5th Gen English games have no region codes

Started by Hiroshi Sotomura March 4th, 2011 4:43 AM
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  • 31 replies

ShinyMeowth

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Age 26
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Greece
Seen March 23rd, 2012
Posted May 14th, 2011
397 posts
12.4 Years
Region-locking is a very cheap and ridiculous trick. I have a friend who moved from Japan to the US, and his wii could not play any games he bought there. I am glad my cartridges are clean.

Shiny ★ Meowth

Ho-Oh

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Age 31
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QLD, Australia
Seen June 5th, 2022
Posted April 23rd, 2022
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17.5 Years
Wait... does this mean that Black and White won't work on an older DS?
Nope, it'll still work on an older DS, but it just refers to the fact that on the DSi, no matter what region your games were from, you can still play them on it.
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Interesting development, it would have been nice though if the original Jp versions weren't region locked as I had friends who wanted to import the JP one's but couldn't as they had a American DSI and would have gone to the trouble of buying a JP DSI...
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This is GREAT! for me! Now I won't hesitate to get a British version of Pokemon Black. OMG! *Squeels* But I still have to wait a while until I actually get it to me here in Lagos. But yes! God is GOOD! :D
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Sora's Nobody

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Are you sure the English BW games are region-free? I contacted a pretty famous danish website who sell games, the person had no idea on how to find out if they were region locked, so i asked her to look at the back and tell me if it said TWL- and then something. She said yes their was. As far as i know Denmark get their shipment from the UK as the game is in english.

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Seen July 23rd, 2017
Posted June 9th, 2017
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14.8 Years
This thread might need to be retitled to "English games region-free/not region-locked"...on first glance, I thought that the English Black and White Version cartridges literally had no region(s) on them - as in, the entire Unova region was somehow missing. Thankfully, that was not the case. >_>

Region-locking is a very cheap and ridiculous trick. I have a friend who moved from Japan to the US, and his wii could not play any games he bought there. I am glad my cartridges are clean.
Oh that sucks. :( The only "use" I can see for region-locking is controlling the gaming economy of different countries somehow...but overall, I think it's just a stupid idea, especially if it can be implemented at the discretion of publishers rather than being a hardware/software limitation. :cer_pissed:

Anyway, this "region-free" development doesn't really affect me as I don't import games, but I'm glad that other players will benefit from it.
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ShinyMeowth

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Age 26
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Seen March 23rd, 2012
Posted May 14th, 2011
397 posts
12.4 Years
This thread might need to be retitled to "English games region-free/not region-locked"...on first glance, I thought that the English Black and White Version cartridges literally had no region(s) on them - as in, the entire Unova region was somehow missing. Thankfully, that was not the case. >_>



Oh that sucks. :( The only "use" I can see for region-locking is controlling the gaming economy of different countries somehow...but overall, I think it's just a stupid idea, especially if it can be implemented at the discretion of publishers rather than being a hardware/software limitation. :cer_pissed:

Anyway, this "region-free" development doesn't really affect me as I don't import games, but I'm glad that other players will benefit from it.
Yes, it is all about controlling he gaming economy. And where has this led us? From what I have read and seen (as in pre-order prices in some major Greek retailers' websites), the 3DS is going to be 270 euros in Greece, while in the US it is going to be 250 dollars. "A difference of just 20? Big deal" you may think, but look again, it's a different currency. 270 euros is 377 dollars. We get the 3DS for ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY SEVEN DOLLARS MORE THAN THE US. Plus, with region-locking most games we get here won't work with an American 3DS. So we basically have to suck it up and pay the 270 euros instead of importing one. We get to pay 1.5 times its price just for living here. Do you still have any faith in region-locking?

Shiny ★ Meowth

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Seen March 12th, 2011
Posted March 9th, 2011
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14 Years
One site got review copies of both games, but only White seemed to be playable on their non-(insert native region here) DSi. I can't remember what site it was, but eh. Maybe the region locks are defective on certain versions/copies?

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j2y8n2x

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Seen March 20th, 2011
Posted March 20th, 2011
89 posts
12.2 Years
Region-locking is a very cheap and ridiculous trick. I have a friend who moved from Japan to the US, and his wii could not play any games he bought there. I am glad my cartridges are clean.
I agree...Pokemon games shouldn't be region locked, since it's such an international game.

I'm glad that most of my friends and I went for Japanese DSL's though, that means the English copy would work on our consoles.
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Betwixt Hither and Thither
Seen November 26th, 2021
Posted November 30th, 2011
426 posts
13.2 Years
Pokemon Black and White are DSi-enhanced, but that also means that there are regional lockouts on certain versions. For the past 3 days, I have been trying to find information on which versions work on which system. Please post here to compile a list of which carts work in which systems. We will organize it by the game cartridges. Post as you test different versions in different systems.

Two important notes:
1. Do not, under any circumstances, use this thread to talk about emulators, roms, or those cards that allow you play pirated copies through microSD cards. This is for official game carts and official systems only.

