Nintendo: we "must consider" region-free hardware

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has said that the company will look at the possibility of unlocking region restrictions on its hardware.

Nintendo has region locks on its home consoles to stop importing, but Iwata has said that making systems region-free may be beneficial to Nintendo as well as the consumer.

"The game business has a history of taking a very long time with localization among other things, such as having to deal with various issues of marketing in each particular country, or games that have made use of licensed content that did not apply globally, and had all kinds of circumstances, so to say, that region-locking has existed due to circumstances on the sellers' side rather than for the sake of the customers," Iwata told investors.

"As for what should be done going forward, if unlocked for the benefit of the customers, there may also be a benefit for us. Conversely, unlocking would require various problems to be solved, so while I can't say today whether or not we intend to unlock, we realize that it is one thing that we must consider looking to the future."

Thanks, Neogaf