Aussie Pokemon Black and White not region locked, hopes raised

The Australian version of the newest Pokemon games play in Japanese consoles

Weve had the Australian version of Pokemon White for just over a week, but we never thought to play it in one of the Japanese Nintendo DSis we have here. Besides its region locked right?

Well, turns out the Australian version (at least) isnt.

The Australian version of Pokemon White boots not only in our Japanese Nintendo DSi but also our Nintendo 3DS. This is a stark contrast to the Japanese version of Pokemon Black we have, which wont load in our Australian DSi or DSi XL. Sonic Classic Collection, another region locked game we have, wont load in either the Japanese consoles.

This is huge news, not only does this mean that the region locking on Nintendo DSi games is optional, but this optional locking may apply to Nintendo 3DS games as well. Were yet to see any English 3DS games boot on a Japanese console as of yet, they dont exist just yet.

Could this mean we have a Xbox 360-like region locking situation on our hands, one where the publisher decides what is locked and what is not? Its possible, but it could just be that because Pokemon Black and White are so close to release in all regions, everyone is getting the same card and they havent locked it.

Positive news none the less.

Pokemon Black and White is out next week in Australia.