Software regions are regions used for the purposes of region-locking and digital content distribution by Nintendo for some of their consoles. Region-locking is used in all systems in the Nintendo DSi family and the Nintendo 3DS family and all Nintendo home consoles prior to the Nintendo Switch.
Most markets only retail one region of system and games, to prevent consumers accidentally purchasing games that are not compatible with their own system. However, in some locations, notably the Middle East and Southeast Asia, multiple different regions of system are retailed.
Software regions are used to prevent physical copies of games being played on systems of a different region. This means that, for example, a Japanese region copy of Pokémon X cannot be played on an American region Nintendo 3DS system (without modifications to the 3DS).
Game Boy and Game Boy Color
The Game Boy and Game Boy Color families are not region-locked. However, Japanese Pokémon games for these consoles cannot properly communicate with games in any other languages; attempting to do so can cause corruption on both ends of the link.
Special event distributions for the Generation I and II games are only restricted by the inability of Japanese events to be received by games in other languages, and events in other languages cannot be received by Japanese games.
Game Boy Advance
The Game Boy Advance family is not region-locked.
Special event distributions for the Generation III games are restricted by language, rather than region.
Nintendo DS and DSi
The Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite are not region-locked, with the exception of the iQue DS, which can play Nintendo DS games, but its games cannot be played on other region systems.
There are five regions for the Nintendo DSi family, as well as one for the iQue DSi (the equivalent of the Nintendo DSi in mainland China). Each region has an associated letter used to represent it, which can be found at the end of the Nintendo DSi firmware version number. The regions do not have publicly known official names, so the names used for the regions on Bulbapedia are purely descriptive.
Region-locking does not apply to Nintendo DS games, which can be played regardless of region, but does apply to Nintendo DSi-enhanced and DSi-exclusive games. It also does not apply to DSi-enhanced games when played on an original Nintendo DS, because region-locking on the Nintendo DSi is merely a software restriction and not a technical one.
Regions are also used to restrict the list of countries that can selected from when choosing the country for the Nintendo DSi Shop. This means that American region systems cannot select Japan as their home country.
Regions
| Code | Name | Primary markets |
|---|---|---|
| JPN | Japanese region | Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong |
| USA | American region | The Americas |
| EUR | European region | Europe, South Africa, Russia |
| AUS | Australian region | Australia, New Zealand |
| KOR | Korean region | South Korea |
| CHN | Chinese region | Mainland China |
Games
Due to region-locking, some Nintendo DSi-enhanced and DSi-exclusive games cannot be played on all Nintendo DSi systems. The Japanese, American, European and Australian regions dominate the other regions in the number of available games.
Below is a list of Nintendo DSi-enhanced Pokémon games, indicating whether they were released for each market of Nintendo DSi. Certain versions of Nintendo DSi-enhanced Pokémon games can be played with hardware from other markets, however.
At minimum, the English versions of Pokémon Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 can be played on hardware from many markets, and the American and Australian versions of Pokémon Conquest are compatible with hardware from each other's market.
Distributions
Special event distributions for the Generation IV and V games are restricted by language, rather than region.
Nintendo 3DS
There are five regions for the Nintendo 3DS family, as well as one for the iQue 3DS XL (the equivalent of the Nintendo 3DS XL in mainland China). Each region has an associated letter used to represent it, which can be found at the end of the Nintendo 3DS firmware version number. The regions do not have publicly known official names, so the names used for the regions on Bulbapedia are purely descriptive.
Region-locking does not apply to backwards compatibility with Nintendo DS games, but does apply to Nintendo DSi-enhanced and DSi-exclusive games. Since the European and Australian regions were recombined, PAL region European / Australian 3DS consoles may support more games than DSi consoles from the same market. Region-locking is merely a software restriction and not a technical one, as fans have created hacks that allow region-locking to be bypassed.
Regions are also used to restrict the list of countries that can selected from when choosing the country for the Nintendo eShop. This means that American region systems cannot select Japan as their home country.
The Nintendo 3DS Theme Shop and its contents are also restricted by region. Only Japanese, American, and PAL region systems have access to the Theme Shop (other regions do not have changeable themes at all).
