Are digital 3DS games region locked?

Similar to the newer Nintendo 3DS XL, the Nintendo 3DS is region locked. That means that the geographical region in which you buy your Nintendo 3DS is also the region in which you should buy your games.

How do you tell if a 3DS game is region-locked?

Check the game card itself (Nintendo 3DS Games Only)for a code printed on the cartridge label. If the code does not end in "USA," then it is meant for an overseas market.

Are Japanese 3DS games region-locked?

All 3DS XLs are region-locked. Japanese games and European games do not work properly on a North American 3DS XL, if at all.

Are 3DS download codes region-locked?

All Nintendo handhelds except both Nintendo DSi models and the Nintendo 3DS are fully region-free.

Can you play Japanese 3DS games on US 3DS?

To be precise, it's Nintendo DS games that are not region-locked. That means you can get all the Japanese DS games you want* and they'll work without a problem on an American or European 3DS.

3DS region lock confirmed

Can Japanese 3DS play European games?

Can I play Nintendo 3DS software bought outside the PAL region on my Nintendo 3DS? No, this is not possible. A Nintendo 3DS bought in the PAL region only plays software from that region.

How do you break the region-lock on a 3DS?

Are digital codes region locked?

Yes.

Can a hacked 3DS play other region games?

Playing games from other countries that are region-locked

You can play all of your imported games on any console, region free. That's right, you can buy a 3DS game from Japan and run it on your North American device. This will unlock the rest of the 3DS library by modding the device.

Are 3DS games region specific?

Similar to the newer Nintendo 3DS XL, the Nintendo 3DS is region locked. That means that the geographical region in which you buy your Nintendo 3DS is also the region in which you should buy your games.

What 3DS games are region free?

3DS games are region locked on 3DS, the only region free software available is the Louvre's guide. DS games (which are playable on 3DS) are by and large region free, so you can buy any DS game from anywhere and play them on any 3DS machine.

Can Japanese 3DS games be played in English 3DS?

Nintendo 3DS are region locked, so if you bought a Japanese 3DS it will only offer a select number of languages, excluding English. The Switch, however, is not region locked, and you can switch back and forth from Japanese to English as much as you'd like.

Can you change the region on a 3DS game?

Tap Profile. Tap Region Settings. Select the country and tap OK. Select the region and tap OK to return to the profile menu.

Can US 3DS play European games?

Yes. EUR is one big region (PAL) so there's no locking between European countries (Vs. Japan, North America/USA). As long as your local stores are legit, and selling European copies.

Are eShop games region locked?

Nintendo eShop cards are compatible only for the Nintendo eShop country or region where they were intended to be sold. If you purchased a Nintendo eShop prepaid card for a different country or region, we cannot replace it, exchange it, or offer a refund.

How to bypass region lock games?

Proxies. Proxies are the easiest way to bypass geo-restrictions when it comes to viewing locked content. There are many public proxy tools located online that you can easily use to mask your IP address or change it to something else that can get through the block.

Can 3DS detect pirated games?

The way this is carried out is that, like the Switch, 3DS systems will ping Nintendo's servers to authenticate software via a special digital 'ticket'. These are essentially like product keys, except they cannot be forged, thus allowing Nintendo to see if a user is playing a pirated copy of a game or a genuine one.

Is it illegal to pirate 3DS games?

Video game piracy is illegal. Nintendo opposes those who benefit and trade off the creative work of game developers, artists, animators, musicians, motion capture artists and others.

Are digital 3DS games tied to account?

For the Nintendo 3DS, eShop downloads are tied to a Nintendo account connected to a player's system and saved to their SD card.

Why are digital games region locked?

Originally Answered: Why is region locking still a thing? It's because of price discrimination. Steam, for example, used to have all its prices in USD, and no games were region locked. Then they switched to regional currencies for price discrimination reasons.

Can a VPN bypass region lock?

Luckily, there's an easy way to get around geo-blocking: connect to a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs work by routing your traffic through a server in another country. This hides your real IP address — which is often used to determine your location — and replaces it with a temporary, country-specific IP address.

Do Nintendo game codes work internationally?

Nintendo Switch Online membership codes are specific to a particular region, which means they can only be redeemed on systems and/or Nintendo Accounts that are set to that same region. Codes purchased for use in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico can only be used with a Nintendo Account set to one of those three countries.

Why are 3DS games region locked?

Region locking enables Nintendo to include parental controls and more efficiently deliver region-specific system and menu updates to users. In order to make the process convenient for users, we will be as flexible as possible with how we define each region. For example, Europe is being defined as one region.

Can you get your 3DS banned?

You will likely get banned from accessing the eShop and game servers. But the ban only applies to the offending 3DS - it's a console ban. I recommend having a second unhacked 3DS on hand so that you don't lose your online privileges on that system.

Can you switch a 3DS from Japanese to English?

Select the System Settings icon on the HOME Menu (looks like a wrench), and tap Open. Tap Other Settings in the lower-right corner. For the original Nintendo 3DS family systems, tap 4 at the top of the screen. For the New Nintendo 3DS family systems, tap 5 at the top of the screen.