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Nintendo Switch Launch In China and Other Asian Markets Unlikely to Happen Soon

Nintendo Switch Launch In China and Other Asian Markets Unlikely to Happen Soon

By Rishi Alwani | Updated: 17 January 2019 18:01 IST

The Nintendo Switch may not be a part of Shuntaro Furukawa's expansion plans for China and Asia

If you were expecting a Nintendo Switch launch in Asian markets like China, think again. While Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa is interested in growing the company's presence in Asia, he doesn't believe it would necessary mean the Nintendo Switch would be a part of those plan. Rather, he thinks that smartphone games may be the way forward in such markets. The topic of Nintendo's expansion into overseas markets came up in an interview with Japanese daily newspaper Kyoto Shimbun. Furukawa elaborated on how Nintendo would plan to tackle markets where it doesn't have much of a presence in, staring that a dedicated gaming console may not be the best path forward.

"We're anticipating Asia to grow in the near future," he said in the interview (via Nintendo Everything). "In that regard, there are still many things we can do. So, we want to challenge ourselves in the Chinese market. Games on smartphones are now commonplace, so we're not necessarily fixated on the necessity of dedicated game consoles gaining ground – we want to expand [into that market] by the best means possible."

It will be interesting to see if India is on Nintendo's radar as it does not have an official presence here. The company had sent its employees to evaluate Indian studios last year while Hyderabad-based Ogre Head is said to be working on a Nintendo Switch port of its Hindu Mythology roguelike, Asura.

In addition to this, he admits that Nintendo Labo sales haven't been as good as the company had anticipated though it has plans to "convey its allure".

"It hasn't sold as well as our other hit games have, but we did have an increase in sales for Labo during the end of the year," he admitted. "There are many new ways to experience Labo, and we're working on formulating new methods that convey its allure so Labo's sales will have longer legs."

In a prior interview, Furukawa confirmed that Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Switch sold over five million units in its first week globally.

Furthermore, he stated that the Nintendo Switch is the home console that is seeing the fastest software sales in the company's history so far. Also, he mentioned that game sales on the Nintendo Switch picked up mid-November. No surprise when you consider that Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu and Eevee were released at the time and were followed up by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

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