Nope, Famitsu wasn’t crazy. The Wii U really will be region-locked.
Nintendo UK was able to confirm to Eurogamer that this is in fact the case. So if you have a US Wii U and wish to play a Japanese game, you’ll need a separate Japanese console to play it.
Individual formats
– 1 BORDERLANDS 2 XB360 2K GAMES TAKE 2
– 2 BORDERLANDS 2 PS3 2K GAMES TAKE 2
– 3 F1 2012 XB360 CODEMASTERS CODEMASTERS
– 4 F1 2012 PS3 CODEMASTERS CODEMASTERS
– 5 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2013 PS3 KONAMI KONAMI
– 6 BORDERLANDS 2 PC 2K GAMES TAKE 2
1 7 SLEEPING DOGS XB360 SQUARE ENIX SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
– 8 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2013 XB360 KONAMI KONAMI
2 9 SLEEPING DOGS PS3 SQUARE ENIX SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
– 10 LITTLEBIGPLANET PS VITA VITA SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.
3 11 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 3DS NINTENDO NINTENDO
7 12 GUILD WARS 2 PC NCSOFT EUROPE NCSOFT EUROPE
4 13 TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2 PS3 NAMCO BANDAI GAMES NAMCO BANDAI GAMES
5 14 THE SIMS 3: SUPERNATURAL PC EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
9 15 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES XB360 WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
10 16 DEAD ISLAND GOTY EDITION XB360 DEEP SILVER KOCH MEDIA
8 17 LONDON 2012: THE OFFICIAL VIDEO GAME XB360 SEGA SEGA
6 18 TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2 XB360 NAMCO BANDAI GAMES NAMCO BANDAI GAMES
19 19 MAX PAYNE 3 PS3 ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
17 20 MAX PAYNE 3 XB360 ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
25 21 FORZA MOTORSPORT 4 XB360 MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
38 22 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM XB360 BETHESDA SOFTWORKS BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
11 23 LONDON 2012: THE OFFICIAL VIDEO GAME PS3 SEGA SEGA
14 24 MARIO & SONIC LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES WII SEGA SEGA
22 25 SUPER MARIO 3D LAND 3DS NINTENDO NINTENDO
– 26 ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS PS3 NAMCO BANDAI GAMES NAMCO BANDAI GAMES
12 27 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES PS3 WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
26 28 MOSHI MONSTERS: MOSHLING ZOO DS MIND CANDY MIND CANDY
23 29 MARIO KART 7 3DS NINTENDO NINTENDO
21 30 DEAD ISLAND GOTY EDITION PS3 DEEP SILVER KOCH MEDIA
30 31 THE SIMS 3 PC EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
18 32 TOM CLANCY’S GHOST RECON: FUTURE SOLDIER XB360 UBISOFT UBISOFT
– 33 DIRT SHOWDOWN XB360 CODEMASTERS CODEMASTERS
32 34 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2012 PC SEGA SEGA
15 35 MADDEN NFL 13 XB360 EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
– 36 SKYLANDERS: SPYRO’S ADVENTURE WII SKYLANDERS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
31 37 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WII WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
– 38 LEGO HARRY POTTER: YEARS 5-7 XB360 WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
39 39 BATTLEFIELD 3 XB360 EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
36 40 GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY XB360 ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
All formats
– 1 BORDERLANDS 2 GEARBOX SOFTWARE 2K GAMES TAKE 2
– 2 F1 2012 CODEMASTERS BIRMINGHAM CODEMASTERS CODEMASTERS
– 3 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2013 KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT KONAMI KONAMI
1 4 SLEEPING DOGS UNITED FRONT GAMES SQUARE ENIX SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
3 5 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES TRAVELLER’S TALES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
– 6 LITTLEBIGPLANET PS VITA TARSIER/DOUBLE ELEVEN SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.
