The former world’s largest gaming market will be getting its hands on the Nintendo Switch this December.
It was announced today that Nintendo, in partnership with Tencent, will be releasing a Nintendo Switch variant in mainland China on December 10th.
Chinese gamers will be able to purchase the original Nintendo Switch model; Switch Lite hasn’t been announced for sale.
It will cost gamers 2,099 Yuan, which is about $298. New Super Mario Bros. U. Deluxe will be included with the Switch as well.
New Super Mario Bros. Deluxe is the only big franchise game to be approved by China for consumers so far, but there will be more approved soon. The Tencent Nintendo Switch will come with a one-year warranty as well.
Since games need to be approved by the Chinese government, it will take some time to get games to market.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey are available for pre-order right now, and other popular games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Tennis Aces will be available later.
Indie games will be popping up for Chinese Switch gamers as well, as Nintendo and Tencent are collaborating with an assortment of Chinese game developers.
So how will Nintendo Switch do in the Chinese market?
Mobile gaming is massive in China, as well as PC. That being said, consoles have typically struggled in the country.
An interesting statistic is noted by Tianyi Gu, an analyst with Newzoo, a research company, “the other major console platforms, PlayStation and Xbox, have traditionally struggled to catch on in the market.”
With the lack of games and the market using other platforms to play on, as well as the recent gaming curfew set by the government, the Switch may have a slow rise in China. Shuntaro Furukawa, the current president of Nintendo, said last month that he wasn’t expecting substantial sales right off the bat in China.
The one thing Nintendo has going for it is the content of their games, as well as notable franchise characters.
Pokemon and Mario charatcers are well known in China, which will help the demand of the Switch. Also, Nintendo Switch games, especially the blockbuster franchises, typically have a low amount of violence and political messaging.
Since games are approved through the Chinese government, obviously, any game with some political narrative will have a hard time being accepted. Because Nintendo has historically stayed clear of that kind of game, it should be much easier to get games to market, thus increasing the demand for the Switch.
