How many people would actually do that? Most people don't care about region-locking. The only people getting hurt by it are the people that are helping Nintendo the most. Most people who import only do it for games that have pretty much no chance of coming out in their region.

With digital being ever more present in this industry, region-locking becomes less and less practical from that perspective. At this point, all it's really doing is hurting sales.

That's not why region locking happens at all.

Nintendo could quite easily run the bulk of its operations out of Japan and maintain marketing/ distribution partnership functions in NoA, NoAu and NoE, and remain equally profitable. Especially as digital downloads start to take prominence over retail.

No. The reason that region locking occurs is so Nintendo can protect its local retail and distribution partnerships. Nintendo needs its retailers to sell the hardware still, but no one makes money there, so Nintendo needs to make sure they're able to sell software as well. Retailers would be pissed as hell if people were able to start importing stuff from overseas. Basically, what happened to the PSPGo could happen to Nintendo.

However, there are ways around that now, too. Nintendo could partner with Amazon, for instance, or sell through its own online portal. Nintendo could set up Apple-style experience stores and develop a retail arm. There are all kinds of ways around region locking that wouldn't affect Nintendo's economics.

The only reason it happens, then, is because Nintendo lacks initiative and is instead going for protectionism rather than innovation.

I just realized how much this fits Nintendo, maybe excluding what they learned from 3DS' early failures.

He went there. Ladies and gentlemen, he went there.

wait, so Nintendo's 'protectionism' is okay when it comes to the whole German-laws-enforced-where-they're-not-required thing, but it's not okay in this case?

For the longest time they did but up until recently for some reason that I have yet to figure out Amazon won't deal with Nintendo or vice versa. I discovered this when I went to preorder my Wii U from Amazon cause thats where I usually do all my preordering from but all I found were third party sellers. Amazon themselves wouldnt and dont carry anything Nintendo. Not exactly sure why not and it kinda bugs me that I dont even know why.

Don't worry.
Comex is hard at work for people like us.

I can't think of any game companies that do that outside of Nintendo. Arent' they innovating and showcasing protectionism simultaneously? It's like the best of both worlds.

I am talking about economic protectionism here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protectionism

It's a Bad Thing, borderline unethical, for corporations to do it. It's also not the same thing as when a company protects itself from reputational and legal damage.

Source?

I thought you were a fan of companies protecting themselves and their monetary bottom line, though, even in the face of disgruntled fans? or are you just a fan of that happening only if you're not the one inconvenienced? you've shown quite the lack of sympathy in the past for other users complaining about niche titles not making it westward.

I really don't care for Nintendo's reasoning. Region locking is something that should have never existed in the first place. If I want to import a Japan exclusive game, I should d*mn well have that option. Sony has once again taken the smart route and has made their consoles and handhelds region free ever since the PSP launched. There is no excuse for it. Most of the time, people are going to buy their own country's version of said game since it will likely be cheaper than importing it. The option to import should be there for gamers who would want to buy a game that will likely never sell well outside of Japan, but it would allow them to enjoy said title.

The thing that baffles me the most is not the fact that Nintendo region locked the Wii U, because they have been region locking their home consoles ever since the NES. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it's something that I'm not surprised to see at least. The thing that bothers me the most is that the 3DS is region locked. None of Nintendo's earlier handhelds have ever been region locked (well, there were the DSi exclusive games, but that was pretty minor), and I don't understand why that has to be the case now. So now I would have to essentially buy another 3DS [strongjust[/strong] to play one game that I want. Bravo, Nintendo, bravo.

If I want to buy a Japanese exclusive game like...EX Troopers for example, then I would import the PS3 version. Why? Because the PS3 version is region-free, while the 3DS version is obviously not. Things like censorship and region locking need to go away fast. We now live in an age where gamers want to buy whatever they hell want and full well know what they want thanks to the internet. Most of them don't care about how a game is going to affect their culture and all that BS. That kind of Stone Age thinking is holding games back from being enjoyed by everyone.

I think he's stating that Nintendo could eliminate region locking while still protecting their bottom line.

/me crafts a Flame Shield for Waltzy
D:

@Magi: Nintendo could also enforce Germany's laws regarding PEGI 18+ rated games in Germany alone, but I don't see him campaigning for any change there because in that case, the decision matches his personal moral values. Only when it inconveniences him is he suddenly outraged and suggesting ways to change (which likely won't happen, lord knows Nintendo hasn't done well with partnerships in the past), where before he couldn't have cared less whether a niche title reached the west or not, and I find the lack of consistency quite amusing.

Apple are slowing losing ground anyway now that other companies like Samsung have cheaper and better technology.

Um

You should at least be aware that it helps the company survive and get to where it is today.

Anyway, if Nintendo is so concerned with pirating, they should have made their consoles region-free. If they were trying to reach the lesser-known markets in other countries, then I guess there's some logic to that. But I don't see them catering to those countries. This will probably be a huge issue down the line for the company...

But aren't Sony consoles region-free? I'm not seeing where they (or Microsoft, even) are any less impacted by piracy than Nintendo...?

They have cheaper technology, Apple has better technology.