4 7 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
2 8 TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2 NAMCO NAMCO BANDAI GAMES NAMCO BANDAI GAMES
7 9 GUILD WARS 2 ARENANET NCSOFT EUROPE NCSOFT EUROPE
10 10 MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR VANCOUVER ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
5 11 LONDON 2012: THE OFFICIAL VIDEO GAME SEGA STUDIOS AUSTRALIA SEGA SEGA
8 12 DEAD ISLAND GOTY EDITION TECHLAND DEEP SILVER KOCH MEDIA
21 13 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM BETHESDA BETHESDA SOFTWORKS BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
12 14 LEGO HARRY POTTER: YEARS 5-7 TRAVELLER’S TALES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
13 15 MARIO & SONIC LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES SEGA SEGA SEGA
6 16 THE SIMS 3: SUPERNATURAL THE SIMS STUDIO EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
27 17 SKYLANDERS: SPYRO’S ADVENTURE TOYS FOR BOB SKYLANDERS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
15 18 TOM CLANCY’S GHOST RECON: FUTURE SOLDIER UBISOFT (FRANCE) UBISOFT UBISOFT
11 19 MADDEN NFL 13 EA TIBURON EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
40 20 DIRT SHOWDOWN CODEMASTERS CODEMASTERS CODEMASTERS
35 21 FORZA MOTORSPORT 4 TURN 10 STUDIOS MICROSOFT MICROSOFT
18 22 THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BEENOX ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
14 23 CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3 INFINITY WARD/SLEDGEHAMMER ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
– 24 UDRAW STUDIO: INSTANT ARTIST PIPEWORKS THQ THQ
23 25 BATTLEFIELD 3 DIGITAL ILLUSIONS EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
24 26 THE SIMS 3 THE SIMS STUDIO EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
22 27 BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY ROCKSTEADY STUDIOS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
26 28 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS TREYARCH XBOX 360 CLASSICS ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
36 29 BATTLEFIELD 3 PREMIUM DIGITAL ILLUSIONS EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
17 30 DARKSIDERS II VIGIL GAMES THQ THQ
19 31 FIFA 12 EA CANADA EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
33 32 SUPER MARIO 3D LAND NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
29 33 GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY ROCKSTAR NORTH ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
– 34 ONE PIECE: PIRATE WARRIORS OMEGA FORCE NAMCO BANDAI GAMES NAMCO BANDAI GAMES
20 35 SNIPER ELITE V2 REBELLION 505 GAMES 505 GAMES
9 36 NHL 13 EA CANADA EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
25 37 TRANSFORMERS: FALL OF CYBERTRON HIGH MOON STUDIOS ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
28 38 SONIC GENERATIONS SONIC TEAM SEGA SEGA
32 39 ASSASSIN’S CREED: REVELATIONS UBISOFT (MONTREAL) XBOX 360 CLASSICS UBISOFT
– 40 MOSHI MONSTERS: MOSHLING ZOO BLACK LANTERN MIND CANDY MIND CANDY
Source: Chart-Track
During the Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix shared a few details on the Wii U version of Dragon Quest X. It looks like it’ll be essentially the same as the Wii game, but it will have some slight alterations such as additional characters on screen.
Read on below for the full roundup of information.
– Wii/Wii U versions share the same servers
– There are no changes to the system or content
– More characters are shown on Wii U
– Can transfer Wii account to Wii U
– Can play on Wii and Wii U without an additional monthly payment
– Square Enix looking into the possibility of having Wii characters play in the beta test
– If they do, there will probably be restrictions
– New players on Wii U will be given priority instead of existing accounts
– Dev. team has progressed enough to show offline parts on Wii U
– Online section being finished up
– Transfer data from Wii U beta to the full release
According to a Famitsu report, Wii U will be region-locked. This will likely be the case given how Nintendo approached the situation with the Wii and 3DS.
The publication wrote in a recent issue:
“What can be played on the Wii U is restricted by a region-lock feature; software not sold in the same region cannot be played.”
Alright Nintendo… this means you can’t take forever to localize games like Xenoblade!
Thanks to 4Him for the tip.
Ecco the Dolphin has been dormant for many, many years. More than a decade later, it looks like there’s a chance that it could be making a return.
Ed Annunziata, the creator of the series, has expressed interest in returning to the IP.
Annunziata posted the following on Twitter a few days ago:
Ecco fans, I need you to follow & tweethank @scottfoe, he convinced SEGA to meet with me now chances of a new Ecco the Dolphin x100!
— ed annunziata (@edannunziata) September 19, 2012
For those wondering, Scott Foe was with SEGA when the Dreamcast was out on the market. As shown in the tweet above, it was Foe who apparently encouraged SEGA to meet with Annunziata about a revival.
If SEGA does approve a return to Ecco the Dolphin, composer Spencer Nilsen could be involved. Annunziata wrote on Twitter that Nilsen “is on board”, but it isn’t entirely clear if SEGA has officially given the go-ahead just yet.
The full listing of Japan Game Awards 2012 winners were announced during the Tokyo Game Show over the weekend. For the entire list, read on below.
Grand Award
Gravity Rush
Game Designers Award
Journey
Award for Excellence
Gravity Rush
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Super Mario 3D Land
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Dark Souls
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Mario Kart 7
Monster Hunter Tri G
One Piece: Pirate Warriors
Special Award
Touch Detective: Nameko Saibai Kit
Best Sales Award
Mario Kart 7
Global Award Japanese Product
Pokemon Black/White
Global Award Foreig Division
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award
Nintendo 3DS Development Team
Future Division Winners
Ace Attorney 5
God Eater 2
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle
Soul Sacrifice
Tales of Xillia 2
Resident Evil 6
Fantasy Life
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Monster Hunter 4
Yakuza 5
