Comments 16

Re: At Least 50,000 Switch Have Already Been Pre-Ordered In China Ahead Of Next Week's Launch

MossBossRoss

@AnnoyingFrenzy Yes, just that. They have a lower percentage of people in poverty because theyve redefined what poverty means. Thats not a positive thing. Granted, the relatively wealthy people in the cities still make up tens of millions. Thats a big market, but Ive always assumed that a lot of Chinese people who want a switch and can afford one have already bought one. Tencent's involvement simply gives it a more mainstream presense, showing the appeal of a gaming console to a populace that still prefers crappy phone games.

Re: New Study Says External Issues Are More Likely To Blame For Gaming Addiction, Not Gaming Itself

MossBossRoss

How is this a waste? When WHO comes out and makes a sweeping claim that video games are addictive, it is precisely by putting out studies that find the opposite of that by which we can combat that, not by saying that they are "obviously" wrong. This further shows that our society of debt based indentured servitude has its casualities and we have forgotten how to welcome the youth into adulthood, and we need to address that. Let us not find scapegoats for our failings.

Re: Nintendo Shares Soar After Word Spreads Tencent Will Distribute The Switch In China

MossBossRoss

I work in Beijing and I've never had much trouble finding any switch game I want on release day simply by taking a trek downtown. All of the first party Nintendo games that are published in the China region (Taiwan/Hong Kong) come with English anyway. Some games, like Ys VIII, I'm not sure if the Chinese or Japanese release will have the English option, but the North American edition will usually show up on Taobao a week after release. I just have to ship it from Shanghai or Shenzhen for dirt cheap.
I learned my lesson with some games like Xenoblade 2 (no, not Chronicles) when I had to play the whole thing in Chinese. But I also learned that a lot of releases, such as the Koei Techmo games, have simplified Chinese with their Japanese release, but no English. They seem to already be considering this market.
I'm not sure how much money is getting back to Nintendo, but the games are usually all about retail price. The only time I felt inconvenienced was when Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee came out and none of the stores had the Pokeballs on release day because, having batteries, they had to be shipped by boat. Or there is the time I bought the North American release of Bayonetta 2 but there simply wasn't a download code for Bayonetta 1 included. There wasn't even the sticker that promised one on the box.
But I'm not so sure Tencent distributing Nintendo games is going to help with piracy. Nor am I convinced there is a big piracy problem with contemporary Nintendo games here. It's mostly the older ones. Plenty of people in my office have a switch and I'm convinced the growing middle class would prefer to buy the real deal. My biggest concern is that the current system for getting games here, which works, will be shuttered in favor of propping up this new deal that promises huge delays for releases and censored content. Nintendo wins, but I'm not sure if Chinese gamers do. At the very least the masses will be aware of all these awesome games the rest of the world is obsessing about instead of their stupid tencent or netease smartphone games.