Nintendo enters Indonesia through Salim Group partnership

Nintendo is officially entering the Indonesian market through a distribution partnership with Salim Group, marking a new chapter for the Japanese gaming giant in one of Southeast Asia’s largest consumer markets.

The company will bring its console business to Indonesia through Nintendo Singapore, which has partnered with Salim Group-owned Nusantara Interactive Niaga. The partnership is expected to include the launch of Nintendo Switch 2 in Indonesia by the end of this year.

The market entry was confirmed by Salim Group’s Axton Salim in an Instagram post on 12 August. 

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The partnership gives Nintendo a formal presence in a market where its consoles and games have long been popular, despite historically reaching consumers largely through imports and third-party channels.

For Salim Group, the move also builds on its existing presence in the gaming ecosystem. Its gaming business, Anugerah Kreasi Gemilang (AKG), has held the licence to bring Pokémon to Indonesia since 2019.

At the Nintendo Business Conference in Jakarta, Juro Takeuchi, executive officer at Nintendo, said the company sees a strong fit between its products and Indonesia’s social and family-oriented culture.

“We feel that this console is a very good fit for Indonesia because the characteristics of its games are well suited to Indonesian people, who have a strong love for their families and friends. Therefore, we hope users will be able to try it out for themselves and enjoy a variety of games in different ways with those closest to them,” said Takeuchi.

Beyond distribution, the move is also being positioned as an opportunity to deepen Nintendo’s engagement with Indonesia’s creative economy.

Irene Umar, deputy minister of creative economy and deputy head of the creative economy agency, welcomed Nintendo’s arrival, saying it reflected the growing regional importance of Indonesia’s gaming market and ecosystem.

“This move reflects the government’s commitment to strengthening copyright protection and tackling copyright issues in the gaming industry. Nintendo’s official entry is expected to mark an important turning point in advancing the national creative industry,” she said.

According to Umar, the government’s engagement with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company began with an initial meeting in March 2025, followed by a series of discussions that helped facilitate the company’s formal entry into the country.

The government hopes the relationship will extend beyond product distribution into areas including talent development, knowledge sharing, engagement with local game developers, localisation, creative collaborations and intellectual property development.

“By leveraging Nintendo’s vast platform ecosystem, Indonesian game developers are expected to have greater opportunities to boost productivity and drive exports of Indonesian games to global markets. The creative economy ministry is asking Nintendo to officially include development kits, which are one of the enablers for bringing local game products into the Nintendo ecosystem,” the deputy minister added.

Founded in Japan in 1889, Nintendo has evolved from a manufacturer of Hanafuda playing cards into a global video game company. Its formal entry into Indonesia now brings that global gaming heritage into a market where its products have already built a following over several decades.

Discover what's next in Indonesia's fast-moving digital landscape at DMA Indonesia 2026 on 13 October in Jakarta, where marketing leaders will explore how AI, creator ecosystems, social commerce, and omnichannel strategies are reshaping customer engagement and business growth.

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