Regions
| Code | Name | Primary markets |
|---|---|---|
| JPN | Japanese region | Japan |
| USA | American region | The Americas, U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore |
| EUR | PAL region | Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia |
| KOR | Korean region | South Korea |
| TWN | Taiwanese region | Taiwan, Hong Kong |
| CHN | Chinese region | Mainland China |
Games
Due to region-locking, some Nintendo 3DS games cannot be played on all Nintendo 3DS systems due to not being released for some regions. The Japanese, American and European regions dominate the other regions in the number of available games. However, despite region-locking, other features may still access games of any region (even if they cannot be played on that system). For main series games this includes communicating with Pokémon Bank, reading the game's manual, and transferring save data with the Save Data Transfer Tool.
Certain games released for the Taiwanese region that also support Simplified Chinese are also compatible with Chinese region consoles.
Below is a list of Nintendo 3DS Pokémon games, indicating whether they can be played on each region of Nintendo 3DS. Games marked with a gray box have not been were not released in Mainland China, but can be played using physical cartridges from the Taiwanese region.
Virtual Console
Distributions
Special event distributions for the Generation VI and VII games are restricted by region for Nintendo Zone, serial code, and Nintendo Network distributions. Local wireless and infrared distributions are not region-locked.
Events in Hong Kong and Taiwan are generally made available for Taiwanese, Japanese, and PAL region systems.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
There are three regions for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The regions do not have publicly known official names, so the names used for the regions on Bulbapedia are purely descriptive.
Region-locking on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System between NTSC regions is merely a physical restriction and not a technical one. It is possible to remove plastic tabs from an American region system so that it can play both Japanese and American region games; however, because American region game cartridges are larger than Japanese region ones, they do not fit in the Japanese region Super Famicom and so cannot be played on it without removing the console's top shell.
Conversely, due to PAL and NTSC games using different video standards, PAL games cannot be played on NTSC systems due to technical limitations, and vice versa.
Regions
| Code | Name | Primary markets | Television system |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN | Japanese region | Japan | NTSC |
| USA | American region | The Americas | NTSC |
| EUR | PAL region | Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia | PAL |
Games
Due to region-locking, some SNES games cannot be played on all SNES systems due to not being released for some regions.
Below is a list of SNES Pokémon games, indicating whether they can be played on each region of SNES.
Nintendo 64
There are three regions for the Nintendo 64, as well as one for the iQue Player (the equivalent of the Nintendo 64 in mainland China). The regions do not have publicly known official names, so the names used for the regions on Bulbapedia are purely descriptive.
Region-locking on the Nintendo 64 between NTSC regions is merely a physical restriction and not a technical one; the difference is the position of tabs on the back of cartridges and the corresponding game port on the console itself. It is possible to remove plastic tabs from an NTSC system so that it can play NTSC games from both regions. However, due to PAL and NTSC games using different video standards, PAL games cannot be played on NTSC systems due to technical limitations, and vice versa.
Regions
| Code | Name | Primary markets | Television system |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN | Japanese region | Japan | NTSC |
| USA | American region | The Americas | NTSC |
| EUR | PAL region | Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia | PAL |
| CHN | Chinese region | Mainland China | PAL |
Games
Due to region-locking, some Nintendo 64 games cannot be played on all Nintendo 64 systems due to not being released for some regions.
Below is a list of Nintendo 64 Pokémon games, indicating whether they can be played on each region of Nintendo 64.
Nintendo GameCube
There are three regions for the Nintendo GameCube. The regions do not have publicly known official names, so the names used for the regions on Bulbapedia are purely descriptive.
Region-locking on the Nintendo GameCube is merely a software restriction and not a technical one, as fans have created hacks that allow region-locking to be bypassed.
Regions
| Code | Name | Primary markets | Television system |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN | Japanese region | Japan | NTSC |
| USA | American region | The Americas | NTSC |
| EUR | PAL region | Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia | PAL |
Games
Due to region-locking, some Nintendo GameCube games cannot be played on all Nintendo GameCube systems due to not being released for some regions. However, all Nintendo GameCube Pokémon games can be played on each region.
Wii
There are four regions for the Wii. Each region has an associated letter used to represent it, which can be found at the end of the Wii firmware version number. The regions do not have publicly known official names, so the names used for the regions on Bulbapedia are purely descriptive.
Regions are also used to restrict the list of countries that can selected from when choosing the country for the Wii Shop Channel. This means that American region systems cannot select Japan as their home country.
Region-locking on the Wii is merely a software restriction and not a technical one, as fans have created hacks that allow region-locking to be bypassed.
