IQue


iQue, Ltd. is a translation/localization and support development company located in Suzhou. It was founded as a joint venture between Wei Yen and Nintendo in 2002 as a Chinese video game console manufacturing company. The following year, the company released the iQue Player. The company had manufactured and distributed official Nintendo products for the mainland Chinese market under the iQue brand until 2018.
iQue only released portable Nintendo games for iQue 3DS XL, DS, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Advance SP. The iQue Player is the only home console available from the company in China. There were plans to release the Wii in all of China but when Satoru Iwata officially announced the release date for it on September 20, 2007, he said it would only be available in Hong Kong, under the Nintendo brand. The Nintendo DSi was released in China in December 2009 as iQue DSi. The Nintendo 3DS XL was released in China as iQue 3DS XL in December 2012. By 2013, the company became a fully owned subsidiary of Nintendo.
By 2018, Nintendo had ceased any official distribution of older game consoles into mainland China under the iQue brand. Nintendo partnered with Tencent to bring the Nintendo Switch into the heavy regulated Chinese market at the end of 2019. Since 2017 iQue continues operations by offering consumer support for any previously released products, and translating and localizing new games released worldwide by Nintendo into simplified Chinese while Nintendo Hong Kong do traditional Chinese.
In 2019, iQue began to hire for developers with programmers and testers, indicating that the company was transitioning to be a development company to support game projects for the division Nintendo EPD.

iQue Player

The iQue Player is a micro variant of a home video game console by iQue that plays ports of Nintendo 64 games. It was uniquely designed to bypass China's ban on home console products placed at the time. 14 games came out for the console. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and a Traditional Chinese translation of Ocarina of Time were completed, but not released by iQue.

iQue Game Boy Advance

iQue Game Boy Advance

The iQue GBA is the Chinese version of the Game Boy Advance. It was released on 8 June 2004. 8 games have been released for the console. 12 more games were planned, but cancelled after high piracy of the system.
Western TitleChinese TitlePinyinRelease DateGenreGame Modes
Super Mario Advance超级马力欧2Chāojí Mǎlìōu 2June 30, 2004PlatformSingle player, multiplayer
Metroid Zero Mission密特罗德:零点任务Mìtèluōdé: Língdiǎn RènwùJune 2005ShooterSingle-Player
Wario Land 4瓦力欧寻宝记Wǎlìōu Xúnbǎo JìJune 2005PlatformSingle player
瓦力欧制造Wǎlìōu ZhìzàoJuly 4, 2005MinigamesSingle player
Metroid Fusion密特罗德 融合Mìtèluōdé RónghéMarch 2, 2006ShooterSingle-Player
- Super Mario Advance 3耀西岛Yàoxi DǎoMarch 2, 2006PlatformSingle-Player
Super Mario World - Super Mario Advance 2超级马力欧世界Chāojí Mǎlìōu ShìjièMarch 15, 2006PlatformSingle-Player, Multi-Player
F-Zero Maximum Velocity极速F-ZERO未来赛车Jísù F-ZERO Wèilái SàichēAugust 2007RacingSingle-Player, Multi-Player

Cancelled Games

iQue Game Boy SP

The iQue Game Boy SP is the Chinese version of the Game Boy Advance SP. It is the same as a regular Game Boy Advance SP but has an "iQue" logo on the top of the casing instead of "Nintendo" like the product for the worldwide market. It plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games and has a rechargeable battery. It was released in October 2004.

iQue Game Boy Micro

The iQue Micro is the Chinese version of the Game Boy Micro, and the smallest of the iQue family. It plays Game Boy Advance games. It was released in October 2005.

