Region-free, yeah baby!

In the past — and to the outrage of some — Satoru Iwata has made it clear that the days of region-free Nintendo hardware and software are over.

Now though, the door has been left slightly ajar. Whilst region-locks were thought to be the future of Nintendo gaming, this theory has now been partially crushed with the announcement of the region-free Nintendo 3DS Guide: Louvre.

Nintendo recently confirmed with Kotaku that the Western retail and downloadable editions of the game available in North America, Europe, and Australasia will work across all three regions. This comes as surprising news after Nintendo has tried considerably hard to justify region-locking to fans.

The only real catch here is the fact Nintendo 3DS Guide: Louvre is essentially a software application, not an actual game. The product does not have to be rated or classified as a result, and the title is also sold in separate language versions; we should also remember that as the Louvre museum attracts worldwide visitors, it may have disapproved of the impracticalities of region locking the download and boxed equivalent available from the venue's gift store.

According to Nintendo’s reasoning, if the art museum guide of the Louvre doesn’t need a rating, it therefore does not need a lock. Express your thoughts below.

[source kotaku.com.au]