Iwata said the following this week when fielding a question on region locks during an investor Q&A session: Removing region-locking from current game machines presents various issues, so we don't consider that to be very realistic. However, regarding NX, given the customer feedback and proposals from the market, while nothing has been decided yet, we're currently investigating internally what problems there would be in realizing it. You can think of that as the current situation. I understand your desire, so I'd like to look at it optimistically going forward. Welcome back, Nintendo
please please please please please please please please please, nintendo although tbh I feel like they'd probably half-ass it so it wouldn't be true region-free. Like, their accounts and eShop setup is so awful that I have no faith in their ability to fix it up just to appease the imports crowd--which lbr in the case of US->EU is not a thing they probably even want to do. I mean, ideally you'd be able to use any Nintendo account with the new console along with a disc from any region. But I have a feeling it'll still be pretty restricted, so like... I wouldn't be able to put my Japanese account on a North American console or vice versa in order to use the account's country's eShop. But hopefully at least discs will be region-free, because that's better than nothing even if it's still not ideal. If this thing is region free, their next handheld (the only thing I care actually care about, of course) probably will be too... right? Right??? I hope so. :(
If the NX is more of an architecture to support both future consoles and handhelds and whatever else Nintendo dreams up some day, then I would include handhelds in that region-free umbrella. I think it would support Nintendo's desire to shorten gaps in their library worldwide. If following a cost-benefit analysis they determine a game is not worth translating, localizing, promoting, and marketing; still no reason you shouldn't be able to play it via import. If their main argument was that third-parties were against it... well, that certainly hasn't dampened Sony's speed.
