Nintendo has confirmed that the 3DS will be region-locked. For those of you not in the know, region-locking means you will only be able to use software with a 3DS from the same country the 3DS was purchased from. So if you purchase a US 3DS, you will only be able to use US games on it for example. Previous DS handhelds and GameBoys were region free, but the DSi and the DSi XL are region-locked. The 3DS will be out in Japan on 26th February. It will be hitting Europe and the US in March.