
Photo: VCG
Gaming giant Tencent appears to be edging closer to selling Nintendo’s Switch console on the Chinese mainland.
That’s if a couple of company-linked social media accounts are anything to go by.
On Wednesday, two Tencent-linked public accounts called “Tencent Nintendo Switch” appeared on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo and the country’s ubiquitous social messaging app, WeChat. “Tencent and Nintendo are working hard to bring a Chinese version of the Nintendo Switch to everyone,” the two accounts’ first posts both read.
The accounts’ appearance has been widely interpreted as a signal that Tencent has completed of most of the required procedures for formally selling the popular console in the world’s largest games market. At the moment, no company holds a license to distribute and sell the Switch on the Chinese mainland, meaning the country’s gamers usually obtain it through overseas channels.
Tencent’s interest in the Switch dates back several months. In April, the company won approval to distribute the console with a test version of the game “New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe” in southern China’s Guangdong province. At the time, a Nintendo spokesperson revealed that the Chinese tech behemoth had also applied for licenses to sell the Japanese brand’s hardware.
Those formalities now seem closer to completion. Although Tencent remains tight-lipped about any product launch timetable, a media briefing for the “Tencent Nintendo Switch” is scheduled on Aug. 2 in Shanghai, where executives from both companies will give keynote speeches, Caixin understands.
Tencent’s Hong-Kong listed stock increased 1. 95% to HK$365.60 ($46.80) by market close on Wednesday.
Contact reporter Zhao Runhua (runhuazhao@caixin.com)
Related: Tencent Teams Up With Nintendo-Backed Pokemon to Create Games