Nintendo plans Chinese launch for GBA SP

The Game Boy Advance SP is set to be released in China for the first time later this month, with Nintendo and iQue rolling the platform out in 21 cities across the giant market on October 27th.

The launch of the SP is the latest move into the rapidly growing Chinese market for Nintendo, which co-founded iQue with former Silicon Graphics president Wai Yen last year to handle its entry into the country.

iQue released a device called the iQue Player into China in late 2003 which played localised Nintendo 64 titles stored on encrypted flash cards, and followed up that console launch - one of the first ever in China - with an official launch for the Game Boy Advance in June.

The way that the GBA SP launch is being handled in the territory shows the effect of having a dedicated subsidiary with local market experience. In an unusual move, the GBA SP will be priced differently in many of the 21 cities in which it is being launched - a strategy designed to maximise the accessibility of the device to the local population.

However, the clamshell console - which has proved a massive success in other territories worldwide so far - will initially only be available in one colour, "Azulite Blue", in contrast to the multi-hued varieties available elsewhere.