Nintendo 3DS

[iprice]

Yeah, you're lucky to be from/living in the biggest video gaming market (many moons ago it used to Japan) in the world. The best games get released in NA.

One of my fave games ever (Guru Logic Champs - a game I remade for the Wiz and Caanoo) was remade for the DSi (SnapDots) and it never got a European release.I suspect the total lack of interest in the game killed its chances of a European release - there's only one short YouTube vid of it in action (under it's Japanese name of Kaiten Illust) and just a few screenies online.

As it was/is available as a download title for the DSi in the US, there's no way of getting it in the UK. I presume that the cost to translate for European languages were prohibitive based on it's sales. Shame.

If anyone has a US DSi and has this game on their system and would be willing to part with it, I'd certainly be interested...

 

[Nintendo]

Not talking about you, but Sometimes people are forced to pirate games.

 

[Klumpen]

Not talking about you, but Sometimes people are forced to pirate games.

Dafuq? Your life does not depend on any single video game.

 

[iprice]

Not talking about you, but Sometimes people are forced to pirate games.

Yeah, I know what you're saying.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Region locking is a crime like racism/discrimination/prejudice.

 

[iprice]

Region locking is a crime like racism/discrimination/prejudice.

It's not in exactly the same league, but it is fecking annoying.

 

[Klumpen]

Region locking is a crime like racism/discrimination/prejudice.

It's not in exactly the same league, but it is fecking annoying.

It is discrimination.

 

[Jumpman]

Region locking is a crime like racism/discrimination/prejudice.

It's not in exactly the same league.

Yeah, it's worse

Chris

 

[iprice]

Region locking is a crime like racism/discrimination/prejudice.

It's not in exactly the same league, but it is fecking annoying.

It is discrimination.

Yes, it is. But based on your location, not your ethnicity/sex/religion/sexual preference etc. There is a big difference. It definitely is a form of censorship though, which I am totally against.

[EDIT] Added "sex/religion/sexual preference etc."

 

[Nintendo]

What I don't understand is Nintendo used to do the region free with all their handhelds

 

[rygD]

What I don't understand is Nintendo used to do the region free with all their handhelds

What I don't get is why consoles or handhelds (or anything, really) need region locking.

 

[DaMummy]

Oldest reason in the books.

 

[Nintendo]

Nintendo suck

 

[Jumpman]

What I don't understand is Nintendo used to do the region free with all their handhelds

What I don't get is why consoles or handhelds (or anything, really) need region locking.

Oldest reason in the books.

Nintendo suck

"N" lives in a realm all their own, and "control" is the order of the day. Even when they allowed region free on handhelds or the basic protection they used for consoles, the import industry was very small and niche at the time. "N" has always thought everywhere in the world was different than Japan, and how they needed to change or modify games for different markets. Their region locking now, goes back to that broken thinking. They can now block different regions easily through software, so they are. They don't stop and think, do we still need to this? They just say, now we can control the different markets, and control what games are released when and where we want, so they did.

The video game industry is a worldwide market now, and the walls "N" once saw years ago, have been torn down for many generations now. But like proper online, account systems, and everything else where "N" is sorely lacking, region free is just another area where they are waaaaayyyyy behind in their thinking. They are very broken from the top down and have been for a very long time, and while they get by due to their rich history, they aren't really building anything meaningful for the future, just treading water really.

Chris

 

[iprice]

With the NX looking to be a potentially "digital only" box - http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/08/new_patent_sparks_talk_of_potential_nx_details I'm really concerned about the future of gaming for a number of reasons.

- Backward compatibility. With no hope of playing that cart or disc directly, then it'lll be Virtual Console style paid for downloads and emulation only.

- Region locking of digital games already prevents users from ever accessing certain titles (see my SnapDots comment above)

- With no competition from discounters/bricks and mortar/internet prices of digital content could be sky-high

- Old software may never get discounts. The price you paid five years ago is still the price you pay if you want the same game. Nintendo first party digital sales are incredibly rare

- This could be a test-bed for ALL future consoles. M$ were going to do this initially with XBox ONE, but feedback was negative. I don't think it will be next time (see below)

- With STEAM, iOS, Android and other providers (eg PSN) already operating services like this with virtually no complaints, digital is the future. Hey, it makes everything easy - buying, finding, deleting etc.

- Storage. Ever increasing digital content will require ever increasing extra storage.

And those are off the top of my head.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Ed will come to the rescue and will make consoles with physical media Pyra II.  He will rule the world.  Pyra II Home Console will be the last and only and only gaming system on the planet to have physical game cart/disc.

 

[rygD]

What I don't understand is Nintendo used to do the region free with all their handhelds

What I don't get is why consoles or handhelds (or anything, really) need region locking.

Oldest reason in the books.

Nintendo suck

"N" lives in a realm all their own, and "control" is the order of the day. Even when they allowed region free on handhelds or the basic protection they used for consoles, the import industry was very small and niche at the time. "N" has always thought everywhere in the world was different than Japan, and how they needed to change or modify games for different markets. Their region locking now, goes back to that broken thinking. They can now block different regions easily through software, so they are. They don't stop and think, do we still need to this? They just say, now we can control the different markets, and control what games are released when and where we want, so they did.

