I remember the lack of region lock being a boon for the GBA and DS. The game "Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan" was popular in Japan, but Nintendo refused to localize it.

I remember the lack of region lock being a boon for the GBA and DS. The game "Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan" was popular in Japan, but Nintendo refused to localize it. It became an import favorite in the West, driving up prices on eBay and the like. Nintendo took notice and eventually made Elite Beat Agents as a Western-tailored sequel / successor to it. Additionally, when Phoenix Wright first got localized for the DS, the print run was very small. Someone realized that the English script was already embedded into the Japanese version of the game--you simply had to go to the language options and toggle a button to switch it to English. This made importing a popular option for people who couldn't find--or didn't want to wait--for the Stateside version. I remember vividly discussing with my brothers whether we wanted to "risk" waiting for the US edition and not being able to find one, or importing and having to deal with toggling the language at every startup.