Nintendo
Games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) are region-locked. The regions are:
- NTSC (North America)
- PAL-A (United Kingdom and Italy)
- PAL-B (other European countries)
A game's region is recognized by the console using the 10NES chip. If the chip inside cartridge conflicts with the chip inside console, the game will not boot. Famicom, which sold in Japan does not contain a 10NES chip, but cartridges for Famicom are different shape than NES ones. However, the redesigned Famicom/NES console released in the 1990s lacks the 10NES chip, and can play any regional cartridges due to a different, top-loading slot design.
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) hardware is not region-locked in North America. Removing the plastic tabs at the bottom of the cartridge slot in North American units will allow insertion of the Japanese Super Famicom and PAL SNES identical cartridges and they will run. Box-shaped cartridges sold in North America, are of a different shape than Japanese or PAL ones, and will not fit inside either region's slightly smaller and rounded cartridge slot. Super Famicom cartridges will not run on PAL region SNES consoles, and vice-versa. Regional-locks could be by-passed using special cartridge adapters, but these were unlicensed products.
The Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, and Wii are all region-locked. The regions are:
- NTSC-U (North America, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines)
- PAL (Europe and Oceania)
- NTSC-J (Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan)
- South Korea
Regional-locks could be by-passed using special cartridge adapters for the Nintendo 64 and loading discs for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii, but these were unlicensed products. However, in the case of the Wii, its system software's 3.3 firmware update and newer removed the ability for such loading discs to be read. Another method of breaking regional-locks is through physical modding of the consoles themselves, but this method also encouraged illegal piracy.
The entire portable Game Boy line of consoles were never region-locked.
The first model of the Nintendo DS, as well as its lighter variant, are not region-locked. Its redesign, called Nintendo DSi, is region-locked, but only in terms of its downloadable games. Physical Nintendo DS game cards will play on it regardless of region or origin, though DSi-only and DSi-enhanced games are region-locked. In China, the iQue Ltd and Nintendo released iQue DS series which are the Chinese branded versions of Nintendo DS series. The iQue DS system itself has no region locking, but the original iQue DS software cannot be played on the Nintendo DS system.
All Nintendo 3DS hardware and software is region-locked, however original Nintendo DS physical game cards and software, including iQue DS software, is not affected due to console's legacy emulation of the Nintendo DSi hardware.
The upcoming Wii U will also be region-locked.
Read more about this topic: Regional Lockout, Video Games