The Wii U to be Region-Locked
While speaking with CVG, Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii U will be region-locked, making sure that games sold in one specific region can only play games made for that region.
This comes off as a questionable move. Sure, it’s nice to have more options. If a gamer in North America wants to play a European or Japanese game, it’s nice to be able to put in an order and get one overseas. But one has to think about Nintendo’s fanbase, as they seem to be — at the very least — more interested in seeing what the East has to offer in terms of games. One would think that a region-free Wii U would cater to such consumers.
Microsoft and Sony currently have different policies on region-locking. Though the 360 is not region-free, Microsoft leaves it up to the publishers to decide whether they want their games to be region-locked or not. Meanwhile, all PS3 games that have been released since 2006 are region-free.
Though the Wii was a worldwide success, one can’t help but think of the parallels between the Wii U and its predecessor. The fact that, in some ways, Nintendo will be region-locking the Wii U makes me think of other things that may go unchanged. Online play immediately comes to mind, as detailed by Polygon’s Chris Grant.
[Source: Joystiq]
Thank Nintendo for Bayonetta 2
Platinum Games’ executive director, Atsushi Inaba, recently spoke with Polygon about Bayonetta 2. It turns out Platinum Games wanted a good, supportive publishers if they were going to make Bayonetta 2, and that publisher just so happened to be Nintendo.
We can’t help but think of the time we saw our ex at the mall with her new boyfriend. You know. The one who treated her better than we ever did and bought her nice things. With all the outrage regarding the game being exclusive to the Wii U, it’s hard to get mad about things like this. Isn’t it? Just be happy they found each other.
[Source: The Verge]
PopCa Dublin Shuts its Doors
96 people in Dublin have just lost their jobs due to the closing of PopCap Dublin. The studio was mostly in charge of localization, mobile development, sales, and marketing, Unemployment is just the worst (Believe us; we know), but the bright side is that affected staff will be given support and many people who were let go have offers from different parts of PopCap and EA.
Last month, when PopCap laid off 50 North American employees, PopCap co-founder John Vechey noted that since :free-to-play, social, and mobile games have exploded in popularity” so quickly, they would have to change the way they spent money and did business. Since sales and marketing are two of the functions of PopCap Dublin (and since localization and mobile development are important), one would expect to see a change in how PopCap markets their games in Europe due to this closing.
[Source: Eurogamer]
Saints Row: The Third gets the GOTY Edition Treatment
And rightfully so! Saints Row: The Third will be getting a compilation disc which will include every piece of DLC that has been released for the game. On top of the fact that there’s buttloads of DLC for the game, Saints Row: The Third is also a masterpiece. At $50, this should be a no-brainer — especially if you haven’t played it yet.
Saints Row: The Third — The Full Package will be released in North America on November 6th and will be made available worldwide on the 9th.
[Source: Joystiq]
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