Region locked. So what? and conclusion
Region Locked. So what?
The Wii won’t be region free and will therefore ensure that most UK gamers won’t even consider importing one at a cheaper price. This is certainly no surprise, each region has different laws relating to content and this enables Nintendo to stagger release dates across the regions. When different regions are willing to pay different amounts for consoles and games surely it’s detrimental to Nintendo to have their console unlocked . Of course we all want something cheaper if the rest of the World is getting it, but we live in rip-off Britain. If we're not used to it by now it's time we all woke up and realise that we'll always be paying more than our foreign friends whether we like it or not.
The Nintendo DS isn’t region-locked so many people aren’t sure why Nintendo have took this step with Wii. The DS is a portable system and the Wi-fi connection means that Nintendo would have shot themselves in the foot if they had locked it. DS gamers can go anywhere in the world and play against any other DS player over Wi-fi, region locking wouldn’t have made this possible. The Wii is meant for playing in the home and the arguments for region-locking make perfect commercial sense.
Click for larger imageConclusion
Nintendo have predominantly concentrated on two things : Bringing great games to the masses and developing a controller that will immerse us in those games.
It’s not the all singing, all dancing multimedia system that Microsoft and Sony have developed. It’s a game’s console, and from what I've seen of it so far, Ive got no doubt that they’ve developed a console that will change the way I play and think about games. For that reason I think £180 is worth the gamble.
Click for larger image
