Nintendo 3DS

[-Sho-]

Damn forgot about the official news about region locked -.-

Well , currently , i'm not decided yet to buy a 3DS . I think i'll wait for full reviews of many peoples , maybe some friends will get it , i'll test it first. And i'll see which one i'll take , maybe.. region locked annoy me so much except if someone know how to bypass it.

Currently Amazon sell 3DS at 249,99€

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by GDB

Wouldn't be possible without also making it impossible to play without a wifi connection, and no one would be stupid enough to do that. Closest thing that could happen would be the chargers use different voltages, in which case you'd just need to get an adapter for like $20 or whatever.

In a way, the only reason there aren't more import gamers was because of the extra cost in shipping.

But the recent massive devaluation of the US dollar has made it silly to buy Australian released games. It is now cheaper for me to buy American games and have them shipped from half way across the planet, than to buy games at my local store. All because someone had the bright idea of not adjusting the prices after a change of exchange rate. Now Australians had to pay double of nearly everything compared to US dollars. Even Steam downloaded games.

The region lock is really the final straw; I now have to choose between an American 3DS or an Australian one. So why shouldn't I choose the one with a larger library of games, with the games released earlier, and is cheaper in every conceivable way?

[wingman32x]

So It's going to be $250 USD. That's a pretty safe price point. They would have been stupid to go into the $300+ range.

The games look pretty good. Lol, another ridge racer launching with ANOTHER console. Lol, it's like it's required at this point.

The fighting games look good. I'm more of a DOA fan, but the features in Street fighter look awesome.

[paladinenvec]

Well i think that im going to buy the 3DS just that i need a part time work lol, here in Mexico will cost like 350 USD, but some ppl told me that amazon only charge 5 USD extra for the mailing to Mexico and they accept debit cards too, so i'm checking in...

[SOGESNAKE]

Yeah, the whole Region Lock thing was a tad sad to hear, what with One Piece: Unlimited Cruise SP coming and all, but I'm pretty confident that something is gonna come out to get around that.....


What with the other region locked consoles having Freeloaders and what-not, should be fairly simple. Though, kinda wondering how that'll work on a handheld like a 3DS...

[Sides]

Originally Posted by SOGESNAKE

What with the other region locked consoles having Freeloaders and what-not, should be fairly simple. Though, kinda wondering how that'll work on a handheld like a 3DS...

Something like those region adapters like the good old (s)nes/MD days? I don't know about that

[Tempester]

It's like they're encouraging piracy or something.

At least for now, region lock = no purchase from me. We should make a "Boycott 3DS Until It's Region Free" internet club.

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by Tempester

We should make a "Boycott 3DS Until It's Region Free" internet club.

Probably won't do anything though. Because people angry enough at the region lock to really not buy the system is in the great majority, it won't be much convincing...

Rather, the entire thing is: "Heh~ You don't want to buy it? Then don't buy it. And you don't have to play any games on the 3DS either"
Which I can't do... Since I like Nintendo's games.
I hope some way to go through the region lock is created though. Of course, for free...

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

I am watching the USA pre-launch event right now...

Man, it made made wonder why I even bothered to watch the European event. It is clear they had spent all their money on the USA event and threw the remaining crumbs to Europe. Sure, Europe got the live guests, but the live translation is just unprofessional. The USA even got all the new videos.

[-Sho-]

Well , it always has been like that in EU

[Sides]

I was really anticipating the gundam game, but err.. just watch the video on the official hp, Gundam the 3D battle.
Somehow gundam games, appearing in the launch window of a new system, seem to be lacking in everything.

[-Sho-]

Well , this looks like the one in PS3..

[Benoit]

Originally Posted by SOGESNAKE

What with the other region locked consoles having Freeloaders and what-not, should be fairly simple.

Not really. Since the advent of upgradable firmware, consoles can be updated to reject FreeLoader media, just like it happened with the Wii.

Originally Posted by -Sho-

Well , it always has been like that in EU

Not with Sega, back when they were still in the console business.

[Angelic Cross]

Well, well, well, looky what we have here. Nintendo's Bill Trinen answers some 3DS questions.

