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Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 12:58
by WoolyBadBaba
Hi guys

Is the Nintendo Wii region-locked? My sister wants one, and my mum's in the U.S at the moment, and it's really cheap there. If we get one there, would games bought locally work on it? Or would it need some sort of firmware hack ?

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 13:36
by Stuart
GamesIndustry wrote:Nintendo UK has admitted that the Wii console is region-locked after all, despite comments from Nintendo of America to the contrary.
Wii Definitely Region Locked

Wii not even remotely region-free

Nintendo Wii Region-Locked

^^ Apparently.

Edit: You could always ask here just to be sure. ;)

Edit2: If you need an experienced opinion, PM Larch.

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 14:06
by WoolyBadBaba
Thanks Stu...I had googled, but I also seem to find some conflicting articles stating that it itsn't region-free in some countries. seems like the general consensus is yes, though. It's so annoying, especially since there's a special that includes an extra controller and game...and it works out to about R1500. Ah well...

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 14:11
by Stuart
I'd PM larch or someone just to check. He is a big Wii fan, so he'll know all the ins and outs for sure.

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 14:46
by WoolyBadBaba
ok thanks

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 15:10
by StarBound
I dont know the reason behind our over priced wii's especially now that both xbox 360 and ps3 are dropping like flies. Internationally Nintendo isnt dropping the wii's prices so it seems somewhere someone is milking it.

ONLY get a wii if you really want the games thats on it. If your expecting pc title ports then either go xbox or ps3.

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 16:53
by DAE_JA_VOO
It's definitely region locked. My girlfriend (who's a Canadian) brought her Wii over to SA with her when she moved here, and there were a number of incompatibilities - the power, the games, etc.

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 16:59
by Stuart
Surely you can just use a converter for the power? It would be the games that would be a schlep, unless you plan on importing titles you want all the time.

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 21:15
by StarBound
Power converter you can do. Most TVs support 60hz so no issues there. Games you will need to import and sites like take2 will be able to do that.

I think that USA games might be a bit cheaper than the UK imports. But games in SA are doing a strange trend. Its cheaper.

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 23:20
by DAE_JA_VOO
Yeah, they need to use some kind of a transformer for their Wii. That's not the issue though; the games here just don't work.

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 01:11
by NealeDeadlyAlien
I brought my Wii back from the UK which works wonders, but I assume it is because we are both PAL regions.

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 08:12
by garp
NealeDeadlyAlien wrote:I brought my Wii back from the UK which works wonders, but I assume it is because we are both PAL regions.
Cause South Africa and the UK both use region 2, to be more specific :)

Re: Wii region locked?

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 20:46
by NealeDeadlyAlien
garp wrote:
NealeDeadlyAlien wrote:I brought my Wii back from the UK which works wonders, but I assume it is because we are both PAL regions.
Cause South Africa and the UK both use region 2, to be more specific :)
Yeah thought so lol. :lol: