<P> The Nintendo DS is region free in the sense that any console will run a Nintendo DS game purchased anywhere in the world; however, the Chinese version of iQue DS games can only be played on the Chinese iQue DS, whose larger firmware chip contains the required Chinese character glyph images, this restriction is removed on Nintendo DSi and 3DS systems . Although the Nintendo DS of other regions cannot play the Chinese games, the iQue DS can play games of other regions . Also, as with Game Boy games, some games that require both players to have a Nintendo DS game card for multiplayer play will not necessarily work together if the games are from different regions (e.g. a Japanese Nintendo DS game may not work with a North American Nintendo DS game, even though some titles, such as Mario Kart DS and Pokémon Diamond and Pearl versions are mutually compatible). With the addition of the Nintendo Wi - Fi Connection, certain games can be played over the Internet with users of a different region game . </P> <P> Some Wi - Fi enabled games (e.g. Mario Kart DS) allow the selection of opponents by region . The options are "Regional" ("Continent" in Europe) and "Worldwide", as well as two non-location specific settings . This allows the player to limit competitors to only those opponents based in the same geographical area . This is based on the region code of the game in use . </P> <P> The Nintendo DSi, however, has a region lock for the DSiWare downloadable games, as well as DSi - specific cartridges . It still runs normal DS games of any region, however . </P> <P> Nintendo DS games use a proprietary solid state mask ROM in their game cards . The mask ROM chips are manufactured by Macronix and have an access time of 150 ns . Cards currently range from 8--512 MiB (64 Mib to 4 Gib) in size (although data on the maximum capacity has not been released). Larger cards have a 25% slower data transfer rate than more common smaller cards . The cards usually have a small amount of flash memory or an EEPROM to save user data such as game progress or high scores . However, there are few games that have no save memory such as Electroplankton . The game cards are 35 mm × 33 mm × 3.8 mm (1.38 in × 1.30 in × 0.15 in) (about half the width and depth of Game Boy Advance cartridges) and weigh around 3.5 g (​ ⁄ oz). </P>

Do all nintendo ds use the same games