Regions
| Code | Name | Primary markets |
|---|---|---|
| JPN | Japanese region | Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong |
| USA | American region | The Americas |
| EUR | PAL region | Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia |
| KOR | Korean region | South Korea |
Games
Due to region-locking, some Wii games cannot be played on all Wii systems due to not being released for some regions. The Japanese, American and European regions dominate the other regions in the number of available games.
Below is a list of Wii Pokémon games, indicating whether they can be played on each region of Wii.
Virtual Console
Wii U
There are three regions for the Wii U. Each region has an associated letter used to represent it, which can be found at the end of the Wii U firmware version number. The regions do not have publicly known official names, so the names used for the regions on Bulbapedia are purely descriptive.
Regions are also used to restrict the list of countries that can selected from when choosing the country for the Nintendo eShop. This means that American region systems cannot select Japan as their home country.
Region-locking on the Wii U is merely a software restriction and not a technical one, as fans have created hacks that allow region-locking to be bypassed.
Regions
| Code | Name | Primary markets |
|---|---|---|
| JPN | Japanese region | Japan |
| USA | American region | The Americas |
| EUR | PAL region | Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Russia |
Games
Due to region-locking, some Wii U games cannot be played on all Wii U systems due to not being released for that region. However, all Wii U Pokémon games can be played on each region.
Nintendo Switch
Outside of Mainland China, the Nintendo Switch is not region-locked; however, there are five regions for the Nintendo Switch that can be changed freely in the System Settings menu. The Hong Kong / Taiwan / South Korea region was added in version 8.0.0. The Nintendo eShop uses the country of the associated Nintendo Account.
The region cannot be changed on Nintendo Switch consoles distributed by Tencent in Mainland China. Although all physical cartridges can still be played on these consoles regardless of region, only the Mainland Chinese Nintendo eShop is accessible. The Mainland Chinese Nintendo eShop cannot be accessed nor can physical cartridges distributed in Mainland China be played on Nintendo Switch consoles from other regions.
Region-locking on the Nintendo Switch is merely a software restriction and not a technical one, as fans have created hacks that allow region-locking to be bypassed.
Regions
| Code | Product region | Name | Primary markets |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPN | Japan | Japan | Japan |
| USA | USA | The Americas | The Americas |
| EUR | Europe | Europe | Europe, South Africa, Russia |
| AUS | Australia / New Zealand | Australia, New Zealand | |
| CHT KOR ASI | Asia | Hong Kong / Taiwan / South Korea | Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea |
| CHN | China | — | Mainland China |
Games
Due to region-locking, some Nintendo Switch games cannot be played on all Nintendo Switch systems due to not being released for some regions. This only affects games without physical releases that have not been released in Mainland China (as a Mainland Chinese Nintendo Switch cannot access the eShop to purchase them) and games released exclusively in Mainland China (as they cannot be played on Nintendo Switch consoles from other regions).
Below is a list of Nintendo Switch Pokémon games, indicating whether they can be played on each region of the Nintendo Switch. Games marked with a gray box have not been released in Mainland China, but they can be played using physical cartridges from other regions.
| First release | Game | I | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 22, 2017 | Pokkén Tournament DX | ✔ | |
| May 30, 2018 | Pokémon Quest | ✔ | ✘ |
| November 16, 2018 | Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! | ✔ | |
| December 7, 2018 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | ✔ | |
| November 15, 2019 | Pokémon Sword and Shield | ✔ | |
| February 12, 2020 | Pokémon HOME | ✔ | ✘ |
| March 6, 2020 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX | ✔ | |
| June 24, 2020 | Pokémon Café ReMix | ✔ | ✘ |
| April 30, 2021 | New Pokémon Snap | ✔ | |
| July 21, 2021 | Pokémon UNITE | ✔ | ✘ |
| November 19, 2021 | Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl | ✔ | |
| January 28, 2022 | Pokémon Legends: Arceus | ✔ | |
| November 18, 2022 | Pokémon Scarlet and Violet | ✔ |
Some games do not support all languages in all regions, meaning that, for example, a copy of Splatoon 2 purchased physically in Japan or digitally on the Japanese eShop can only be played in Japanese, despite being released in other languages elsewhere. This also applies to DLC, which for some games must be purchased from the same region eShop as the game. However, no Pokémon games released so far apply to either situation (DLC is accessible regardless of where players purchased their cartridge, and every language can be selected).
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the region determines whether American English, Canadian French, and Latin American Spanish or British English, European French, and Castilian Spanish translations are used.
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