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Classic Wii games to launch on Nvidia Shield in China

The launch of Nvidia’s Shield tablet in China received quite a buff today, when it was announced that various first-party Nintendo titles will be available to play on the hardware.

The Shield, which operates using a customised version of Android, will run first-party titles such as Super Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess with full licensing rights from Nintendo. A rumour earlier this year seemed to hint that Nintendo were on board to permit their games to run on Nvidia’s Shield, but it was confirmed this week when marketing materials for the tablet featured screenshots and gameplay videos.

Released titles will run in 1080p and cost¥68, which equates to around £7.65.  The only games confirmed at the moment are Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, New Super Mario Bros and the 2009 iteration of Punch-Out!! According to industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, Metroid Prime is expected to launch on the device sometime in the near future.

It is entirely unlikely that these releases will reach Western audiences at all, as the releases are part of a local partnership between Nvidia, Nintendo and Chinese video platform iQiyi. Releasing video games onto the Chinese market is a tricky business, and is no way as simple as publishing titles in Japan, the Americas and Europe. Nintendo is set to launch the Switch in China with a few games available on day one, but bumper titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild won’t be seeing a localised release until 2018.