2. The original DS and DS Lite do not have region locking. Every DS and DS Lite will play any region's version, so there is no need to post on it.

Japanese Game Cartridges
North American Systems: X
Australian Systems: X
European Systems: X
Korean Systems: X

North American Game Cartridges
Japanese Systems: O
Australian Systems: ??
European Systems: ??
Korean Systems: ??

Australian Game Cartridges
Japanese Systems: O
North American Systems: ??
European Systems: ??
Korean Systems: ??

European Game Cartridges
Japanese Systems: ??
North American Systems: ??
Australian Systems: ??
Korean Systems: ??

Korean Game Cartridges
Japanese Systems: ??
North American Systems: ??
Australian Systems: ??
European Systems: ??
Currently Playing Pokémon White, and loving it

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Ho-Oh

used Sacred Fire!

Age 31
Female
QLD, Australia
Seen June 5th, 2022
Posted April 23rd, 2022
35,988 posts
17.5 Years
Pokemon Black and White are DSi-enhanced, but that also means that there are regional lockouts on certain versions. For the past 3 days, I have been trying to find information on which versions work on which system. Please post here to compile a list of which carts work in which systems. We will organize it by the game cartridges. Post as you test different versions in different systems.

Two important notes:
1. Do not, under any circumstances, use this thread to talk about emulators, roms, or those cards that allow you play pirated copies through microSD cards. This is for official game carts and official systems only.

2. The original DS and DS Lite do not have region locking. Every DS and DS Lite will play any region's version, so there is no need to post on it.

Japanese Game Cartridges
North American Systems: X
Australian Systems: X
European Systems: X
Korean Systems: X

North American Game Cartridges
Japanese Systems: O
Australian Systems: ??
European Systems: ??
Korean Systems: ??

Australian Game Cartridges
Japanese Systems: O
North American Systems: ??
European Systems: ??
Korean Systems: ??

European Game Cartridges
Japanese Systems: ??
North American Systems: ??
Australian Systems: ??
Korean Systems: ??

Korean Game Cartridges
Japanese Systems: ??
North American Systems: ??
Australian Systems: ??
European Systems: ??
This is covered by the region codes thread, though your list can come in handy. :x

Legendary Silke

You like dragons?

Seen December 23rd, 2021
Posted April 22nd, 2020
5,925 posts
12.5 Years
Also, I'll have to make a point now - I heard that Aus/NZ's something. The firmware is A, in case it helps. Just saying. And apparently, the German version did work on someone's Japanese DSi. What would you say about that?
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Betwixt Hither and Thither
Seen November 26th, 2021
Posted November 30th, 2011
426 posts
13.2 Years
And I've read (unconfirmed) reports saying that North American carts don't work in Au/NZ systems. At least, that's what the import sites are warning.
Currently Playing Pokémon White, and loving it

My showcase thread, featuring Fakemon (like a Pachirisu evolution and Legendary Unown), new types (Light
and Glass), and new items.

Legendary Silke

You like dragons?

Seen December 23rd, 2021
Posted April 22nd, 2020
5,925 posts
12.5 Years
And I've read (unconfirmed) reports saying that North American carts don't work in Au/NZ systems. At least, that's what the import sites are warning.
Import sites? If it's a seller, ignore them - apparently, some of them are wrong.
Male
Sydney, Australia
Seen April 17th, 2011
Posted April 16th, 2011
2 posts
12.1 Years
Have just ordered an american 3ds as well as the australian copy of the game, the code on the game is TWL P IRAO (may come in handy)
aussie (and supposedly all english versions) should be region-free. will test this one out when the shipping comes together, n let you guys know.

blue

gucci

Male
United Kingdom
Seen September 26th, 2021
Posted August 7th, 2019
21,056 posts
15.4 Years
D/P/PT had region codes, I expected B/W to aswell, ah well that's good news!

The Nightmare

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Age 24
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The Nightmare world
Seen September 9th, 2014
Posted December 22nd, 2012
589 posts
12.2 Years
Wait... does this mean that Black and White won't work on an older DS?
It does work on the older ds, I played black on my ds original and played on the internet it will work but if the new ones come out then it won't work because it's in 3Ds or other consoles.




Male
Sydney, Australia
Seen April 17th, 2011
Posted April 16th, 2011
2 posts
12.1 Years
Have just ordered an american 3ds as well as the australian copy of the game, the code on the game is TWL P IRAO (may come in handy)
aussie (and supposedly all english versions) should be region-free. will test this one out when the shipping comes together, n let you guys know.
here to confirm in all certainty that the australian version of black/white is indeed region-free; it works on the US 3DS. reportedly, it works on japanese consoles, and ill bet it works on any other console too.

i suspect it's because australia currently sells at the highest price, so if nintendo's motive is price control, its region-free characteristic certainly reflects that.
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