iQue DS

iQue DS

The iQue DS is the mainland Chinese version of the Nintendo DS. It was released on July 23, 2005. 6 games have been released for the console. It is the only version of the Nintendo DS to have a regional lockout, so iQue DS games cannot be played on Nintendo DS systems from other regions.
A Chinese version of Big Brain Academy was also planned, but cancelled. It appeared on the official iQue DS Lite trailer.
Games:
Western TitleChinese TitlePinyinRelease DateGenreGame ModesMedia
Polarium直感一笔Zhígǎn Yī BǐJuly 23, 2005PuzzleSingle-Player, Multiplayer DS Game Card
摸摸瓦力欧制造Mō Mō Wǎlìōu ZhìzàoDecember 2005MinigamesSingle-PlayerDS Game Card
Yoshi Touch & Go摸摸耀西-云中漫步Mō Mō Yàoxi - Yún Zhōng MànbùFebruary 14, 2006PlatformSingle-Player, Multi-Player DS Game Card
Super Mario 64 DS神游马力欧DSShényóu Mǎlìōu DSJune 21, 2007PlatformSingle-Player, Multi-Player DS Game Card
New Super Mario Bros.New 超级马力欧兄弟New Chāojí Mǎlìōu XiōngdìJuly 2, 2009PlatformSingle-Player, Multi-Player DS Game Card
Nintendogs任天狗狗Rèntiān Gǒu GǒuDecember 2009SimulationSingle-Player, Multi-Player Pre-installed on iQue DSi
Big Brain AcademyUnknownUnknownUnreleasedEdutainmentSingle-Player, Multi-Player Unknown

iQue DS Lite

The iQue DS Lite is the Chinese version of the Nintendo DS Lite. It plays Nintendo DS games and it is smaller than the original DS and it has a brighter screen than the original DS. It was released in June 2006.

iQue DSi

The iQue DSi is the Chinese version of the Nintendo DSi. It has a camera and it plays both DS and DSiWare games. It also comes with Nintendogs pre-installed in the system. It supposedly has been the only release of the game on the DS in mainland China. It was released in December 2009.

iQue 3DS XL

The iQue 3DS XL is the mainland Chinese Version of the Nintendo 3DS XL. It was the only version of the 3DS offered by iQue. Unlike the Nintendo 3DS XL from other regions, the iQue 3DS XL doesn't have a Nintendo eShop, you can't transfer data from an iQue DSi to an iQue 3DS XL or between systems and you can't play iQue DSiWare on an iQue 3DS XL. Only 2 games have been released for the console and they were both preinstalled on every console made. No physical game cards were ever made.
Games:
Western TitleChinese TitlePinyinRelease DateGame Modes
Super Mario 3D Land超级马力欧 3D乐园Chāojí Mǎlìōu 3D LèyuánDecember 7, 2012Single-Player
Mario Kart 7马力欧卡丁车7Mǎlìōu Kǎdīngchē 7December 7, 2012Single-Player, Multi-Player

Due to the regional lockout, only games that provide simplified Chinese interface language can be used in iQue 3DS XL. Besides the two games listed above which were released by iQue, the following 14 games released by Nintendo Hong Kong and Nintendo Taiwan can also be used on this console and include a simplified Chinese interface language:
Western TitleChinese TitlePinyinGame Modes
塞尔达传说 时光之笛 3DSàiěrdá Chuánshuō: Shíguāng zhī Dí 3DSingle-Player
Nintendogs + Cats任天狗狗+猫猫Rèntiān Gǒugou + MāomāoSingle-Player
Star Fox 64 3D星际火狐64 3DXīngjì Huǒhú 64 3DSingle-Player, Multi-Player
Mario Tennis Open马力欧网球 公开赛Mǎlìōu Wǎngqiú GōngkāisàiSingle-Player, Multi-Player
New Super Mario Bros. 2新超级马力欧兄弟 2New Chāojí Mǎlìōu Xiōngdì 2Single-Player, Multi-Player
脑科学专家 川岛隆太博士监修 突破极限 脑的5分钟魔鬼锻炼Nǎokēxué Zhuānjiā Chuāndǎolóngtài Bóshì Jiānxiū Tūpò Jíxiàn Nǎo de 5 Fēnzhōng Móguǐ DuànliànSingle-Player, Multi-Player
路易吉洋馆2Lùyìjí Yángguǎn 2Single-Player, Multi-Player
纸片马力欧 超级贴纸Zhǐpiàn Mǎlìōu Chāojí TiēzhǐSingle-Player
Pokémon Sun and Moon精灵宝可梦 太阳/月亮Jīnglíng Bǎokěmèng Tàiyáng / YuèliangSingle-Player, Multi-Player
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon精灵宝可梦 究极之日 /究极之月Jīnglíng Bǎokěmèng Jiūjí-zhī Rì / Jiūjí-zhī YuèSingle-Player. Multi-Player

Comparison