Yesterday it was reported that despite fan attempts to petition Nintendo to remove region locking from their consoles, it seems that Nintendo would not budge of the matter, which we’re sure disappointed many gamers given that Microsoft caved in to the demands of their fans regarding their always-on and used games DRM policy. The statement provided by Nintendo of America was short and succinct, but if felt that perhaps the statement was a bit too “cold” and PR-ish for your tastes, Richard George at IGN managed to ask Nintendo’s global president, Satoru Iwata, about the reasons behind region-locking.It should be noted that the questions posed to Iwata were during E3 which was quite a while back, but we’re guessing Iwata’s sentiments have not changed since especially given the recent statement made by Nintendo of America. According to Iwata, “From some people’s perspective, it might seem like a kind of restriction. However, we hope people can appreciate the fact that we’re selling our products worldwide […] There are many different regions around the world, and each region has its own cultural acceptance and legal restrictions, as well as different age ratings. There are always things that we’re required to do in each different region, which may go counter to the idea that players around the world want the freedom to play whatever they want. “
Iwata then concluded by saying, “I hope that game fans can understand that the industry isn’t doing this solely out of business ego […] There are some reasons behind it.” What do you guys think? Does this help make sense of Nintendo’s decision?
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