"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," Iwata told me, acknowledging that Nintendo has "historically" worked with region-locked systems. "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 noted that the strategy behind regional approaches to hardware and content was something not unique to Nintendo, that it was something the entire industry had to "grapple with" and manage. "I hope that game fans can understand that the industry isn’t doing this solely out of business ego," Iwata said. "There are some reasons behind it."
Unfortunately this conversation came before Microsoft completely reversed its restrictive digital rights approach, which now leaves Nintendo as the most conservative hardware manufacturer.
http://www.ign.com/a...-region-locking
