IQue

 ( Official Website ) 

iQue, Ltd. () is a Chinese video game localization and development company located in Suzhou. It was founded in 2002 as a joint venture between Taiwanese-American engineer Wei Yen and Nintendo to manufacture and distribute Nintendo hardware and software for mainland China.

iQue released the iQue Player in 2003 and went on to distribute several Nintendo handheld systems under the iQue brand. By 2013, the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo and later shifted its focus away from hardware to localization, technical support, and internal development work.

Its Chinese name, Shényóu, is a double entendre meaning "to make a mental journey".

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History Nintendo established iQue in December 2002 as a joint venture with Wei Yen, a veteran of earlier Nintendo hardware collaborations. Yen had previously served as senior vice president at Silicon Graphics, where he contributed to Project Reality, the hardware project that became the Nintendo 64. After leaving SGI, Yen founded BroadOn, which developed the cryptographic security system used in the iQue Player to deter piracy.

The company introduced its first product, the iQue Player, in 2003. The system adopted a handheld TV game format in part to comply with a 2000 Ministry of Culture ban on the sale of traditional home video game consoles. In the following years, iQue distributed official Nintendo products for the mainland Chinese market, focusing primarily on handheld systems, which were not subject to the same ban. While Nintendo and iQue initially planned to release the Wii across mainland China, these plans were ultimately scaled back and the iQue Player was the company's only home console released in China.

By 2013, iQue became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nintendo. During the early 2010s, iQue contributed to emulator development for Nintendo's Virtual Console services, including NES and Game Boy emulation on Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 64 emulation on Wii U. The company later supported development of the Nintendo 64 emulator used for Nintendo Switch Online.

From 2017 onward, Nintendo wound down distribution of older hardware under the iQue brand. Nintendo partnered with Tencent to introduce the Nintendo Switch in mainland China in 2019. iQue shifted to providing customer support for legacy products and began localizing Nintendo titles into simplified Chinese, while Nintendo Hong Kong handled traditional Chinese.

In 2019, iQue began hiring programmers and developers, signaling a broader transition toward internal development support for Nintendo EPD.

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iQue Player The iQue Player is a handheld TV game variant of the Nintendo 64. It was uniquely designed to bypass China's ban on home console products placed at the time and to combat the problems with rampant game piracy in the market. A total of 14 games were released for the console.

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iQue Game Boy Advance The iQue GBA is the Chinese version of the Game Boy Advance. It was released on 8 June 2004.

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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". It plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games and has a rechargeable battery. It was released in October 2004.

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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.

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Games

Eight games have been released for the console. Twelve more games were planned, but cancelled after high piracy of the system.

Wario Land 4	瓦力欧寻宝记	Wǎlìōu Xúnbǎo Jì	June 2004	Platform	Single player
Super Mario Advance	超级马力欧2	Chāojí Mǎlìōu 2	30 June 2004	Platform	Single player, multiplayer (1–2)
	密特罗德：零点任务	Mìtèluōdé: Língdiǎn Rènwù	15 June 2005	Shooter	Single player
	瓦力欧制造	Wǎlìōu Zhìzào	4 July 2005	Minigames	Single player
Metroid Fusion	密特罗德 融合	Mìtèluōdé Rónghé	2 March 2006	Shooter	Single player
– Super Mario Advance 3	耀西岛	Yàoxi Dǎo	2 March 2006	Platform	Single player
Super Mario World – Super Mario Advance 2	超级马力欧世界	Chāojí Mǎlìōu Shìjiè	15 March 2006	Platform	Single player, multiplayer
F-Zero Maximum Velocity	极速F-ZERO未来赛车	Jísù F-ZERO Wèilái Sàichē	August 2007	Racing	Single player, multiplayer(1–4)
Advance Wars	陆海空大战	Lùhǎikōng Dàzhàn		Strategy	Single player, multiplayer (1–4)
Densetsu no Starfy	斯塔非的传说	Sītǎfēi de Chuánshuō		Platform	Single player
Densetsu no Starfy 2	斯塔非的传说2	Sītǎfēi de Chuánshuō 2		Platform	Single player
	摇摆森喜刚	Yáobǎi Sēn Xǐgāng		Puzzle	Single player
Famicom Mini Collection	红白机合集	Hóngbái Jīhéjí		Compilation	Single player
	火纹战记: 封印之剑	Huǒwén Zhànjì: Fēngyìn Zhījiàn		Role-playing	Single player
Kuru Kuru Kuruin	转转棒	Zhuǎn Zhuǎn Bàng		Puzzle	Single player, multiplayer (1–4)
Kururin Paradise	转转棒天堂	Zhuǎn Zhuǎn Bàng Tiāntáng		Puzzle	Single player, multiplayer (1–4)
	马力欧与路易吉RPG	Mǎlìōu Yǔ Lùyìjí RPG		Role-playing	Single player
	马力欧卡丁车超级赛道	Mǎlìōu Kǎdīngchē Chāojí Sài Dào		Racing	Single player, multiplayer (1–4)
Polarium Advance	通勤一笔	Tōngqín Yī Bǐ		Puzzle	Single player
Tomato Adventure	番茄酱王国大冒险	Fānqié Jiàng Wángguó dà Màoxiǎn		Role-playing	Single player, multiplayer (1–2)

