Tag Archives: Hardware

Business, Featured, Games, Gaming, News, Nintendo

Nintendo will sell its presence in China Market meaning the end of its run there

In a significant announcement, Nintendo has revealed that the Nintendo Switch eShop and all online services will be discontinued in China by 2026. This decision will impact millions of gamers in the region, marking the end of an era for Nintendo’s presence in the Chinese market.

The Chinese Nintendo eShop will stop selling games and software by March 31, 2026 and after this date, all titles, including paid and free games, will no longer be available for purchase or download followed by the ability to download titles, redeem codes, and access DLC and other network elements by May 15, 2026.

To soften the blow, Nintendo, in collaboration with Tencent, is offering up to four free games to players with active WeChat accounts tied to their Nintendo Switch consoles. This offer is available from November 27, 2024, until March 31, 2026. Eligible games include popular titles like Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu.

For context, the Nintendo Switch was launched in China in 2020 through a partnership with Tencent, a major player in the Chinese tech industry. Since then, several older Nintendo Switch titles have been localized for the Chinese market.

However, unspecified changes in Tencent’s business operations have led to the decision to end online services in the region by Nintendo simply not renewing their partnership.

The news has been met with mixed reactions from the gaming community. While some players are disappointed by the loss of online services, others are appreciative of the compensation offered by Nintendo. Many are hopeful that this move will lead to improvements in the services offered in other regions.

Business, Gaming, Hardware/Console, News, Playstation, Technology

Bloomberg: Sony is already working on a return to portable gaming market

PSP and PS Vita wasn’t much of an example of dethroning Nintendo in the portable section of the gaming market by Sony and while it did gained fans from Playstation pro players, the company decided to focus on home gaming console with the entrance of the Playstation 4.

Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck with the respective responses from MSI, Lenovo and two gaming generations later, Sony might be making a return of the spiritual successor of the Playstation Portable but with the due diligence and homework.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is in the “early stages” of developing the device, which is still years away from a potential release according to sources close to Bloomberg.

Obviously, Nintendo being challenged as never before in the portable gaming front by all ways including portable PC devices and Smartphones, Sony sees the opportunity to try things again and it seems that the Playstation Portal build some confidence on Playstation actually trying again.

This comes as Microsoft Gaming CEO confirmed that Xbox is developing its original portable hardware which admittedly, will not be ready for this year, leaving Sony with the opportunity to capitalize by also, not competing directly with the successor of the Nintendo Switch, due to be announce between this month up to March 2025.

The original PlayStation Portable (PSP), released by Sony in 2004, was a groundbreaking handheld gaming console that brought console-quality gaming to the palm of your hand. Despite its unceremonious run without the expected success, the PSP was a significant competitor to Nintendo’s handheld consoles and was praised for its powerful hardware and multimedia capabilities. It sold over 80 million units worldwide and had a lifespan from 2004 to 2014.