If you've ever complained about the games on the Switch eShop, take a moment to consider players over in China. While hundreds of games get added to the eShop across various regions on a monthly basis, the Chinese Tencent Switch has had just one game since December.
Until now, that is. According to Daniel Ahmad, Senior Analyst at Niko Partners, the Switch eShop in mainland China has received an update and there is a grand total of three games available for purchase. Joining the launch title New Super Bros. U Deluxe is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey.
As previously explained by Ahmad in April last year, all games released within China must be approved and licensed by the Chinese gaming regulator:
Nintendo and Tencent will also need to submit each game for approval in China and ensure the games comply with content regulations. This too is a lengthy process and means that it will take some time before Nintendo can build up a large library of official games in China.
Although there's a limited digital library in China right now, and a region lock on the Tencent Switch, these systems can still play games from outside of this location – meaning locals in the mainland can import physical cartridges from elsewhere. According to Ahmad, they can even import an entire Switch console if they want to access other eShop regions.
If you could only pick three games to play on your Nintendo Switch, what would you choose? Tell us below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 58
Needs more Mario.
This I really don't understand. Why go through so much effort to get your console into the Chinese market - and then not put out any games? I know a lot of Japanese released games also support Chinese but I thought China was hyper strict about importing media?
Then again, the number of players I've faced in Pokemon Sw/Sh playing in Chinese suggests otherwise. I thought maybe they were all Hong Kong players or something though.
Yeah, sucks for Chinese players who don’t like Mario. At least the games on offer are (mostly) good.
@Heavyarms55 they have to submit every game for approval. That’s why there’s only 3 games so far.
Now Mario Kart will sell another metric ton of copies!
@Heavyarms55 Don't mix it up, there ARE Switch games in the chinese market but prior to the console's official launch there they were all imports and the usual asian chinese/english releases. They still are because as the article says the approval process takes way too much time, hence why companies like Square Enix simply don't bother submitting titles and make a single asian version
@HardcoreDaBoss @Kr96 Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense then.
@Kr96 Aren't most of these "Asia" releases only Japanese and/or English language, not Chinese? I thought that was the case for the FFVII-VIII Twin Pack, at least.
@Gauchorino It varies depending on the title, the DQ triple pack has english/chinese/korean for the asian release but as you mention the FF pack didn't include chinese language
I wonder if Mario Kart 8 (and other Nintendo games) will finally work online in China. Not been able to connect to most NS P2P servers unless I drop by a Starbucks for their decent WiFi.
Working in Wuhan, at the moment Starbucks isn't an option for the foreseeable future XD
Going all digital in China will be easy because you wouldn’t need to get a micro SD card yet.
I guess if you look at it from a different view point it’s not too bad because it would give you enough time to finish a game rather than building up a hefty backlog, also avoiding the cluttering shovel ware on the eshop
@Liam_Doolan This may be a reference to Mario's full name, Mario M. Mario.
I mean, they have Odyssey. But a kid's gonna be hella confused when he selects an inkling, or link, or almost anyone as his profile picture and then thinks it's from a made-up game.
@Kintypoo121 I live in Luoyang and I have never had an issue playing any of Nintendo games online so its weird hearing you have this problem.
Hope things are getting better for you in Wuhan things where I am are just about back to normal besides schools still being closed.
@8bitSquid Might just be my area then, it's hit and miss for me, my home internet and Unicom network have strict NAT settings that can't be changed, they seem to block P2P. Still got plenty of single-player goodness to get through though
Cheers though, glad to hear things outside of Hubei are finally returning to normal. I worry about my family in the UK though Hope everyone around the world will take this seriously and stay indoors, soon it'll pass ~
There are three Marios. Mario Mario and Luigi Mario.
I love how the Chinese government allows people to have a choice. They could have imposed just one game, but China as usual shines as a beacon of freedom and hope for all mankind.
To be fair, those three games are universally considered top-ten games. Super Mario Odyssey is even the best videogame of all time according to the top videogame reviewer in the world, The Winged Avenger.
The good news is that the Chinese audience finally get to experience what they miss as two of those three titles are Wii U ports.
Are you blocked from using other regions eshops in China, but saying that, I dont think other languages are widely taught in China so its not like they can pick up other games easily.
Hmmmmmmm after much thought i think I’ll go with Mario.
Man, the connection for switch (normal switch, not the tencenored) here in China is a joke. It takes me almost 2 days to download a switch game, and thats because I have a 100mb connection. @Kintypoo121
Amazing games, no problem with choices. I wouldn't be sad at all
@GUSWANG SAME! Took me almost a week to get Dragon's Dogma installed! When it got to near 60% it corrupted and started again..TWICE Almost lost my shizz!
Really hoping that now the Switch is in China, they provide better servers for mainland!
Quality over quantity. How it should be.
@Kr96 Thank you, that's interesting.
@Kintypoo121
Do you have a fast mobile internet connection on your smartphone?
With unlimited data?
If so why not try to make a hotspot on your phone. Maybe that will help.
@Kintypoo121 we probably won't get access to the Chinese servers. or the games we play won't even be released in China, the rules are very very strict. so unless we play the tencenssored version...we will have to live with the terrible connection.
