Nintendo pushes the Switch at China’s largest gaming convention

It’s Nintendo’s first time at China’s version of E3, but the Switch still doesn’t have government approval

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With Nintendo and Tencent executives showing up at a major press conference, the Switch launch is expected soon. (Picture: Tencent)

Published: 10:28pm, 2 Aug 2019Updated: 9:10am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Nintendo has come to China’s biggest gaming convention for the first time this year as it prepares for an official release of the Switch in the world’s second largest gaming market. But there’s just one last hurdle: Government approval.

With a huge booth spanning about 400 square meters, Nintendo and its Chinese partner Tencent have made their presence known at ChinaJoy. The annual convention in Shanghai, which draws hundreds of thousands of people, can be considered China’s version of E3.

The company is going all out in courting China. It even decked out the booth with large statues of Link, Pikachu, Eevee and Mario.

Unfortunately for Nintendo fans, the Japanese gaming icon didn’t go as far as launching the console at ChinaJoy, nor did it even announce a release date. But it did confirm some details. Most notably, the Switch will have a China-specific eShop with integrated WeChat Pay.

So it sounds like things are ready to go. What’s the holdup? The Chinese government reportedly hasn’t yet approved the console’s hardware. No games are approved yet, either.