Earlier this year in April, Tencent was given the approval to start selling the New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Switch bundle in mainland China. The news saw Nintendo's shares increase by more than 13 percent and Tencent followed this up by forming a "Nintendo cooperation department" to help manage the launch. Since then, the Chinese video game giant has reportedly been seeking Switch port specialists.
Now, in a report from The Wall Street Journal, Tencent has revealed it wants to expand its reach beyond China, by targeting console players within the United States and across Europe. So, how does it plan to achieve this? By using Nintendo characters to create consoles games. Here's the official statement:
What we want is to expand from China, and one target is console game players in the U.S. and Europe. We hope to create console games with Nintendo characters, and learn the essence of making console games from Nintendo engineers.
In the same report, Lisa Cosmas Hanson from Niko Partners suggested Tencent was silently expanding, without rebranding companies:
Tencent is skillfully pursuing silent global domination, via expansion primarily in the form of major and minor investments in [videogame] industry companies around the world without rebranding them as Tencent
Tencent currently has stakes in Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and the mobile power-house Supercell.
As for its new partnership with Nintendo, Tencent officials have revealed they don't believe the Switch will sell as well in China as it has in other markets. Nintendo's President Shuntaro Furukawa also made similar comments to analysts in recent times.
How would you feel about Tencent making console games featuring Nintendo characters? Could you see something like this happening? Share your thoughts below.
[source wsj.com, via businessinsider.com.au]
Comments 75
So, they want to make Switch games or do they want to make PS4 games with Nintendo characters? I'm assuming the former but it's not that clear honestly. Either way, I'm not sure how I would react. On the one hand I don't really care for them as a company, but if they make a genuinely good game out of it then who am I to complain about it. Nintendo's never going to let them use their IP's though, they haven't had a good enough relationship for that and I'm sure Nintendo has heard of what the general public thinks of Tencent.
Hm..................No. A definite no.
Make a good game? they are good at ripping people off with their micro transaction games.
Not a big enough background to gain any trust in nintendo's big franchises.
Alternate title:
Chinese Video Game Giant Tencent Wants To "Make Lots of Money"
@cryptologous what a startling revelation.
Tencent sounds a bit arogant or too cavalier about making Nintendo games. Like a spoiled teen asking for a Porsche. I get the feeling they wouldn't fit with Nintendo.
no thank you very much, they can stay in thier own lane, we dont want your influences here tencent lol
Their reputation abroad will keep Nintendo from ever allowing them to use their IP.
Ha, imagine Mario Odyssey ported to a Chinese PS4 with the only changes being that Bowser has the Hong Kong flag painted on his shell, Mario has the Chinese flag on his hat, and all post game content would be locked behind loot box DLC. Loot box chances: 99.9% to unlock a new color for the Odyssey (three colors in total). .1% chance to unlock Mushroom Kingdoom and Darker Side.
And Chinese hackers would still find a way to ruin all the fun even though it isn't multiplayer.
@R_Champ Man, Tencent getting generous with those odds.
Mario and the Hundred-Acre Woods, eh?
Don’t Chinese game makers, already make games using Nintendo’s characters and IPs without Nintendo’s permission anyway?
Pretty sure NLife has put a spotlight on some of them.
I don’t get it. Please tell me this isn’t possible.
I can only hope Nintendo would reject their requests...
I think that this is great news. Instead of illegally copying Nintendo characters they're actually doing this the right way. Nintendo gets more games it can have of it's characters and we get more games. The only thing is if they're of "great" quality games and not some shoddy game. I mean I love Nintendo games and JRPG's. What if the chinese make some cool stuff too? Also, they better not put any of their communist views in the games else I won't support it. I say, give them a chance.
Tencent is final boss of gaming for the foreseeable future, they have their finger in every bit of rot that’s consuming this industry.
If it's on the Switch, then maybe. If it's on the XBOX ONE or PS4, then a HARD NO.
No. I don't want Tencent in my Nintendo Games. At all.
Just stick to League of Legends and Epic Games, please.
@Xylnox You should read up a lil on what Tencent funds, what influence they have, and which government in particular has taken an interest in them.
Their founder said: "To copy is not evil" and that's all you gotta know about quality
Maybe Tencent could develop their own IP, and make great games based on that. No one is stopping them from, you know, game design and character/world/story development. Like most game studios.
Show you can make great games, and people will buy them.
(Although if Nintendo ain’t touching Pikmin, 1080, Waverace etc... then go for it!)
@Bondi_Surfer You do know what Tencent is right?
It's basically just a Chinese Hedgefund that has been buying up other game companies over the years and create Micro transaction riddled scam games on mobile.
They are considered a plague in the gaming industry that is spreading.
If they get seriously involved with Nintendo and get even more foothold outside China......god help us.
Ah Tencent, the cause of the ''serious Hearthstone incident'', and all the NBA nonsense. No thank you.
Yea....no. #FreeHongKong then maybe we will talk.
These guys can go play with themselves. I don't want them near any Nintendo games and other companies. They only "like" Nintendo because they make the big bucks, but they don't see the passion and actual gameplay value the games hold.