@PALversusNTSC Thanks for the advice, though I tried that and unfortunately the mobile network NAT is strict and doesn't allow P2P. Even downloading from the eShop is unstable using hotspot. It's okay though, at least the PC works (mostly) for online gaming And the extra wait to download a game makes the excitement (and frustration) increase, haha!
@GUSWANG I can live with these servers, anything beats having to use Tencent!
Finally a workable e-shop!
No Zelda Breath of the Wild?
That’s Communism!
@ShadowSmile Agreed. I’ve never appreciated how we do business with a country still known for oppressing their people in the worst ways and getting rewarded for it.
What choice the Chinese have, they are great games though. Hopefully the releases pick up speed going forwards.
Super Mario Maker 2, now THAT'S something China would need.
Well, at least it's hard to complain about the eShop's quality!
If I lived in China and had to choose from 3 games, I would want Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild next.
Well at least they don't have to check out any shovelware.
Literally despise the racists in here. The anti-Chinese government ones are okay. You’re allowed to criticise governments all you want, but wanting regular foreigners to be crippled is racist and you should probably stop being such a backwards dickhead. Literally not a single person likes a racist.
Well, at least there's a nice overlap of interests with all the yellow stars and massive amounts of the color red.
@Brady1138 well I have been in China many times, and I can safely say the gov doesn’t oppress the people. It’s not like people can’t walk on the streets, can’t eat what they want, and can’t make jokes. They can go to wherever they want(except some gov areas), and so on.
@ShadowSmile
You’re being very ignorant, you know? Putting China back to its place, means bringing it to the first place again, like in the 1800s and prior. Plus, the government treats Covid 19 way better than any other government! Here in the Netherlands, the government doesn’t do anything, and the cases are already at 3k.
@LLEsunny Dude, come on now. Any country can’t control exactly what every person says and thinks at all times, not even Soviet Russia could, but are you aware of The Great Leap Forward that lead to 45 million Chinese deaths in just 4 years? What about Tiananmen Square? Are you aware of the One Child Policy that led to millions of government-forced abortions? I have friends that have been over there and attested to their strict policies on religion. You’ve been there, but if you just turn a blind eye to objective history, you’re still burying your head in the sand.
45 million? Every time the number changes. I had heard people say 10, 5, 25, 150, 300, 800 million deaths. And now I hear 45 million from you.
From which country are you? Someone from the states? Are you aware that your government killed millions of natives, and slaves? No? Because the American education system never shows those sides of the history, while in Chinese textbooks the Great Leap Forward is mentioned.
The American government doesn’t kill those natives anymore, but the CCP doesn’t cause famines anymore.
Tiananmen square is similar to what y’all did to the people in the Middle Eastern countries, and many, many other countries.
One Child Policy didn’t lead to abortions, but to high fines. How come I see so many siblings of middle aged Chinese born between 80 and 90?
@GUSWANG really? It doesn’t take me long, which province are you in? It takes a few hours for me to download one in Henan province
@8bitSquid I am in Guangdong. it takes me days to download games and a day if I download on vpn.
I am in Guiyang and we got a Tencent Switch, anyone know if I bought an imported version of Zelda if I could play in English?
@RPGamer those aren't words, lol ;p
@rytechyes I don't think it would even play the game. A region lock means it will not play it. The author makes it sound like you can play imported games on a region locked device & only the language would be an issue. That's false. If a device is region locked, it will not play a game that's outside of the region it's designed for/locked to.
@LLEsunny i take it you're not a uygur muslim? Tell them that. You are not free in China. I won't get into political battles here, but anyone who isn't free to criticize their own government, or free to say what they want is oppressed. Doesn't mean they all are in concentration camps & cant move (tho some are).
@twztid13 Let’s get political! No, but if according to you what is oppressed, then I would say even tho some people are oppressed, they can still live a good life.
@LLEsunny a rat in a cage can live "a good life" cuz it's basic needs (eat & sleep w/o being abused) are met by your definition. If the rat had a choice, would it choose that life? I guess our definition of 'good" is different? I think the individual should decide for themselves, but I'm old fashioned, lol.
@twztid13 a rat in a cage, is someone in North Korea. And if you say China is a bigger version of North Korea, then please, stop being American.
@LLEsunny i wasn't saying anyone was a rat in a cage. I was using that example to show how absurd it is to say someone can be oppressed in some ways that you think is acceptable or "good" (that they have no choice over) & you're fine with it... If people choose to live that way, i could agree it is good for them. If they are forced, or have no choice, it is not your place to decide how good it is for them. If you don't understand that, stop being human.
Can a rat in a cage escape? No. Can someone living in a country(not mentioning specific countries, but let’s take China) escape or get out? Pretty much yes except for some like North Korea. If the people don’t like being oppressed, just move out of the open rat cage.
None of these games are good, I feel bad for those In china (If your like me and don't like Mario)
This is extremely sad. Why can't China get such hits as "Angry Bunnies: Colossal Carrot Crusade", "Sega Ages Sonic 2", or even "Calculator"!?!?
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