There’s ‘Possibility’ of Region-Locked 3DS Software—Nintendo

The Nintendo 3DS will be “available in three versions” for each of the main videogame markets, and “there is the possibility that … software sold in one region will not function properly when running on Nintendo 3DS hardware sold in another,” a Nintendo U.K. spokesman said Tuesday. More 3DS details, meanwhile, are expected to be provided at a Nintendo news briefing in New York on Wednesday, including a specific U.S. launch date and pricing.

Different versions of the 3D handheld system will ship for the Japanese, American and European/Australian markets, the spokesman said. The company developed different versions of the hardware “to take into account different languages, age rating requirements and parental control functionality as well as to ensure compliance with local laws in each region,” he said. The 3DS will also offer “network services specifically tailored for each region,” he said.

"Guidance will appear on packaging of Nintendo 3DS hardware and the accompanying software” about compatibility between 3DS hardware and software, the spokesman said. If consumers “are in doubt, Nintendo recommends that you only purchase Nintendo 3DS software in the region where” the hardware was bought, he said.

Parent Nintendo said the 3DS will ship Feb. 26 at about $299 in Japan, and the device will then ship in March in North America (CED Sept 30 p8) and Europe. Nintendo projected in September that it would ship 4 million 3DS systems and 15 million 3DS software units this fiscal year.

It also wasn’t clear Tuesday how 3D movies and other non-game content will be made available for the 3DS. Nintendo demonstrated the device for reporters and analysts at last year’s E3, where it showed Hollywood trailers from Disney, Warner Bros and DreamWorks (CED June 16 p2). But Nintendo hasn’t said whether movies for the 3DS will be available via download or on some type of physical, removable media.