Wii upholds Cube region lock News

FIRST!!! We all know how shit our versions of games usually were. This is quite depressing. :(

Oh no :-( PAL versions of games often still suck, but back in the 8/16-bit days they were much worse... Only a few games were properly ported to PAL, the rest just ran too slow and sometimes had some graphics issues. Usually even the music runs too slow too thanks to realtime synth chips and syncing to screen refresh. (This is true in almost all cartridge-based games.) The slower frame rate is also very noticeable in PAL versions of N64 games, because the frame rates are often really low by today's standards.

I wonder if I can get the Virtual Console to work if I import an NTSC Wii...? Anybody happen to know anything about this? (Wishful thinking :-)

What? So the wii is region locked only to gamecube games? Why do that?

There's not much point in region-locking these days. A few years ago, it made sure that people in different marketing territories had to wait for the products to arrive in their area before they could play them. But now with the Internet and everything, you can easily get an Action Replay, Freeloader, etc. Or even just import a foreign version of the console.
I'll still be patient and buy European though. It seems that whenever I buy anything from overseas I get hit with such disproportionately large customs fees that the imported product ends up being more expensive than the European version.

Screw you Nintendo UK for fucking everything it up and giving us over priced and late shoddy products. You might have gotten away with this 5-10 years ago but you can't these days, it's a global industry. Don't you wonder why Nintendo never does as well in Europe? Because you treat us like shit.

Fuck it, I'm going US.

/gets back onto the special brew.

Nintendo UK has confirmed to Eurogamer that the Wii's region locking will extend to GameCube games.

Does this mean region locking ONLY applies to gamecube (and virtual) games - is that right? I.e will the Wii games be region free? it's not clear to me anyway!

There goes my Wii preorder completely. Fuck you, Nintendo.

Thats a pity. On the N64 the States got a few games Europe missed out on like Harvest Moon and Ogre Battle which would have been nice to finally see. On the SNES we are missing Chronotrigger and a lot of other classics.

A PAL only Virtual Console has very little appeal actually. I'll just haul my old consoles out of the cupboard if I get the urge thanks.

So if the wii games themselves ARE region free, isn't it better to get an american console so you can play the non-european virtual games? Afterall, it will probably be cheaper to import than buy one over here anyway!

"Does this mean region locking ONLY applies to gamecube (and virtual) games - is that right? I.e will the Wii games be region free? it's not clear to me anyway!"

The word "extend" makes it seem like the Cube region lock comes in conjunction with a Wii one to me. Which is a pity I suppose, I'm not entirely sure I understand the reasons in favour of region locking but in this day and age it seems quite pointless.

"Does this mean region locking ONLY applies to gamecube (and virtual) games - is that right? I.e will the Wii games be region free? it's not clear to me anyway!"

Nintendo confirmed some time ago that Wii games will be region locked.

Wii games are region coded. They announced that a while back: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?art...

Edit: Three at once? That must be a record?

Cube will die anyway in a few years so why on earth they would still retain the region lock? Damn haters.

And region coding Virtual Console games? That's just plain stupid. Stupid stupid stupid.

The Wii games are not region free. Where has this misinformation been coming from?

/Kicks the internet

Nothing is region free. Confirmed in this very article, Wii games, Gamecube, you name it. All region locked. If you buy a Wii from the States you are locking out content from Europe and visa versa. Its likely an equivalent to Freeloader won't be seen for 18 months minimum, or it could be even longer. Region Locking is getting more sophisticated every time.

I was looking forward to downloading Wave Race 64 on the Wii Virtual Console but if it's the poorly optimised PAL versions with those HUUUGGGEEE borders and slower framerate then I don't think I'll bother.

It really sucks to live in a PAL territory doesn't it... what with the Xbox 360's VGA compatibility issues with certain backward compatible Xbox games (as well as that stupid 60Hz thing with some 360 games requiring you to change the standard definition video mode to 60Hz in order to play games in hi-def!) and now this news.

