Nintendo Says Wii Is Region Locked
Despite what you may have heard, you will not be able to play games from around the world on your Wii. For shame, Nintendo.
After would-be importers worked themselves into a tizzy at the thought of easily importable Wii games, Nintendo of America has gone back on the comments, saying that the Wii would use territorial lockouts. Not only will you not be able to play games from other regions on Nintendo's new console, but you also won't be able to play Virtual Console games not meant for you either.
"It will be region coded," Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton told Kikizo in an interview published yesterday. "I think there was a report just recently from the US, but that was incorrect." On Thursday, Nintendo of America's Perrin Kaplan had told Wired that the Wii would not enforce territorial lockouts.
What this means is that, unlike the DS, you will be stuck playing games from the region you by the console in, and this apparently extends to games downloaded through the Virtual Console too.
This would explain why, in Japan, Wii owners will have a choice of 30 Virtual Console titles at launch, replenished at a rate of 10 a month thereafter while in Europe the flow of oldies will be about half that.
The Wii is slated for release in around the world starting in November.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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