With the Nintendo Switch being sold out almost everywhere, or have had their prices hiked up, the Chinese Switch, launched by Nintendo and local gaming giant Tencent, was launched a couple months ago. However, sales have been underwhelming in comparison.
On Chinese e-commerce sites, the average asking price of a new Switch is upwards of CNY 4,000 (RM2,461). That’s almost twice the console’s recommended retail price of RM1,307. In contrast, the Chinese version can be purchased easily for CNY 2,098 (RM1,290), and with no apparent supply issues.
The Chinese version of the Switch supports only three games so far—‘New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe’, ‘Super Mario Odyssey’ and ‘Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’. This is as China requires games to be approved by the government.
An internet firewall is also an issue as it divides gamers playing online multiplayer games on the Chinese Switch from regular Switch owners. The block prevents the two groups of players from interacting.
The Chinese Switch looks almost identical.
Image source: Nintendo Soup
Also notably, a big reason as to why the Chinese Switch hasn’t been selling lately is due to the politically sensitive Nintendo smash hit game ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’, which has not been approved for sale in China. But that has not stopped Chinese gamers from smuggling copies of the game, despite a hefty price tag of CNY 600 (RM369). A digital copy of ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ is USD 60 (RM261).
“‘Animal Crossing’ brings into focus the problems with the Chinese version. Its widespread popularity has made even an average gamer aware of the Chinese version’s shortcomings,” said Liao Xuhua, an analyst at data consultancy firm Analysys.
“China still has some restrictions and constraints in place–it requires the platform holder Tencent to continuously make adjustments for compliance,” said analyst from New Times Securities Ma Xiao.
Nintendo and Tencent are currently working to bring more games to the Chinese Switch but the progress has been slower than expected.
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