4ss · 2004-10-18 05:48 · Score: 1
  
  *Are the sales to inter-region travels really that significant?*
  
  not probably significant.. but potentially troublesome.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
6. Re:Region locked? by MMaestro · 2004-10-18 06:26 · Score: 1
  
  The -general- logic around game consoles is that it never moves around much, therefore regional lockouts shouldn't affect roughly 99.9% of your audience. The problem with this logic is that it assumes a large majority of non-localized games would never succeed outside of Japan (or Europe or the USA) leaving the more knowledgable gamers to having to import or pirate them.
  The only reason its hasn't made a big splash yet is two parted. First, sometimes the big companies are right. While it'd be pretty funny to see some of the crazy, querky Japanese games here in the US, after the 20 or 30th Gundam/hentai/platformer game the novelty wears off. Secondly, because playing imported games usually requires mod chips, the majority of people out there simply do not want to pay for the extra installation charge, not to mention the new loss of Xbox Live if your hardware is tampered with.
7. Re:Region locked? by tepples · 2004-10-18 07:10 · Score: 1
  
  I've never understood why regional locks seem to be so crucial to the software models of home game consoles
  
  Sometimes a publisher will license the exclusive rights to publish a work in a given territory to another publisher more familiar with the economics and culture of that territory. Those publishers are more likely to play ball on a region-locked console platform, where they have exclusive right, than on a region-free platform, where they compete with their own licensees.
  
  Sometimes copyrights expire first in one territory and then in another territory.
8. Re:Region locked? by Fred+Or+Alive · 2004-10-18 22:09 · Score: 1
  
  I think they've said that games will be region lock free, and it's only for movies and stuff. That's assuming you trust what Sony say in pre-launch publicity for there consoles. ;-)
  
  --
  10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU "; 20 GOTO 10
Yay by Anonymous Coward · 2004-10-18 04:19 · Score: 0

Now I can play Zoooo. I know that will never see a stateside release.
Certainly good for the British by morgdx · 2004-10-18 05:12 · Score: 1

European released carts always have a language selector, which delays access to the game. I'm sure this is something to do with a laudable EU superstate free trade regulation from Brussels, but it certainly annoys the hell out of me.

I actually prefer US imports that are only in American English, I can put up with things being spelled the way they sound more easily than having to wait an extra few seconds for the game to start.

Also, I think that some publishers have been put off of releasing for the European market because of the cost involved in localising the cart for n different languages, rather than just changing Japanese for English, so there are some carts which I've imported because they weren't available. These games tend to be the better RPG/Turn based strategy games that I am particularly partial to.

Having said that, I would refuse to buy Pokemon Aluminium until it was fully localised.

--
http://jfin.org/jFin pure java open source financial library
1. Re:Certainly good for the British by WWWWolf · 2004-10-18 06:17 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  European released carts always have a language selector, which delays access to the game. I'm sure this is something to do with a laudable EU superstate free trade regulation from Brussels, but it certainly annoys the hell out of me.
  
  Wouldn't be so sure. I'm pretty sure some EU countries have specific legislation that says that manuals and packaging have to be translated, but I'm pretty sure it's not an EU-wide law.
  
  For comparison, almost all of PC games released in Finland have English packaging and manuals. Some distributors/importers thoughtfully provide installation instructions in Finnish - I have a vague recollection that this was a recommendation from the consumer ombudsman - but full-blown localisation of the game is really rare.
  
  And even so, on Gamecube and GBA, I only see games with translations from Nintendo and pretty rarely from other publishers - the bigger the publisher the more likely there's German and French game translations. I have several games with only English game text, though. It's even more blatant with manuals - here Nintendo seems to be the only game publisher that provides Finnish manuals, though some games only come with a paper sheet with a summary.
  