I cannot stand Tencent. So No.
Chinese government's overarching globalist agenda, tries for relatable game presence:
"and i oop"
Tencent? Hell no
@Bondi_Surfer
Why make your own IP when you can pay to use an already established IP? They like their money too much to invest in building a brand.
If they come aboard officially as a second party company making exclusive Switch games under Nintendo's oversight and can prove their abilities meet Nintendo's standards, then maybe it could work.
If not, then forget it, as Nintendo learned its lesson years ago with their ill-fated partnership with Phillips and their CD-i.
Despite i am half Chinese Indonesian people, i still prefer Japanese things rather than Chinese things.
Don't do it Nintendo! Just don't! Look what happened with Blizzard when they got too involved in the Chinese market! They are whipped into compliance by the Chinese government! Nintendo, it's not worth it. Don't sell your soul!
There's nothing wrong with Chinese people, I have no problem with them. I just want to be clear on that. It's the policies and rules of Chinese business and the Chinese government I disagree with very strongly.
And also for the record - I have issues with plenty of other nations too - but China and this sort of thing in particular is especially risky.
I wouldn’t buy it even if it was good. China can take a hike.
Given Tencent's relationship with the Chinese government, I'm just going to simply say no
They want to create games with Nintendo characters. I want Natalie Portman to show up at my house in a free Ferrari.
Something I have in common with Tencent: neither of the things we want will ever happen.
But doesn't China already rip off most games?
They are actually going to ask permission this time??
To be fair, I dont think Nintendo would like any of their IPs to be smeared with this brush.
Ewwwwwwwwwww...........
How about hell no?
@YourGoodFriendly I think I jumped the gun on what I said. I will change my vote to a no. Have them develop their own IP's.
If they can make good games and Nintendo want to allow then to have a franchise on say Mario why not. Is this not what happened when we got Mario +Rabbids?
Hard pass.
No Nintendolife, there's nothing else to say.
Hardest of passes. We dont need philip cdi games tge second coming
I'd prefer that psycological gambling manipulation aimed at children (aka "surprise mechanics") stay out of Nintendo franchises.
Unfortunately, considering how Nintendo handles their mobile monetizations, I think it's inevitable that gatcha loot-box micro comes to the console sides too.
Who is buying all those digital lottery tickets? Please stop!
@Patron China is honorable? We should show respect?
How about chinese goverment respect freedom of speech first then we'll talk.
America is not great either but at least their people have the right to critizise the goverment. Something Trump hates btw. Yes, Trump hates freedom of the press. He has said so himself.
@zool no, more like Mario Kart Tour and 3DS Badge Arcade.
The usual Chinese modis operandi of stealing other countries' skills and technology. I hope Nintendo tell them to take a running jump.
Listen to Sonic on this one Nintendo
https://i.redd.it/ytaq1oqo0ew11.png
Of course they do. They never respect an intellectual property. Why can't Tencent create their own characters and game designs? Much easier to sell their rubbish using established brands.
China never innovates, they just steal and copy other people's ideas.
So I think they should work with Sony, it's a better fit.
On the one hand, I want to believe that Nintendo would say no to this. I know Satoru Iwata would have had so much integrity when he was in charge.
But then I remember that Shuntaro Furukawa is in charge now. And he seems to be taking Nintendo into a far less consumer friendly direction. So it's very likely that he would agree with partnering with a company owned by a human rights violating dictatorshi... uh I mean China.
Tencent wants this partnership because they want to expand to the global markets, not because they want to expand in China where they already dominate anyways.
So the "Tencent will steal/copy Nintendo's IPs" rhetoric won't exactly fly anywhere outside of China.
Hoooo boy. Keep Tencent out of everything possible. The only thing they'll be "expanding" is bringing the Chinese Social Credit System to the rest of the world.
This could NEVER happen, right? DON'T DO IT NINTENDO!
Congrats to all the politically aware comments here today, I'm very proud of you all. Even taught me a thing or two, I was so sure Tencent was just a money laundering operation for the Triads, but now I realize it's a subversive world dominating political organization similar to Namor's Oracle Inc in the early 90's.
This should be the scariest sentence anyone here reads today.
"Tencent currently has stakes in Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, and the mobile power-house Supercell."
Cheap Chinese programmers.
We can all do without this. Considering that Tencent is controlled by the CCP, and subsequently forced to censor what it’s users can say and do, this is not a partnership that will do anyone any good. From an ethical standpoint alone Nintendo should avoid them.
I don't need another Phillips situation. Please no more Hotel Mario or Wand of Gamelon.
I don't see it happening any time soon, but it would be interesting to see another company make some games with Nintendo characters. Maybe they'll do a better job than Phillips.
This I fear goes far beyond video games. Industries across the US, and the West in general have been quietly gobbled up with majority share holders owned by various Chinese funds. China has been quietly purchasing Earth and therefore controlling it through "global businesses" via their maybe-maybe-not government controlled entities and funds. We're hitting the tipping point where we're technically starting to live under Chinese ownership and rule, but we'll never formally be told so, as it's all moved through shadows via investment of business, but only just so much, which then controls and influences politics, but just so much to all appear natural.