*sigh*

I suppose the fact remains that I'm mainly buying the Wii mostly for its own games not retro titles but it's still disappointing news.

Erm, why aren't you all just importing your Wii consoles from the US ?

If you don't like the PAL-restrictions, then don't buy one ! You're free to get your Wii from any supplier you like :)

> There goes my Wii preorder completely. Fuck you, Nintendo.

Now that's just ridiculous.
If you want the American versions, then BUY ONE ! Nobody says you have to get the EuroWii !

So they're going to release component cables. Good. But at launch?

That's.... depressing. Everyone buying a US machine, then?

The long march of globalisation is being dragged along by the feet of the consumer.

Beware.

Erm, why aren't you all just importing your Wii consoles from the US ?

If you don't like the PAL-restrictions, then don't buy one ! You're free to get your Wii from any supplier you like :)

Because locking out Europe when you live in Europe isn't exactly great either. Nintendo will no doubt make some efforts to stop users from getting Virtual Console content from outside their region. There are plenty of other problems also like none of your PAL Gamecube software working, meaning you have to cram the Gamecube in next to the Wii and whatever else you have. Oh, and consoles from the States only have a six week warranty. Nice.

Does this mean that we won't be getting any PC Engine/Turbografx games? The Turbografx was never 'officially' released over here.

Oh, and consoles from the States only have a six week warranty. Nice.

I bought a Jap DS on release, and it has a stuck pixel. Once they launched here, I called Ninty up, and they quoted me £27 to get a replacement DS, no matter what had happened to mine, even though it was from japan.

Its not like the Wii is a 360, either - lot less to go wrong in there than the 360s, with not quite enough thermal paste, cooking their GPUs.

Bllocks.

I have an US Gamecube with a large collections of games. So I will be buying a US Wii now, and cancelling my UK Wii pre-order.

I was actually looking forward to being on an equal footing for once with my Nintendo platform, like it is for the 360. You know, the 360 games here run in the same optimised fashion as the US, and if I feel like picking up a game on a whim from a shop I can do.

Now I'm back to importing, and my US Wii will go on to join my US GC, N64 and SNES.

Thanks Nintendo, you're lucky your games are worth the extra effort, but this is really backward in this day and age, and your European arm should be ashamed of themselves.

I'm not sure that this story should be cause for all the concerns people are having. We may get English-language versions but will they necessarily be the craply-optimised PAL releases that were sold on cartridge in this country?

Well, I wouldn't trust Nintendo at all on this point. They're previous record on optimisation is pretty crap.

What is easier for them? Optimise Virtual Console releases for the European market? Or flog them in their current state?

Whay annoys me is they should be investing the time and money on regional lockout on PAL optimisation.

Blimey, this has really wound me up. I thought Nintendo were turning the corner with regards to Europe......

The difference is that the DS is recognised by Nintendo as a region free console. The Wii isn't. And it doesn't sound that great when you have to pay £27.

I've had plenty of experience of their service with my Gamecube. Three times in fact. They try every trick in the book, you actually have to lie and tell them you never use third party memory cards or thats an excuse for not fixing a broken DVD-Rom. By the time my fourth Gamecube was dying I had already invested in the tools to crack the case and solve the problem myself without the hassle of dealing with them. Getting told off for playing imports was not exactly what I expected when I ring them up to get my console fixed.

Don't expect any help from Nintendo Europe for imported Wii's.

Region locking sucks big time! Especially when it comes to 8 and 16Bit soft, many PAL titles back then ran at a slower speed and/or had black bars. I had a bootleg NES from Hong Kong in order to play US games and I modded my Mega Drive in order to play MK and Thunder Force IV in original speed without black boarders. I seriously hope Nintendo gives those old games some kind of overhaul or otherwise I'll just stick to my good ol PC emulators.

Hang on then, is this correct...

