SlashGear

Since the dawn of gaming, imports have been a huge deal. Let’s face it guys; a lot of the time, Japanese gamers get some really good games that never make it Stateside or take a really, really long time to see a US release. (see Metal Gear 2, Dracula X: Rondo of Blood) Region-encoded games have been a staple of gaming for as long as I can remember; Famicom games don’t work in an NES, SNES games won’t work in a Super Famicom, etc. All that might now be a thing of the past; according to Nintendo, the upcoming Wii will be region-free.

What does this mean for you, the gamer? Well, much like Nintendo’s DS handheld, games from any region of the world will work with a console from any region. Want a Japan-only game? No problem; said game will work in your US or European Wii. This opens up a whole new world for gamers; people vacationing in Europe can buy a Wii game and rest assured that the game will work once you get home. Now if Nintendo would just allow us to play DS games on the Wii, all would be right and just in the world.

[via IGN]