New Pokemon Snap becomes the first Pokemon game to release in China since 2000 console ban

China has started to open its borders to more official video game releases over the past few years, and New Pokemon Snap has now set a milestone of sorts.

New Pokemon Snap is actually the first Pokemon game launched in China following the console ban in 2000. It won’t stop there, as Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu / Eevee will be available in the country as well.

Also, even more Switch games are planned to come out in China. Super Mario 3D World + Browser’s Fury, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Zengeon, and Samurai Shodown will be available, too.

Going back to New Pokemon Snap, one small tidbit worth mentioning is that the sun symbols / icons were edited, and the triangular rays were replaced with dots / rectangles. Chinese Nintendo points out that this could be because the original icons are too close in resemblance to the Taiwan or Kuomintang Emblems. It’s unclear if the change was made by request or self-censorship to ensure approval.