The official Chinese variant of the Nintendo Switch will launch in mainland China one week from now, Tencent and Nintendo have reported. The group will sell for 2,099 yuan (~$297) and incorporates a duplicate of New Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. That is the only title authoritatively approved available to be purchased up until now, as indicated by China gaming examiner Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners, albeit different games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario Odyssey are additionally affirmed to be en route.
So far it would seem that Tencent and Nintendo are just releasing the first Switch model, not the smaller and less expensive Switch Lite. Preorders start today in China, and the console will officially go on sale on Tuesday, December tenth.
As was previously declared, the Tencent-powered Switch utilizes the Chinese internet giant’s services in a few ways, including cloud infrastructure for online gaming and the capacity to purchase eShop games with WeChat Pay. Tencent will likewise be working on the Simplified Chinese localization of games.
China is the world’s greatest gaming market, however, the official release of the Switch won’t really be a serious deal for Chinese gamers — or Nintendo itself. The nation is dominated by PC and mobile gaming, while imported consoles are broadly accessible on the grey market.
The official Switch’s one-year guarantee and recently localized titles will be welcome for some in China, yet even Nintendo doesn’t anticipate a quick boost in sales. “We have not factored the sales in China into our financial forecast for the current fiscal year, and even if the launch does occur during the current fiscal year, we do not expect a significant impact on this year’s business results,” president and CEO Shuntaro Furukawa told investors last month.