14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo, after showcasing and setting concrete release dates for its upcoming 3DS handheld, has now talked about the region lock and the friend code systems that will be used by the new device.
Handheld platforms are usually region-free, meaning you can buy games from anywhere around the world, pop them into your console and just play them right away, cementing the notion of portable gaming.
The Nintendo 3DS won't be like that, sadly, as the company says that the region locking system will allow it to implement different parental controls that are specific to the rating systems in each territory.
As such, owners from North America, where the ESRB rates games, will be able to select between those various ratings, while European users will have settings taken from the PEGI board.
Still, future Nintendo 3DS owners that like to import titles from other countries or who travel a lot to different territories might still be able to play foreign titles, as reports are saying that only some titles might be region locked, so you need to document your purchases on a case by case basis.
Even if the region locking system may seem outdated, Nintendo is doing something right with the 3DS, as it has overhauled the Friend Code online feature, which originally appeared on the Wii home console.
For those not familiar, if you wanted to play a Wii game online with friends, you needed to introduce special codes in order to get them in the game every session.
Now, the 3DS will only require you to input the friend code once, as it will then add the user to a list that will be displayed when you want to play online.
"You never have to input the code to play with the same friends online," said Nintendo Europe managing director of marketing and PR, Laurent Fischer.
This new system will ensure that community of gamers are going to be established more easily.
Nintendo explained in a press release, "Fans of online play will be happy to learn that the friend codes for Nintendo 3DS are specific to each Nintendo 3DS system, not each game.
"Once friends trade hardware codes, at any time they can check their friends list to see which of their friends are online and what they are playing."