Topic: Region Lock Mexico and UK

Greetings,

I'm new to the forums and I have encountered an issue with the region lock system. The new pokemon game is coming up very, very soon and I really wish I could buy it. The problem is that my New Nintendo 3DS system was bought in Mexico, and not UK (I'm currently living in the UK, and will remain there for a couple of years). So my options are really limited.

I tried to change the region of my console, but the system doesn't have UK listed. I connected to my Nintendo ID Account and tried to change it there, but the option was locked and couldn't change it. Am I doing something wrong? Should I erased everything from my console and make a new Nintendo ID account? I don't mind, I have only bought themes and not expensive ones. I just want to make sure that I can actually buy the game online if I change the Nintendo ID account, and not doing that and lose my themes for nothing.

Mexico is part of North America, so systems bought there are region locked to play only American games. Regardless of the country you set it to.

You will either have to import your games from America or buy an European system.

@Meowpheel

I know they are region lock for physical games, but does that apply to games that I download from the eshop? If I bought the console in the USA, I can't make an account for the UK?

Digital or physical, it's the same thing.

@Meowpheel

Wow.... that's.... that's messed up..... they are just losing costumers now, they definitely lose me anyways. Thank you very much.

Isn't it possible to access the NA eShop from the UK, provided you pay with the right currency? Don't quote me on that though.

Yes, you can still access and buy things from the american eshop, regardless of where you are.

The problem is, I can't leave the UK at the moment, and the console was bought originally in Mexico, so I don't have a problem going back and change the store to USA, but apparently I can't do that for the UK, so I can't buy any game, neither physical nor digital here, which doesn't make sense, they are just losing profit that way.

You can buy games, the eshop accepts any credit card and you can still buy eshop cards online.

If your console is set to Mexico, the eshop is still the American one, you just pay in Mexican Pesos instead of Dollars.

@Roharu You can buy digitally,from the NA Eshop though like the guys above said.I live in Thailand but have an EU Wii U.I buy all my games digitally from the UK Eshop with either my UK or Thai debit card,doesn't matter the currency as it'll convert it.Even if I could change my region to local I wouldn't so I'm not sure why you want to change from NA to UK other than it having a slightly different Eshop library?

Okay, let me be more specific. I live in the UK as a student, I got a multicurrency debit card so my sponsor can give me the money for living expenses and college fees. I started saving for a year, and succesfully obtained more than 60 GBP extra for this month. My sponsor pays me in GBP currency (pounds), not in pesos. I don't have a credit card from Mexico or USA.

Ok, just to reiterate, the credit is not region locked, you could be in China with a system from London paying with a card from Argentina and it would work. Just saying to get that bit out of the way.

About your situation, you can still buy eshop cards and games online, although you being a student with a limited income I would not recommend wasting it on imported video games.

You can buy eShop codes instead or import games. There are sites that may accept pounds for US eShop cards.

@Meowpheel Okay, so my best bet would be to get a credit card with a ZIP code from my current location on the UK and I can use it to buy pesos, correct? I can do that, I guess.

And I did save more than enough money for one game without getting myself in problems, I considere it my Chrismas present in advance.

Buying mexican eShop codes online for pounds might be a good alternative, although I'm not sure where to start looking for it.

I would honestly go for US eshop codes since the peso is so weak. Just Google search for a reliable website.

@Roharu If you have a debit card why not just use that,.It's what I use.UK and Thai.It doesn't matter which country it's from.Your bank will convert it at their own exchange rate and you'll be charged a small foreign transaction fee on top,which is £1.50 for me.Saying that,with the rubbish UK pound,it'll work out expensive if you have to convert them.Might still be favourable against the Peso though,not sure.

@TheLZdragon if his 3ds is set to Mexico, then that would be a waste of money. You can only use eshop cards from the currency of the country the system is set to.

Actually, the fact that the Peso is weak can work at your favor. Your euros/pounds/dollars are worth more, and prices in the eshop are rarely updated to accommodate exchange rates.

New releases do use the new rates, but older games don't. And while Nintendo itself sells their digital games at the same prices as retail games, most developers have them cheaper.