Nintendo, the Japanese game maker, announced on Wednesday that it would launch its Switch consoles in Indonesia for the first time this year. This move marks the company’s entrance into Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Nintendo’s Expansion Plans

Nintendo told Reuters in an email that it would launch Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 in Indonesia this December. A subsidiary of one of Indonesia’s biggest conglomerates, Salim Group, will be the official distributor for the consoles.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy stated that allowing Nintendo to sell its products through official channels would help address copyright violations. The country is also pushing to make Nintendo’s developer kit available to help local developers.

Currently, Nintendo consoles and game cartridges are sold mainly through unofficial channels, making pricing mechanisms unclear. However, with the official launch, Salim Group’s subsidiary will work with Nintendo to build an official repair centre and customer service.

Indonesia’s gaming market is worth about 30 trillion rupiah ($1.68 billion) annually, the largest in Southeast Asia. However, local developers generate only around 2.5% of that spending, according to the Indonesian Game Association.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.