A little under a week ago Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo’s Vice-President of Marketing & Corporate Affairs, inexplicably told Wired that the Wii would be region free.
Wired: Will the Wii be region-free?
Kaplan: Yes. Like the Nintendo DS, the Wii will be able to play games from other regions, such as Japan, without any restriction. Kaplan implied there might be a region lock that publishers would be able to flip on, but it doesn’t sound like the first-party titles from Nintendo will be restricted.
This statement was followed by a prompt “what the hell are you talking about?” response from Nintendo UK’s David Yarton who claimed that the Wii would, in fact, be region locked.
Today the official word came down from Nintendo of America – and if you are into picking up imported games the news will be upsetting. The Wii is definitely not going to be region free.
Why many game companies still insist on region encoded consoles is beyond me – but there you have it.
