Chinese giant Tencent ‘wants to make console games using Nintendo characters‘
Gaming firm hoping to grow its business in the US and Europe
Chinese gaming giant Tencent reportedly wants to develop console games using Nintendo characters in a bid to grow its business in the US and Europe.
“What we want is to expand from China, and one target is console game players in the US and Europe,” an unnamed Tencent official told the Wall Street Journal.
“We hope to create console games with Nintendo characters, and learn the essence of making console games from Nintendo engineers.”
During a joint press conference in August, Nintendo and Tencent announced they’re working together to localise Switch games for the Chinese market.
It was also confirmed that the Chinese tech giant would assist Nintendo in setting up a localised network service through Tencent Cloud.
According to the WSJ, Tencent has promised Nintendo it can sell at least a few million Switch units in China.
It was recently reported that Switch’s Chinese launch was seemingly drawing closer after a localised version of Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was approved for release in the country.
However, providing an update on the matter during Nintendo’s six-month financial results briefing in October, president Shuntaro Furukawa said the firm was still seeking “various approvals” and that the console may not launch in China during its current business year ending in March 2020.
“We have not factored the sales in China into our financial forecast for the current fiscal year, and even if the launch does occur during the current fiscal year, we do not expect a significant impact on this year’s business results.”
Furukawa also told investors Nintendo has no current plans to cut Switch hardware prices, and that the company expects Mario Kart Tour to achieve “remarkable results”.