My GC was a US version, and I have lots of US games, I also have a Freeloader for the odd UK game that I've bought here.

Are you saying that if I buy a UK Wii, I won't be able to use my US GC games?

If this is correct, I'll have to cancel my UK Wii preorder and go buy from the US! Ridiculous!!!

This can't be right, can it?

@Cappy

You've had bad luck with your GC. My GC has worked faultlessly from day 1 and I've never had problems with it during extended gaming sessions. This is why I prefer consoles over playing games on a PC, zero hassle.

What problems have you had with it?

Yes Pooley, it seems so.

I have literally just cancelled my Wii preorder with Play.com and submitted a fresh one with dvdboxoffice.com in Canada.

DVD-Rom died every single time. Its easy to fix if you have the right tools but not something you would do if its still under warranty.

Eurogamer, please, please do what no other site or magazine seems willing to do and interview Nintendo Europe about this stuff. Sit them down and literally ask them why they're intent on treating us so badly.

Ask them why certain DS games have had six months between their US and UK releases, why they've decided Europe isn't allowed progressive scan output from the Wii (assuming the emails people have had from Nintendo's associate company are correct and we aren't getting it - a bit of clarification there would be nice, Nintendo) and why they're apparently giving us slow, bordered downloadable games they're quite happily sitting on full-speed, full-screen versions of.

Don't let them talk about how great the Wii is or how many DSes they've sold to the elderly until they explain what the fuck is going on.

Nintendo could get away with region locking on the Wii (like all console manufacturers, unfortunately), but for the retro downloads? That's just ridiculous. We'll dust the old games off and play "super probotector" instead of "super contra" again on the SNES, thanks.

And +1 for what andrewwd said. What about the PC-Engine, Nintendo? Thanks for nothing (again).

@peterfll

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

Why? FFS why?

This is so dumb, thanks a lot Nintendo. Way to go to alienate the hardcore supporters of your systems.

This has, for the first time, really made me question my decision to get a Wii. Zelda on launch day kind of made my mind up for me that I had to have one, but I'm sorry as now I'm seriously considering cancelling my preorder and just getting the GC Zelda when it's released.

I'm going to have to go and think about this.

So, so unnecessary...

Nintendo is losing momentum ever since their worldwide conference huh? Nothing major news there actually and with each consecutive clarification, it just gets worse, doesnt it?

Region locking the Wii games are to be expected, still sucks though. But region locking VC games? Hell no! I want my Castlevania: Blood of Rondo on the PCE, Sin & Punishment on the N64 and the NTSC version of Wave Race 64, not the slowdowned en bordered PAL version.

Here's hoping they're gonna optimize the games this time and translation the odd gem for the European market. Wishful thinking huh...?

Wow. Just checked prices on dvdboxoffice, and the Wii is significantly cheaper! £136.50 compared to £179.99 in UK. Anyone know how much the import duties would be?

Best news of all is that the GC Zelda is only £30. So including postage, hang on I've just checked and it includes free airmail shipping. Sorry Game, looks like you've just lost my preorder.

Thanks for the tip, peterfll.

Does anyone know how the Virtual Console work in this situation? If I do decide to buy a US Wii, but I'm connected in the UK, would you be accessing the UK Wii VC or the US one? So many questions...

Oh, and to Nintendo UK - goodbye... /waves

If I cried over things like this I would, but tbh I thought region free Nintendo gaming in Europe with all the trimmings (60Hz from the get go, Chrono Trigger running on a UK console) was far too good to be true. The DS Lite was my first PAL console bought on launch day since the Super Nintendo because it was REGION FREE, safe in the knowledge I wouldn't have to mess about with convertors and passports and that other nonsense. I guess it's an import Wii to go with my Panasonic Q. In all honesty all region coding does nowadays is hurt European consumers, the Japanese could mostly give a stuff about non-Japanese games, America gets most of the good J-RPGS and niche titles so for them it matters a little but for us in Europe it's like being bummed in the gob.

