Put away those pre-orders, fans outside of Japan, unless you plan to only play Japanese games on the New 3DS coming out later this year. There’s been a rumor going around that the New Nintendo 3DS won’t be region-locked, and while it’s only been a rumor heard on, say, convention room floors (*cough*), you may have inadvertently heard it or been one of the folks to spread it around.
The official word is that the rumor is false. The new consoles will be region-locked, as it wouldn’t make sense to do otherwise considering its ongoing region locking with the Wii U and 3DS. If Nintendo ever does decide to change this policy with their hardware, doubtless it will come with a major announcement and some slick reasoning as to why (and some cool features… you know how it is).
So, unless you’re one of those keen importers who collects Nintendo handhelds, or someone who’s okay with only importing and playing Japanese games on it, go ahead and cancel the pre-order. We’ll all just have to wait a little while longer for our new shinys.
