First party region free, VC, No DVD

Nintendo of America Vice President of marketing and corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan confirmed to Wired News that first party Wii games will be region-free, meaning us Australian gamers will be able to play U.S.-coded software without any hassles. She also mentioned the possibility of third party titles being region-free, but said third party publishers have the option to lock their software to specific regions.

During the same interview, Kaplan mentioned that downloaded Virtual Console titles would be tied to a user’s account, so if a mishap occurs (such as your Wii console being stolen) users can easily obtain their purchased VC games on their new Wii. While Nintendo have no plans to release an add-on hard drive, she didn’t rule out the option.

Kaplan confirmed to IGN Wii the rumours of Wii not featuring DVD playback. She said adding DVD playback would increase the cost of the unit, and “”most people already own a DVD player”” therefore Nintendo saw no need for the feature.

Source: IGN Wii