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Tencent aiding with localization, online services for the Switch's move into China

Nintendo shared some details about the partnership that will eventually see it launch the Switch in China, noting how Tencent will handle some of the online elements of the launch.

Alissa McAloon, Publisher

August 2, 2019

1 Min Read
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Nintendo is working on bringing its flagship game console, the Nintendo Switch, to China in the future, and has started to explain how the Chinese company Tencent will help make that launch possible.

Talk of a Switch launch in China started circulating a few months back, and the pair announced shortly after that they would hold a joint press conference to shed more light on the process.

During that conference today, Nintendo explained that its partnership with Tencent serves to ease the localization process of some existing games, and that the massive Chinese company will also assist in getting some of the Switch’s online services functional in the country.

According to Engadget, Tencent is on board to provide cloud services for Nintendo’s Switch Online service, as well as get the console’s digital games store set up to work with Tencent’s own WeChat payment system.

China is a difficult market to launch games in, and that’s especially true for consoles. The country only recently started allowing companies like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft to sell game consoles in China, and even then those launches are subject to China’s inescapably strict approvals process.

About the Author

Alissa McAloon

Publisher, GameDeveloper.com

As the Publisher of Game Developer, Alissa McAloon brings a decade of experience in the video game industry and media. When not working in the world of B2B game journalism, Alissa enjoys spending her time in the worlds of immersive sandbox games or dabbling in the occasional TTRPG.

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