Wii U to be region-locked

The Wii U will reportedly be region-locked, continuing Nintendo's history of preventing users from playing games not released in their native region.

The Wii U will reportedly be region-locked, continuing Nintendo's history of preventing users from playing games not released in their native region, according to Famitsu.

According to Famitsu issue number 1242 (translated via NeoGAF), "What can be played on the Wii U is restricted by a region-lock feature; software not sold in the same region cannot be played [on a Wii U sold in that region]."

Both the Wii and 3DS were also region-locked; Nintendo has not released a region-free device since the DS in 2004, although that handheld's successor, the DSi, was region-locked for DSiWare downloadable titles and other DSi-only software.

We've reached out to Nintendo for more details. We'll update this story with any information we receive.