Nintendo DS Guide

How to differentiate Non-Australian Games

This guide will hopefully provide you with assistance when purchasing Nintendo DS games, to ensure you are purchasing an Australian product. This guide will explain how to spot the difference between games not purchased in Australia.

With the Nintendo DS, there are four main regions

1. Australia - Games that were sold at retail outlets in Australia.
   
2. America - Games sold in America, but have also managed to reach places like China and Hong Kong for retail sale
3. Europe - Games sold at retail level in European countries
4. Japan - Games sold at stores in Japan.

Although there is not much difference between the different regions (except Japan region games may be in Japanese), it is still important to ensure the game you are purchasing is Australian, and was sold, or could be sold at an Australian retail store. Nintendo DS games will still play on your Nintendo DS console, no matter what region your console is as the games are region free.
The main reason to identify this is due to potentially paying extra for a game that was worth less. Games sold in America, do generally cost less than Australia for the same game, when converted to Australian currency. On average at retail level, a game sold in America would cost around AU$40, but here in Australia, you would be paying $69.95 RRP.
If you are bidding on an Australian section of the Ebay site, you should definitely be expecting that the products you are purchasing are local products, and not just shipped in.
Why would you want to pay say $50 for a game, expecting it to be Australian, but it turns out it is an American release? You SHOULDNT!
Another benefit is that by purchasing Australian games, you can play other players via local wi-fi, such as your friend at school, or your neighbour. If your friend bought the Australian one, and you got yourself a hold of the American version of the same game, you are UNABLE to play each other.

Here is how to spot the difference

1. Australian games have a rating given to the game by the Office of Film and Literature. If a rating was given by this department, there should be a coloured sticker clearly showing the rating (G, G8+, M, MA15+), or it should clearly show a rating and have the logo of the Australian Government on it
   International games, whether it be from Europe, America, or Japan, would either not have this, or have a ESRB Rating.
   You can usually spot this from the case of the game, if the picture is a picture of the actual product
   If its not a picture of the actual product, REQUEST ONE!
2. If the picture is one of the actual product, try and zoom in to the picture and have a look at the sticker on the NDS game cartridge
   Just below the game logo and title, it should have a line of letters in the format of
   XXX-XXXX-YYY
   To spot the different, you simply need to look at the last three letters (the YYY ones) and you can easily tell
   If the last three digits are:
   AUS - It is Australian
   EUR - European
   USA - From America/International
   JPN - From Japan
   If you are unable to see this, you should ask the buyer the question, and politely request that he get the actual cartridge and give you the last three letters of the cartridge. If s/he doesnt respond or take you seriously, you shouldnt take THEM seriously - after all, YOU are the buyer, and YOU have the choice whether you want to buy or not

MULTIPLAYER WI-FI CLARIFICATION (Added 4th November 2006)
I have received enquiries in regards to whether games from different regions really do work with one another or not. I hope the following clarification will make things clearer:
Wi-fi using games from different regions will NOT work if you are connecting directly from one DS to the other.
Example: You have Tetris DS (USA), and you wish to play a friend/neighbour in the same room, with a direct connection with the same game, but is Australian. This direct connection involves your DS connecting directly to the other DS, just like a local area network, where one computer connects directly to the other computer. This is called "Local Wi-Fi" and does not connect to the internet. This method will NOT work

Wi-fi using games from different regions WILL work if you are connecting via "Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection" using a Nintendo USB Access Point or a wireless broadband connection. This involves connecting to the internet with your DS, and connecting to Nintendo. This method WILL work, as you will be playing players over the internet, from different regions, using a different region game.

If you choose to purchase USA games, and wish to play friends with the AUS version, you COULD play him/her using "Nintend Wi-Fi Connection" using the internet and registering each other on your "Friend Code Rosters" to ensure you play him/her, but this is not recommended as you will be using up your internet connection and your friend is just next to you.

I hope this guide has been helpful to you, and I wish you the best of luck in your auctions.
Look out for more of my guides! More NDS, PSP and GameCube ones coming soon!