The video game industry is a worldwide market now, and the walls "N" once saw years ago, have been torn down for many generations now. But like proper online, account systems, and everything else where "N" is sorely lacking, region free is just another area where they are waaaaayyyyy behind in their thinking. They are very broken from the top down and have been for a very long time, and while they get by due to their rich history, they aren't really building anything meaningful for the future, just treading water really.

Chris

The funny thing is I had more Japanese games back then, and without looking for them.  I had people bringing them to me.  They may be easier to get now, though, not that it changes anything with older stuff.  A year or two ago I was going to pick up a Japanese copy of Metroid II to replace my lost one since I prefer how that cartridge label looks, but I got a decent price for one a little more local.

Nintendo is far from the only company using region locking.  Honestly, I haven't looked into it lately because I don't care (By that I mean if I want something that is not available in my region then I will "steal"/"pirate"/obtain a copy anyway.  This may not work so well with current gen console games where emulators are lacking, but it works fine for movies and such.  Any sort of restriction of this sort DOES bother me, and if I felt that such things were wrong (pirating stuff in this way), if they don't want to sell it to me then I feel I would be doing nothing wrong, as they won't lose any sales to me either way.  I haven't been pirating any games recently, and I really haven't been buying many.).

 

[iprice]

if I want something that is not available in my region then I will "steal"/"pirate"/obtain a copy anyway.

That's only possible if it's actually available - many current and last gen digital-only products aren't. There's tons of DSiWare games that you simply can't get (so far).

Even if you can get them, can you actually use them? As mentioned, emulation only goes so far and even a couple of generation past machines aren't 100% accurately emulated yet, even on mean machine pcs.

At some point, emulation is likely to be too difficult to make the end result worthwhile. And then archiving of digital products will be pretty much impossible. Maybe governments need to step in, to ensure that digital archives will be forever available and not lost over time. Don't leave it up to the producers; many rarely last beyond a couple of generations.

 

[rygD]

 

if I want something that is not available in my region then I will "steal"/"pirate"/obtain a copy anyway.

That's only possible if it's actually available - many current and last gen digital-only products aren't. There's tons of DSiWare games that you simply can't get (so far).

Even if you can get them, can you actually use them? As mentioned, emulation only goes so far and even a couple of generation past machines aren't 100% accurately emulated yet, even on mean machine pcs.

At some point, emulation is likely to be too difficult to make the end result worthwhile. And then archiving of digital products will be pretty much impossible. Maybe governments need to step in, to ensure that digital archives will be forever available and not lost over time. Don't leave it up to the producers; many rarely last beyond a couple of generations.

You mentioned a few things that are also very important to me.  I prefer to play on original hardware.  There are many solutions available that don't require original physical copies of  games (Everdrives, using HDDs and other storage media, that project that was being worked on to keep Dreamcasts alive by replacing the optical drive with something that will last longer, but I can't recall the details atm).  I prefer having a copy of a game, however disks and discs are rather fragile.  Still, imo these are better than digital only games/software, because in theory you can make a back up copy.  If you can make a copy of something like a DSiWare game that you may be able to eventually use, either through emulation or something that allows you to load it on original or clone hardware, I am far more comfortable with the digital-only option (the game not being required to call home is a given, but even that doesn't ensure you get to experience the full game, such as with online play through central servers that are controlled by a company, and, yes, playing games online is important, even if some people behind or interested in a particular Retro Video Game System might think).

For me even perfect emulation is only a matter of convenience (if I don't own the emulated device, I am not near it, or I don't feel like setting everything up).  My opinion might change when all my old computers and consoles die for good, if that ever happens.  I really think that one of the best things governments can do to preserve old software is after a certain amount of time, maybe a generation or two for consoles, eliminate legal action against those that copy and share that software.  There are plenty of people that would be eager to host an archive like this (they are already out there, ranging from fully legal operations, to purely illegal ones).  Oh no, that means there is less protection for Nintendo to sell you another copy of Super Mario Bros.  Of course many people will still buy a copy for the current console, and using it on an official emulator, such as with Virtual Console or whatever.  I don't even know if possible legal action is a deterrent to prevent people from downloading old games like that.  It isn't for me, and there are still many games I want to have a "real" copy of (although this is not as much the case with discs, as I have lost too many games due to damaging them).  I wish there was a good way to ensure the people that make these games get paid what they deserve and allow for the games to be available to everyone.

A quick note about DSiWare:  this is one of the few areas I haven't looked into.  If there really aren't copies out there to preserve/"steal" them that is very unfortunate.  I feel games and software deserve to be preserved as much as books, paintings, sculptures, music, etc.  Gaping holes in an archive are terrible, regardless of why these works aren't available.  I know WiiWare is out there if you look for it.  How did DSiWare slip through the cracks? (I see conflicting reports about the ability to obtain and play them in emus and with flash cards.  Now I am curious...)

 

[iprice]

There are a few DSiWare titles available to download, but none of them can be played in an emulator. Chances of any DSiWare games being preserved are virtually nil.