The launch of next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft has the gaming community across the globe, running to their nearest retail stores to purchases the consoles. But there is one country in the world that has shunned Sony and Microsoft from entering its market. That’s right, we are talking about China, and the fact that PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S is unavailable in the country as of now has made another gaming console a massive hit in its market.
The absence of powerhouses like Sony and Microsoft has made Nintendo Co.’s Switch the undisputed champion in the world’s biggest market. According to sources, Switch has distributed more than 1.3 million units this year through both legal and gray market channels. It has pushed Switch’s lifetime China sales to nearly 4 million.
Much of Switch’s success is contributed to the pandemic and the fact that users wanted to escape from the boredom introduced by the strict lockdowns. Though Nintendo’s Switch is facing significant difficulties globally due to the launch of consoles from Sony and Microsoft, China has become its oasis in the desert.
China has banned foreign companies from selling video game consoles in its market for quite some time. The consoles are banned, but some of the prevalent Nintendo games are being blocked from china. Games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Animal Crossing: the Chinese government is still banning new Horizons that has seen huge increase in their popularity.
Nonetheless, Nintendo’s games are significantly popular amongst the Chinese gaming community, and its popularity seems to keep increasing. Analysts claim that only Nintendo’s Switch can rise to such a rage in china as its games are designed primarily to target China’s audience.
“When compared to Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo has the best chance to seize the China market because its game characters and franchises are already well-known among Chinese consumers.”
