While many Americans are used to having at least one gaming console in their home, the situation is different in other countries, mostly in China. However, it seems that Nintendo wants to change that. Using their current partnership with Tencent, they’ve been making massive steps in the country, outselling both the PS4 and Xbox One in the country, it’s not enough for the two gaming giants. A new promotion is putting Nintendo consoles in some of the most unlikely places: Ikea and Holiday Inn.

The news comes from Daniel Ahmad, a social media figure and senior analyst at Niko Partners, who posted about it on Twitter. He mentions that Nintendo and Tencent are partnering with Ikea and Holiday Inn hotels in China and letting consumers try out Super Mario Party in these locations. While Super Mario Party came out a few years ago for American players, Super Mario Party is a recent release in China, as video games are seen differently in the country.

In 2000, a ban on home console games was put in place in China, meaning that families could not legitimately purchase home consoles. However, this also meant that companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo were unable to put their consoles into the hands of Chinese consumers. This caused a massive black market of video games to appear in the country, as players who wanted to play games from around the world would have to download these games to enjoy them illegally. 

Other ways for players to enjoy games would be to go into internet cafés and play games on computers found there. This caused a massive uproar in MMO titles in China. Therefore, companies like Tencent rose in popularity. However, Nintendo found a way to get around the console ban of 2000 and created the iQue Player, a handheld version of the Nintendo 64, that plugged into the TV like a plug-and-play console. While this didn’t do much to dissuade piracy, Nintendo did have a small foothold in China.

In 2014, China lifted the console ban, allowing Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony to distribute their consoles through Shanghai’s free trade zone. Eventually, this was lifted throughout China. Although consoles could be purchased legally, Chinese consumers did not want to purchase consoles due to the ban being lifted after 15 years. With consumers clueless about what consoles can do, Nintendo aims to show Chinese consumer’s what the Switch is, hoping to get players interested. 

The promotion focuses on Ikea and 24 Holiday Inn hotels in China. Patrons of Ikea can try out Super Mario Party in branded sections of the show floor, allowing them to play the game while they’re shopping. Holiday Inn locations taking part in the promotion can play the game for free in the lobby or ask for a Nintendo Switch console in the hotel room if they’re willing to pay an extra fee. This is reminiscent of the Nintendo gateway system, or LodgeNet for Americans, which allowed patrons of a hotel to rent games from a Nintendo controller wired into the TV.

Ahmad mentions in the Twitter thread that while these promotions are strange for onlookers, there’s a method to what Nintendo and Tencent are doing. Since international travel has been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic tourism has been on the rise in China, meaning that many of the country’s citizens will be staying at hotels. This means that most of the families coming will be exposed to the Nintendo Switch kiosks and want to play more and might ask to have one put in their room. 

On top of this, China’s ban on home consoles from 2000-2015 means that a “console culture” concept hasn’t been developed in the country, as consoles are still fairly new to China. The creation of real-world demos of the console introduces a way to try out Nintendo’s titles and explains what a Nintendo Switch is to interested parties. This knowledge now provides a possible buyer of the console and helps Nintendo grow their audience in China with Super Mario Party and beyond.

With all these in place, it’s no surprise that Nintendo is aiming to take on the Chinese market. With previous information pointing to the company being the frontrunner with Xbox and PlayStation behind them, it seems that this marketing push with Tencent will be extremely valuable. It’s only a matter of time until China will have Nintendo as a household name for virtual entertainment.