Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima has said that the company is still interested in launching its mobile games in China but would need a partner to do so.

In a Q&A session following the company's latest financials, Kimishima stated that "Nintendo cannot expand its business in China alone, and an important issue is whether we can proceed with a partner entity in China to bring our IP to consumers in China."

"We can see the possibility for such a partner relationship arising in future," he added, noting that "our understanding is that there are many consumers awaiting Nintendo's games there."

Building the business

Kimishima also gave a similar answer when asked about why Nintendo isn't currently selling its Switch console in China. He noted that there are a number of Chinese developers working on Switch titles, and that the company will continue to consider the region in future.

He also reaffirmed Nintendo's commitment to mobile, saying that "we want to build up the smart-device business as a core pillar of Nintendo's various businesses, but we have not yet reached that level." Kimishima also stated that the company was not considering becoming a smartphone platform developer.

Nintendo has been quizzed about its decision not to launch mobile games in China since November 2016. In June 2017, Nintendo of America's President Reggie Fils-Aimé forgot that the company had yet to launch any mobile games in the region.