Nintendo last week announced that they will be releasing a new 3DS model called…New 3DS (because Nintendo loves confusing consumers, it would seem). Strange name aside, there are plenty of neat features that can compel a gaming enthusiast to pick one up. For starters, the New 3DS has a secondary control stick similar to the Gamecube’s C-stick, along with built-in NFC support and better battery life.
Unfortunately, it will also contain a feature nobody wants: region locking. In an interview with Gamespot, a Nintendo representative confirmed the implementation of the much-maligned restriction. That means, for example, if you own a New 3DS bought in America, you wouldn’t be able to play any games that come from other regions such as Japan or Europe.
In an interview from last year, Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata blamed Nintendo’s need to region lock their systems on “cultural acceptance and legal restrictions,” but even then Microsoft and Sony were selling region-free consoles with little problem. With the New 3DS now region locked, it looks like Nintendo isn’t going to reverse its policies on region locking anytime soon.
How do you feel about Nintendo region locking the New 3DS? Are there any games you’d want to play if the system was region free? Let us know in the comments.
