Tencent & Nintendo are releasing Nintendo Switch in China on Dec. 10 for 2,099 yuan, or $298. Switch will come bundled with New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and include a one-year warranty.
The intent is to follow up soon with releases of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey, and there are plans to release Nintendo Switch Lite as well.
Analyst Daniel Ahmad said, “We believe that Nintendo Switch will replace the PlayStation 4 as the market leader in China by 2022 when accounting for both legal and grey market sales.”
China in particular, for both legal and cultural reasons, is a tough space to break into with video games.
A partnership with Tencent to release Switch in China makes sense because Tencent is a major power in the restrictive Chinese gaming scene, in addition to being a strong presence in the global industry. The company owns League of Legends, 40% of Epic Games, and produces a lucrative mobile version of Call of Duty, among many other successful ventures.
For more context on Nintendo’s history in China so far, feel free to watch this pretty great primer on the subject from Did You Know Gaming? on the matter.
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