And oh, look (emphasis mine):

Originally Posted by Nintendo

How's the battery power?
The system will take about 3 1/2 hours to charge and then last about three to five hours on a full charge. That's with the 3D effects activated. The company guesses that people who keep the 3D turned off could get as many as eight hours. Turning off the system's wireless via a switch, lowering its brightness settings or even running it in a dimmer power-save mode will all help the machine last longer. The system charges off of a power cord or while sitting in a plugged-in "cradle."

"Bu but, that three to five hours of use must be at the lowest settings! Nintendo wouldn't advertise the usage time for the highest setting!"

Oh and apparently the blame for region locking lies primarily with parental controls and different regional game ratings systems.

[Tempester]

Originally Posted by Angelic Cross

Oh and apparently the blame for region locking lies primarily with parental controls and different regional game ratings systems.

If that's the only problem then they could make region locking optional with a password for parents. I'm inclined to believe this is mostly a licensing-related decision.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Tempester

If that's the only problem then they could make region locking optional with a password for parents. I'm inclined to believe this is mostly a licensing-related decision.

I just wish they would stop lying.
If you want to rip off customers, just say so. Don't pretend we are all ten year olds. I wish someone would just demand honesty from them. Perhaps a wikileaks file proving that they lied?

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

I just wish they would stop lying.
If you want to rip off customers, just say so. Don't pretend we are all ten year olds. I wish someone would just demand honesty from them. Perhaps a wikileaks file proving that they lied?

No one wants bad publicity, or to be implicated in any shape or form that they're asses. Even if someone 'up there' believes it's right to be honest to customers, businesses in this day and age are too fragmented 'up there' for there to be a consensus of honesty, especially since honesty don't always do good for the 'goody-two-shoe socially responsible corporation', which is the in thing for tie-wearers.

Look at the issue with the recent PS3, WP7, iPhone jailbreak issues. Sony is suing asses round for 'tinkering with products consumers bought' while Apple are 'changing screws' so that consumers can't open up their iPhone 4s. Only Microsoft actually seems to realise that you can't ever actually beat piracy through brute force, and WP7 is still a fairly non-open mobile platform, with its Windows Authentication implementations.

And also, the fact is that... a lot of ten year olds buy these consoles and games.

The people who don't give a shit about malwares, rootkits, legal spywares, bloatware, region locks, DRM outweigh those that do.

To these companies, it has yet to prove cost-effective or more profitable to simply be nice and streamline everything under one global umbrella. Even more so when a lot of these companies don't have a concrete global presence other than just exports. Region differentiations for products, locks and even regional restrictions on digital downloads are still there to stay, sadly.

[Angelic Cross]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

To these companies, it has yet to prove cost-effective or more profitable to simply be nice and streamline everything under one global umbrella. Even more so when a lot of these companies don't have a concrete global presence other than just exports. Region differentiations for products, locks and even regional restrictions on digital downloads are still there to stay, sadly.

Pretty much the whole video game business in a nutshell.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Nightengale

And also, the fact is that... a lot of ten year olds buy these consoles and games.

Actually, no. In the case of ten year olds, their parents do th buying. And their parents are not fools.

To these companies, it has yet to prove cost-effective or more profitable to simply be nice and streamline everything under one global umbrella. Even more so when a lot of these companies don't have a concrete global presence other than just exports. Region differentiations for products, locks and even regional restrictions on digital downloads are still there to stay, sadly.

It's not about being nice anymore. Because it is a proven fact that as soon as I import an American 3DS I would be screwing over the Australian retailers for the 3DS's entire operational life.

Region locking is suppose to guarantee sales in the local region. But since it is about to do the exact opposite in my case, maybe it is time to look at the failed policy again. I don't mind companies being evil, but I do mind when they are being stupid.

[Hiroi Sekai]

Going to invest in a PSP first, maybe get the 3DS during Boxing Week or something. $250 USD means it'll probably be a good $274.99 Canadian, and I probably wouldn't pay that for just the console itself.

A little disappointing to hear about the low battery life but it was to be expected. Seriously looking forward to the Ocarina of Time remake and Paper Mario 3DS.