Iwata addresses region-locking at Nintendo investor Q&A - NeoGAF (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=922801)
New thread for news.
Japanese: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library...1030qa/02.html (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/events/141030qa/02.html)
English: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/libr...1030qa/02.html (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/141030qa/02.html)
Official translation...Q4: Currently, Nintendo hardware and games are region-locked in territories throughout the world, so that a game purchased in one region cannot be played in another. Are there plans to do away with that restriction and unlock them?
A4: Iwata: There have been various conditions at play in the game business, such as a history of localization taking an extremely long time, a variety of marketing constraints and circumstances in each country, and the fact that the license needed to sell games have not always been granted globally. In a sense, the region-lock has existed more for reasons having to do with the seller than the consumers. That has been the situation throughout the history of video game systems, and as for what should be done going forward, there may be advantages for the consumers and also for us if they were unlocked. Conversely, unlocking them would mean having to resolve different issues that would subsequently arise. While we have not decided whether we will unlock them or not, we do recognize that it is an issue that needs to be considered in the future.
My unofficial translation, for your reference...Q4: At present, your company's hardware and games make use of region-locking, by which games purchased in one region cannot be played in another region. Are there any plans to unlock this restriction?
A4: Iwata: The game business has a history of taking a very long time with localization among other things, such as having to deal with various issues of marketing in each particular country, or games that have made use of licensed content that did not apply globally, and had all kinds of circumstances, so to say, 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. As for what should be done going forward, if unlocked for the benefit of the customers, there may also be a benefit for us. Conversely, 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.
It's the first positive feedback so far!
Previously:#NintendoRegionFree 2014 STARTS NOW! (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=830989)Let's convince Nintendo to go region-free! (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=585936)
Petition: https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-st...-u-region-free (https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-stop-region-blocking-make-the-3ds-and-wii-u-region-free)
Twitter: Follow @EndRegionLock (https://twitter.com/EndRegionLock), tweet to Nintendo under #EndRegionLocking and #NintendoRegionFree.