Region locking the Wii games on the Wii might or might not have benefits to Nintendo, but how does region locking the GameCube games on the Wii help them? The Cube will be a dead console for most of the Wii's life, so it's not like they'd be affected by locking one way or another.

I second karlidog's call for a decent interview with NoE. We want answers!

At this rate I may have to get a US Wii as well as my UK one :/

@Pooley, if you get caught by customs (and you probably will), they'll stick 17.5% VAT on top of that. You'll also get charged an 'admin fee' by the courier for paying it on your behalf at the point of entry into the UK.

Okay, now I'm pissed.

@ karlidog, brainbird, chupachups, Dexter ++++1

I couldn't have put it better.

Come on Tom, if you're really reading this you need to give NoE a real hard time over this. Don't pander to pre-launch PR campaign/

@pooley

Yes, as specified, you run the risk of being caught at Customs. My PSP from the US passed through OK last year, but the risk of getting caught is still high. If you get caught as correctly pointed out - you'll be charged the 17.5% + an admin fee.

I also had no idea the Eurpoean Wii won't support progressive scan. That alone would have had me ordering a US model.

NoE - shame shame shame on you, clearly you know very little about the market and what matters.

I don't understand why Nintendo would region lock games that will be released through Internet. It makes no sense at all.

XBLA games are not region locked. PC games (Steam or any other games you can buy online) are not region locked. It's just not in the nature of the whole damn thing to do so.

Virtual Console. Hah. People are going to go back to homebrew retrogaming fast if Nintendo doesn't fix this.

"I don't understand why Nintendo would region lock games that will be released through Internet. It makes no sense at all. "

Because quite clearly Nintendo are unaware that the market has moved on in the past 5 years. They clearly think applying a 5 year old marketing strategy will still work.

Their continued ignorance makes me choke.

I think a lot of you are reading thigns that are not there.

Component: In the article it says that they WILL be releasing a component cable. This would say to me that Wii games will be in prog scan, but that PAL Cube games will not, just as they wern't on the Cube. The games were not made to run in prog scan in the first place in PAL regions.

Playing US Cube games on a PAL Wii: Not really suprised that the region lock still exists on Cube software, though it really shouldnt be needed. But if the PAL Wii's Cube mode is the same as a PAL Cube, then the freeloader should still work, so you can play your NTSC Cube games on a PAL Wii the same way you would on a PAL Cube (using a freeloader).

The VC issue: This is a worry, I dont want PAL (bordered and slow) versions of all my VC games, but saying we will get "European versions" does not neccaserily meen we will get the original versions, but maybe newly optimised ones. Still its a bit disapointing, as others have pointed out, not all games are released in all regions, and because of that theres stuff on the VC many PAL gamers wont have played and so would download. Worth pointing out though that Live Arcade varys from region to region, not all content is global.

More clarification is needed all round, but im not cancelling the preorder just yet.

EUROGAMER PLEASE PLEASE find out from your Nintendo 'spokesperson' what exactly they meant by 'European versions of the VC games'.
Does this mean horrible slow bordered PAL ROMS? Or will they run at 60hz? We need to know, this is really important because if true then many people will be forced to import a US Wii if they want to play VC games as they were originally intended (fullscreen, and more importantly: fullspeed)

Good lord. you think they would have learnt by now. X360 region coding is at developer discretion, PS3 (as far as I understand) will be region free for Games and Nintendo's very DS is region free and part of its phenomenal success is due this very fact.

There is absolutely no justification that Nintendo can offer against the following decisions:

1) No Progressive Scan for PAL - WTF!!!??? isn't this the age of HD? a vast number of TV's capable of displaying a progressive image - I would have understood this if we were still in the 16-bit era but not now. This alone would make me buy a US version over a UK any day (my UK Wii pre-order has been cancelled BTW Nintendo). They do not actually have to disable progressive scan, all they need to do is sell the cable separately, if people can and want to run it in Prog-scan they can simply buy the cable. it costs absolutely nothing for Nintendo to allow this. not one fcuking penny - cables work anywhere and indeed they would make a lot of money out of it as most people would want the best possible picture available.