  Um, in short, it's a publisher's fault, not EU's. =)
  
  But I agree that failure to publish due to language problems is pretty silly. (or maybe that's just an opinion from someone from a country that would be a localizer's nightmare, but luckily the inhabitants have grown used to missing localization =)
Cartridge based region lockout is super easy. by vhold · 2004-10-18 05:49 · Score: 2, Insightful

Just physically change the structure of the cartridge a tiny bit for each region so it doesn't fit, by subtracting or adding a notch in the corners, forcing people to either use awkward adaptors ( doubly awkward for a portable platform ) or physically destroying the complementing notch in their gameboy, most likely voiding their warranty. This level of discouragement is probably enough.

My hunch on why they don't bother with any lockouts is that there isn't as much of a blockbuster game driven economy with gameboy games. There is very rarely a game that comes out that everybody goes nuts and has to go buy like on console systems. Pokemon would be the closest thing to that, and it's extremely language bound. Furthermore, it's very link oriented, discouraging people from buying a game they won't be able to link to hardly anybody with later.
1. Re:Cartridge based region lockout is super easy. by skyman8081 · 2004-10-18 17:29 · Score: 1
  
  That is EXACTLY what nintendo did with the N64( and possibly other systems as well ). As well as using propeitary case screws. so, it would NOT be unusual to them to do so.
  
  And for the record, if you, so much as, breath wrong on a peice of nintendo hardware, they will void your warranty anyway. Use of any third party products are highly discouraged by them.
  
  --
  Two Roommates and a Boyfriend, updates Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
2. Re:Cartridge based region lockout is super easy. by kingsmedley · 2004-10-19 02:34 · Score: 1
  
  Well, yes and no. Typically, most cartridge based region locks have been based on the physical shape of the cartridge. In some cases (NES and TG-16) they actually changed the pinout of the cartridge slot. But both of these are easily defeated with adapters.
  
  However one regional lockout that wasn't defeated for YEARS was the Atari 7800. To enforce licensing, Atari implemented an encryption scheme. But the U.S. Gov't forbade the exportation of encryption devices, so the European model had no encryption. As a result, the two regions were locked out. If it worked on the 7800, surely modern consoles could do the same, just use a different encryption key for each region.
  
  Thankfully, nobody has tried it since.
  
  --
  Must... think up... something... clever!
Your beef is with the console maker or developer by tepples · 2004-10-18 07:14 · Score: 2, Informative

European released carts always have a language selector, which delays access to the game.

Not necessarily. If a console supports setting the systemwide locale, then a language select menu delays access to the console's first boot by ten seconds or less and does not delay access to subsequent boots of the console no matter which game you insert. Even without a systemwide locale setting in the console's BIOS, developers can put locale settings on a memory card or on the Game Pak; for instance Super Smash Bros. (U), Super Smash Bros. Melee (U), and Puyo Pop (U) do this.
Good by quintessent · 2004-10-18 07:57 · Score: 0

I've been hoping to play be able to play all Doctor Seuss games that will be made!

But seriously, shouldn't I at least know what the hell DS stands for after reading the article summary? I admit I'm not an uber-geek in the gaming sense, but I don't think I'm the only one who wonders.

--
Donate background CPU time to fight cancer.
1. Re:Good by pkhuong · 2004-10-18 08:46 · Score: 1
  
  New Nintendo Handheld. Two screens, lower one is touch sensitive. The hardware received good reviews (see penny-arcade, for example). A handheld where FPSes are playable! And that i can use to Operation, Electronic Millenium Edition! What's not to 3? :)
  
  --
  Try Corewar @ www.koth.org - rec.games.corewar
2. Re:Good by Low2000 · 2004-10-18 09:15 · Score: 1
  
  Dual Screen
3. Re:Good by n0wak · 2004-10-19 07:19 · Score: 1
  
  Developer System
  
  depends on who you ask, though.
Shock!! by Kanasta · 2004-10-18 16:05 · Score: 1

WHy why why!?!??!?!

The RIAA/MPAA told us regioning was vital to the survival of their businesses!?!?!?!
Something about stopping piracy, terrorism and also perhaps food going bad in your fridge...