Nintendo DSi region-locking confusing, catching people unware

More games are being region-locked on the DSi, and theyre not even featuring DSi-specific functions

We all knew the Nintendo DSi has a passive ability of region locking. While all ‘normal’ Nintendo DS games have been region-free, there is a worrying trend out there of more and more DSi games being region-locked. Before we go any further, let’s go over some history.

The Nintendo DSi and DSi XL can play any Nintendo DS game out there on the market, now I say ’Nintendo DS game’ because there are some ‘DSi-enhanced’ and ‘DSi-exclusive’ games out there. The number of DSi-exclusive games you can count on one hand, they’re packaged differently and so aren’t a problem. It’s these elusive DSi-enhanced games that are now the problem.

While they identify themselves as having ’DSi-enhanced features’, nowhere on the cases, manuals or cards do they mention they’re region-locked. The second issue is that now some DS games are being released with no DSi enhancements whatsoever, but are still being region-locked. There is, however, a warning on one particular game so far that has enhancements.

All DS games, though, have product codes beginning with NTR, whereas codes of DSi-enhanced and DSi-exclusive games begin with TWL. But this doesn’t help when the cards are on the inside of the packaging.

Let’s take a look:

Example 1 – Classic Word Games
Labelled as DSi-enhanced: Yes
Has DSi-exclusive features: Yes (camera)
Region-locked: Yes
Warning about being locked: No

Example 2 – Sonic Classic Collection
Labelled as DSi-enhanced: No
Has DSi-exclusive features: Unconfirmed but likely no.
Region-locked: Yes
Warning about being locked: Yes

Picture thanks to Infernal Monkey

So why are publishers doing this? Does DSi enhancement go hand-in-hand with region-locking as per Nintendo regulation? If so, then what constitutes a DSi-enhanced game? We’ve asked Sega and Ubisoft to clarify just exactly what they’re up to.

So what does Nintendo have to say about this? Well their position is clear – it says so on your DSi or DSi XL box. No Nintendo games, as of yet though, have been region-locked.

Our Theory

We here at Vooks think it basically boils down to anti-piracy getting a boost. We checked though and there are “DSi roms” online, and from what we can gather, they seem to work some of the time. So what’s the end benefit here for consumers? Perhaps putting your face on your profile in a game is neat, but on games that don’t have any DSi-exclusive features, it’s just plain region-locking.

Region-locking sucks. In fact, it’s illegal in Australia for DVD players to be sold without the ablity to be unlocked. So why isn’t this the same for gaming consoles?