2) Region locking GC Games - for the love of god are you insane? virtually no shops (with the exception of Game's single shelf at the back of the store on the left) sell GC games anymore anyway and barely anyone makes games for it either. What sense is there is restricting the very people who supported you and who are the very reason you are still around by fucking them over like this?

3)Region locking and/or PAL versions for Virtual Console. Digital distribution should NOT, I repeat NOT be subject to regional coding, I goes against the very principles of the system. Why on earth should we pay for shitty PAL versions of games when the NTSC versions were so much better? Why not just distribute the one version globally, that way everyone is happy. Also why should we miss out on games that were never released here eg: Chrono Trigger & PC Engine/ TurboGrafx games?

How about we all buy second hand consoles and get out games that way and Nintendo get fuck all money from it? A better I idea for all concerned is just to release the best version globally and leave it at that and do not region lock it.

4)Finally, Region locking the Wii - in this day and age it really is a STUPID thing to do. again no reason for it but is not the end of the world IF (and this is a big IF) releases are done globally (at least as far as the UK and US are concerned) and the option for both full and PAL speed is available along with Prog-scan.

- - - We are paying more than anyone in the world for the console and its games - why should we then be treated like this on top of it? - I have had nothing but praise and admiration for the Wii since it was announce ages ago, I have raved about how great it is going to be to all who would listen and today I have had that all completely destroyed in one foul swoop by Nintendo themselves.

I WILL BE STARTING AN ON-LINE PETITION TO HAVE THESE MATTERS RESOLVED BEFORE RELEASE (not that it will make much difference given Nintendo attitude towards UK/Europe) and post a link once done.

Also to Eurogamer -> I also would like to see an interview with Nintendo facing Harsh questioning over their idiotic decisions.

I really hate Sony and their arrogance but today at the moment I really hope they kick the shit out of Nintendo now (unless they reverse their decisions)

@karlidog: I think the main reason for US to UK delays is that the UK gets the European release i.e. the translations to French, Germand, Spanish etc... need to be included. However 6 months is a bit long considering translation can be done in parallel with production...

@Pooley: From the sounds of it we can't use non PAL games on the PAL Wii console.

Personally I think this is incredibly idiotic because the main reason for the lock is to make sure consumers buy games from their region BUT we're talking about playing games we have already bought w.r.t. GC games...what's the point? It's not affecting sales!?!

I placed my Wii preorder today.

I think I'll not be cancelling.

Because despite the lack of progressive scan, the 50Hz VC games, the late Euro games... One thing scares me more...

I'm thinking Nintendo can lock Wii Connect24 by IP block, so the UK IPs can use the EU Wii Connect service. I'd be afraid to get a US/JP Wii in case it turns out all the online stuff gets disabled. It'd be easy enough to do and no one could suggest Nintendo aren't dumb enough to do it!

Scribble - exactly. I haven't cancelled my pre-order.

People who cancelled today and placed a pre-order on a US system are playing a dangerous game. It'd be simple for them to lock an imported system from going online, I'm going to have to wait and see before I cancel my order.

@Scribble

I agree this is a risk, and I weighed it up against playing inferior PAL conversions and still the decision to go with a US came out winning. The majority of my time on the Wii will be spent on playing offline games from disc, as much as I'll be majoorly agrrieved in I find I'm locked out of the Connect24 service.

However, I agree with you in that I would not be surprised one bit if Nintendo decided to lock based on IP address. Why not? They committed almost every other sin in the regional lock out book of tricks.

I have no idea if there are ways around it; I believe there are, but would need to find out.

@Caimbeul

I hear your pain. Post your link to your petition, I for one will sign it.