- The OLED Switch will be coming to China on January 11, Daniel Ahmad tweeted
- The Switch has been a particularly successful console in the country
- Despite regulatory headwinds against gaming, Nintendo and Tencent carry on
Nintendo OLED Switch is coming to China and Tencent will once again help the console get a firm foothold into the market.
Nintendo Switch to Roll out in China
Just because China continues to crack down on gaming in the country, this doesn’t mean some of the biggest names in gaming would just stop pushing in what is the world’s largest market for their products.
Nevermind regulatory headwinds, Nintendo and Tencent are blustering ahead. The pair has teamed up to launch the Nintendo Switch OLED model in the Chinese market, an ambitious project that is starting on January 11 based on Daniel Ahmad’s report, an industry insider.
However, there will be some restrictions, nevertheless. The model will cost RMB 2599, and the digital store will be locked in China. Nintendo, though, has been able to push fairly quickly in the market, only three months after the global launch of the platform.
This is impressive given that China has taken pains to restrict the reach of gaming in the country. First, it banned underage gamblers, and then it has not issued a license to any new game developer since mid-2021.
China Has an Appetite for the Switch
Tencent and Nintendo are known allies in the Chinese market. When the Switch first arrived in the country in 2019 it was through the local pull of Tencent, China’s biggest gaming company. It was thanks to this collaboration that the Switch quickly outpaced Microsoft and Sony’s consoles and established itself as the regional behemoth.
Chinese players’ appetite for mobile and handheld gaming was certainly another big factor in their success. Nintendo has deemed its most recent gambit worth the risk, given how popular the console market is now in the country.
Regulations will certainly continue to pester the gaming industry and slow it down, but no big company expects Chinese adults to stop playing video games, if not only for the pent-up demand they have experienced as minors.
China now restricts minors to just three hours of gaming weekly with some exceptions during the holidays. Overall, the OLED Switch is set for success in the country. It’s not only a next-generation handheld console – it’s equally a significantly improved version, including better Bluetooth features and overall quality of the gameplay.
