Nintendo announced the launch of its official website for Malaysia through its Southeast Asia Facebook page. It’s about time Malaysia has its own Nintendo site, but it’s still unclear what this means for Malaysians. Would a Malaysian eShop be coming soon?
Besides a big red poster featuring Mario announcing the launch of the official Malaysian Nintendo site on Facebook, Nintendo didn’t really give that much information as to why the website was a big deal. The caption just states that the website is “now open” with a link that brings you to the site itself.
“We are pleased to announce the launch of the “Nintendo Official Website” for residents of Malaysia. We will provide various information about Nintendo, including Nintendo Switch console, game software, and characters from game series such as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda,” said Nintendo.
Currently, the website only provides basic information on the Nintendo Switch and the certain games available on the platform. You’ll be able to find information on major games like Pokemon Arceus and Animal Crossing, but you won’t find a full list of games available through international Nintendo eShops. The information also doesn’t include a Malaysian price—in fact, there’s no price list at all for the game pages.
If you’re interested in purchasing the game, you have to click on “List of Retailers”—which gives us the answer to “Is there an eShop now?”… the answer is no. The list of retailers includes the link to MaxSoft—the Singaporean company that acts as Nintendo’s official distributor and representative in Southeast Asia, as well as the links to their official Lazada page and Shopee page.
Checking their repair service/customer service section as well, they’ve only provided the contact information for a single “authorized Nintendo service center”. According to the service center, they’ve under the same company as MaxSoft Singapore, but are located in Petaling Jaya and have been there for “over ten years”.
It looks like the launch of the official Malaysian Nintendo website doesn’t necessarily mean the launch of an official Nintendo eShop—nor does it mean any official Nintendo stores that aren’t from MaxSoft. In fact, it seems like MaxSoft and Nintendo are making a stronger pact together, but I’m hoping for more official Nintendo service centers in Malaysia besides the one in PJ.
Additionally, Nintendo Southeast Asia also announced an official website for the Philippines. There is no official site yet for Indonesia, despite the high demand according to the comments section.
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