In a Q&A with Japanese investors (helpfully translated by a NeoGAF user), Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has given the first public indication that his company has considered removing the region lock that limits playable software on the Wii U and 3DS to hardware sold in the same region.

In responding to a question about the practice, Iwata defended the historical reasons for limiting international interoperability, such as translation, marketing, and licensing issues. But he acknowledged that these are justifications that mainly apply to game makers and sellers while being a drawback for customers.

"As for what should be done going forward, if unlocked for the benefit of the customers, there may also be a benefit for us," Iwata said. "Conversely, unlocking would require various problems to be solved, so while I can't say today whether or not we intend to unlock, we realize that it is one thing that we must consider, looking to the future."

While consoles from Sony and Microsoft have moved away from region locking in recent generations, Nintendo has actually moved a bit in the opposite direction, going from a famously region-agnostic position for the Game Boy and DS lines to a system-wide region-locking policy for the 3DS (though that restriction can be circumvented without too much trouble). The Wii U is the only current console with a mandatory region lock in place, just as the Wii was in the last generation of consoles (though publishers could and did enforce software-based region restrictions on some Xbox 360 and PS3 games).

Iwata defended Nintendo's stance on region locking as recently as last year, citing "cultural and legal restrictions," as well as differences in age rating systems, as reasons to stop cross-border interoperability. A fan movement pressuring Nintendo to reverse its policies in this area has attracted over 30,000 Internet signatures so far, as well as robust Twitter and Facebook presences.