China’s Tencent on Thursday came on winning an important approval for starting selling the Nintendo Switch in the country that will provide the console with an opportunity to penetrate in the world’s largest video games market after two years of its worldwide release.
Tencent remained successful to get the go ahead by authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Thursday for distribution of the Nintendo Switch console with a test version of the “New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe” game, as shows a statement on the government’s website.
Nintendo, which has sold more than 32 million Switch units globally since its launch just over two years ago, the requirements of having a partnership with a local player and going through a complicated regulatory process have caused hindrance to the efforts of Japanese gaming company to bring its hybrid home-portable Switch console to China, affecting the development of console gaming in the country.
There is a huge opportunity for both Tencent and Nintendo in launching the Nintendo Switch in China, as other consoles like Xbox and PlayStation have struggled to get their drift in the country, said Gu Tianyi, market analyst with gaming industry analytics firm Newzoo.
However, Nintendo’s intellectual property list, including Zelda, Pokemon and Mario, set it apart from the others, as these games are already very popular in the Chinese market and the mobile aspect of the Switch is also matching with the China’s mobile-first culture, Tianyi added.
Tencent is registered in Guangdong, and it has traditionally had to apply to get the approval from Guangdong culture ministry. After getting the approval from the ministry, Tencent will be allowed to sell the Switch in China nationwide.
In the past, Tencent and Nintendo also teamed up for overseas release of Tencent’s Arena of Valor game on the Nintendo’s Switch.