@Bondi_Surfer That's not the way the Chinese work. They're not leaders of development and culturally discourage new ideas and risks. They move into existing markets copy what they can, buy what they can't copy, and sell until it's time to move on to another market. In gaming they are buying up market space to influence global development and culture of gaming. If you've heard of a Chinese company it is controlled by the government. In the Western World we like our companies to be free of politics, that isn't possible with Chinese companies.
They'll take the Mario RPG series now that it needs a new developer, it will include mtx actions for buying badges which are essential for progression through bosses and elite enemies and some areas will be locked until a season pass for a particular item is gained to traverse to said areas. Don't forget that the final boss will be locked behind a DLC wall.
Nintendo built a closed ecosystem, including costly hardware development, for a reason. I don't think some Chinese money is going to get Nintendo to throw that all away. Tencent is looking to put Nintendo characters on non-Nintendo hardware with ports and original (copied ) games. If Nintendo wanted to be a software designer for any platform they would have done it already. Tencent sees how Nintendo titles sell consoles and wants to cash in on breaking the titles from the hardware. It's an insane ask because it destroys Nintendo's entire traditional strategy that goes all the way back to the beginning of their videogame history. The only way this would go through is with political pressure, the Chinese government strong-arming Japan and Nintendo.
Not gonna buy any tencent nintendo games. Say no to tencent domination!
Sounds like China to me.
@rjejr wait, you sound convinced that huge criminal organizations are independent from states and that aren't used to keep some countries under control. But you surely don't think that for real, do you?
Have they ever heard this hmm ITS A TRAP!
Can't wait to see a reboot of 7 GRAND DAD
Hell no, keep Tencent far away from Triple A game development.
Maybe a mistranslation? If not Nintendo needs to watch so this company doesn’t try to steal Nintendo’s IP’s.
@RyanSilberman
Um...😂 No! 🤣
@DrDaisy
I'm fine with other companies getting a stab at games with Nintendo characters. Never played Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle but I heard great things. Grezzo Games has done some decent work with Nintendo and then there's Next Level Games who knocked it out of the park a few times with Punch-Out Wii and the last two Luigi's Mansion titles. There was the collaboration with Sega on F-Zero, Namco I believe handles a lot of Smash Bros. development these days. Plenty of companies Nintendo can choose to work with and has worked with. They don't need Tencent and frankly nobody should want them working with that company.
@NIN10DOXD I'd love there to be an official Zelda game where I can play as Zelda that doesn't suck.
@Gamer83 Until I read this article, I didn't even know about Tencent.
Tencent could make lots of remakes, much like Grezzo (Ocarina of Time 3D, Four Swords - Anniversary Edition, and Majora's Mask 3D). Grezzo learnt enough from these three remakes to co-develop a new Zelda game (Tri-Force Heroes) and then another remake (Link's Awakening for Switch).
N64, Gamecube, Wii, and even Nintendo DS / 3DS classics and masterpieces would be great to see on the Switch in HD and portable for the first time. Tencent could show what they're able to achieve (under Nintendo's supervision) and for once do something nice and learn from the masters how it's done.
Tencent is a Switch developer already. They made f2p MOBA Arena of Valor for Switch.
@Cartridgemaster Well I kind of have to think govts and mobs are separate b/c I grew up in NY when 90% of the news was the state going after the mob, and that would have been a serious waste of my tax $ if they were on the some same side. Of course the US has always been a bit different in that our govt is old white guys but our mobs are Irish or Italian or South American or Russian, so less reason for them to work hand in hand. And besides, our aristocracy has enough people to choose from it can just rent out goons when it needs them w/o having to work w/ any known organized crime syndicates.
Russia is another story, their Bratva are probably 80% former KGB agents who are all old buds w/ Putin so their mob is basically the social club for their govt. Easier to do since they're all Russian.
Some of those smaller African countries who's names change on a regular basis I figure whoever has the biggest criminal organization, they're the ones who get to be in charge until another gang overthrows them.
Middle East where you got the same ruling royal families for decades those families are the criminal organisations, top down.
China and Japan I know of the Triads and Yakuza but not really enough to know how hand in hand they are w/ the govt. I would think in Japan the more open ruling family and Prime Minister would be in a different world than the Yakuza, though maybe not above calling on them if need be to do some dirty work. China is so secretly authoritative I suppose it's possible no criminal organization could run w/o the govts approval. I mean they moved the entire Muslim population into extermination camps and the HK police force are nothing but Chinese military so I suppose they own and run Tencent as well but I hadn't given it that much thought until now.
Reading this article - which doesn't mention organized crime at all - I'd say by now the govt has it's hooks in Tencent but I still wouldn't be surprised if there were some separate money laundering on other crime issues going on at the street level.
https://redskyalliance.org/finished-analysis/chinese-tech-giant-tencent-and-its-relationship-with-the-chinese-
Well it looks like was worried about crime 12 years ago, but not of the type I was thinking of.
https://www.tencent.com/en-us/articles/80180.html
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