Nintendo 3DS will be region locked

Nintendo’s next handheld is rumored to have a region lock associated with it’s cartridges and the unit itself.  A recent report that originated from a Korean website indicates that they have confirmed through contact with a Japanese Nintendo Support Agent that the 3DS will include region locking.

This means that all games will not play on your device if say you imported a 3DS from another area, or liked to play Japanese import games on your U.S. bought device.

The representative from Nintendo is quotes as claiming that “if you play a Korean 3DS game with a Japanese 3DS system or vice versa you won’t be able to play the game at all”  due to a form of region locking that is installed in each game, as well as the 3DS itself.