China-based media company Tencent recently gained the Chinese government’s approval to sell the Nintendo Switch in the country. Read on below for more details from Niko Partners Senior Analyst Daniel Ahmad:
Nintendo Switch set for China launch
Chinese tech company Tencent and Nintendo announced that they will release the video game console in China on December 10. Video via @ZhugeEX
https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1202084224968335360
The Tencent Nintendo Switch (Official Mainland China Ver.) will launch on December 10th 2019 for RMB 2,099 ($300). It will come bundled with New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and a 1 year warranty. Games will be priced at RMB 299 (~$42) which is in line with regional pricing standards. Currently only NSMBU Deluxe is approved for sale. Others to release soon. Locally developed titles like ICEY and Chinese Parents are also planned to release for the console.
Tencent and Nintendo are actively working with Chinese game developers to bring indie titles to the platform. NSMBU Deluxe is out Dec 10th. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey are available to pre order now. Additional first party games are being prepared for the China market for later.
Tencent and Nintendo are also working with AAA partners listed below to bring additional third party titles to the China market. Also includes Chinese AAA partners such as Tencent’s own Next Studio. The marketing for the console itself revolves around:
– 1 year warranty
– Local servers powered by Tencent for smooth online play
– WeChat Pay supported
– Localised high quality software for all ages in Simplified Chinese
Distribution partners for hardware and software will include:
Online: JD / TMall
Retail: Suning and others
Eshop: Nintendo
Whilst this is the official launch for Mainland China, the console and games have been available via the grey market since 2017 with many already choosing to import from overseas. So even though this is a limited launch, grey market is still an option for games. No Switch Lite info revealed today. It is expected that Switch Lite would launch next year at this point. Also it is currently unclear if the bundled NSMBU Deluxe is a demo ver. or the full ver. of the game. It could be a demo with option to upgrade. Just like the global version of the Switch, buyers of the Tencent Nintendo Switch will be able to use any region game cards to play games. However, it does look like online services may be region locked by Tencent. Still waiting on confirmation.
Source: Daniel Ahmad @ZhugeEX and Twitter.com
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