Nintendo to launch Switch consoles in Indonesia in December

JAKARTA – Japanese game maker Nintendo said on Aug 12 that it would launch its Switch consoles in Indonesia for the first time in 2026, marking its entrance into South-east Asia’s largest economy.

Nintendo told Reuters in an e-mail that it would launch the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 in Indonesia in December.

Asked what its presence in Indonesia might entail, the company said: “Unfortunately, we have nothing further to share besides the fact that we plan to 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 said in a statement.

Irene Umar, Indonesia’s Vice-Minister of Creative Economy, said on Aug 12 in an Instagram post that allowing Nintendo to sell its products through official channels would help address copyright violations.

Indonesia is pushing to make Nintendo’s developer kit available to help local developers, Irene added.

Nintendo consoles and game cartridges are currently sold mainly through unofficial channels, making pricing mechanisms unclear, local game developer Adam Ardisasmita told Reuters.

Salim Group’s Axton Salim was quoted by state news website Antara as saying that its subsidiary would work with Nintendo to build an official repair centre and customer service.

Indonesia’s gaming market is worth about 30 trillion rupiah (S$2.15 billion) annually, the largest in South-east Asia, but local developers generate only around 2.5 per cent of that spending, the Indonesian Game Association said in 2025.

Nintendo launched the Switch 2 hybrid home-portable console in June 2025 and expects to sell 16.5 million units in the current business year until March 2027. REUTERS