>>any mix of China, India
In China, from what I heard, the distribution of consoles and software by foreign companies has been severely restricted by the Chinese government (E.g. Nintendo was forced to establish a partnership with a Chinese company, iQue, to sell DSLite. Likewise EA and other publishers weren't allowed to publish games by themselves).
Because of these regulations, foreign companies including Nintendo haven't really made it in the market. I'm not sure about the intention of the government, but probably it is to protect domestic game companies from competitive foreign firms. Typical protectionism for developing countries. Despite the recent success of Shanghai game expo, there still is no sign that the government will relax those restrictions.
Piracy is undoubtedly another factor that increases risk for Nintendo. I've read somewhere that over 90% of software used in China are pirated copies. The number is probably even higher for game software. I presume chip-modding as well as fake DS/Wii imitations will flood the market. And I don't think the government is serious about fixing the piracy problem even though they said they would.
I'm curious about the Indian market however - government regulations, piracy, gaming culture, demographic, et cetra. It's a huge market.
No, it's not going to stop 'Til you wise up
No, it's not going to stop So just ... give up
- Aimee Mann
