Nintendo has yet to bring either the Switch or its current lineup of mobile games to China, but, according to Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima, a mobile expansion into the country may be possible in the future alongside the correct partner.
Speaking during Nintendo’s quarterly investor Q&A, Kimishima addressed the company’s absence from China’s significant mobile game market, suggesting that Nintendo is considering options that could lead to mobile releases in China down the line.
While he wouldn’t confirm that the company would be doing so in the next fiscal year, Kimishima noted that a mobile partnership wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.
“Nintendo cannot expand its business in China alone, and an important issue is whether we can proceed with a partner entity in China to bring our IP to consumers in China,” said Kimishima. “We can see the possibility for such a partner relationship arising in future. Nintendo will continue to consider those options.”
While Kimishima is understandably careful to not set anything in stone, it is worth noting that the company recently engaged in a relationship with the Chinese game giant Tencent to bring the company’s mobile MOBA Honour of Kings to the Switch as Arena of Valor. That partnership alone was enough to raise Nintendo’s stock price by 7 percent at the time, though neither Nintendo nor Tencent have announced any further collaboration plans beyond the release of Honour of Kings.