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iQue DS

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iQue DS

The iQue DS is the Chinese version of the Nintendo DS. It was released on 23 July 2005. Six games were 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.

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iQue DS Lite

The iQue DS Lite is the Chinese version of the Nintendo DS Lite. It plays Nintendo DS games, is smaller than the original DS, and has a brighter screen than the original DS. It was released on 26 June 2006.

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iQue DSi

The iQue DSi is the Chinese version of the Nintendo DSi. It has 2 cameras and it plays both DS and DSiWare games. It came with Nintendogs pre-installed on the system and a gift card with 1,000 DSiWare points to download software. It was released in late December 2009.

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Games

Polarium	直感一笔	Zhígǎn Yī Bǐ	23 July 2005 (launch title)	Puzzle	Single player, multiplayer (1–2)	iQue DS Game Card
	摸摸瓦力欧制造	Mō Mō Wǎlìōu Zhìzào	23 July 2005 (launch title)	Minigames	Single player	iQue DS Game Card
Yoshi Touch & Go	摸摸耀西-云中漫步	Mō Mō Yàoxi – Yún Zhōng Mànbù	14 February 2006	Platform	Single player, multiplayer (1–2)	iQue DS Game Card
Super Mario 64 DS	神游马力欧DS	Shényóu Mǎlìōu DS	21 June 2007	Platform	Single player, multiplayer (1–4)	iQue DS Game Card
New Super Mario Bros.	New 超级马力欧兄弟	New Chāojí Mǎlìōu Xiōngdì	2 July 2009	Platform	Single player, multiplayer (1–4)	iQue DS Game Card
Nintendogs	任天狗狗	Rèntiān Gǒu Gǒu	December 2009 (launch title)	Simulation	Single player, multiplayer (1–2)	Pre-installed on iQue DSi
Big Brain Academy	大脑科学院	Dànǎo kēxuéyuàn		Edutainment	Single player, multiplayer (1–8)

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iQue 3DS XL

The iQue 3DS XL is the 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, save data can't be transferred from an iQue DSi to an iQue 3DS XL or between systems and iQue DSiWare can't be played 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.

Super Mario 3D Land	超级马力欧 3D乐园	Chāojí Mǎlìōu 3D Lèyuán	7 December 2012	Single player
Mario Kart 7	马力欧卡丁车7	Mǎlìōu Kǎdīngchē 7	7 December 2012	Single player, multiplayer

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:

	塞尔达传说 时光之笛 3D	Sàiěrdá Chuánshuō: Shíguāng zhī Dí 3D	Single player
Nintendogs + Cats	任天狗狗+猫猫	Rèntiān Gǒugou + Māomāo	Single player
Star Fox 64 3D	星际火狐64 3D	Xīngjì Huǒhú 64 3D	Single player, multiplayer
Mario Tennis Open	马力欧网球 公开赛	Mǎlìōu Wǎngqiú Gōngkāisài	Single player, multiplayer
New Super Mario Bros. 2	新超级马力欧兄弟 2	Xīn Chāojí Mǎlìōu Xiōngdì 2	Single player, multiplayer
	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 Duànliàn	Single player, multiplayer
	路易吉洋馆2	Lùyìjí Yángguǎn 2	Single player, multiplayer
	纸片马力欧 超级贴纸	Zhǐpiàn Mǎlìōu Chāojí Tiēzhǐ	Single player
Pokémon Sun and Moon	精灵宝可梦 太阳/月亮	Jīnglíng Bǎokěmèng Tàiyáng / Yuèliang	Single player, multiplayer
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 Yuè	Single player, multiplayer

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Comparison

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External links

Categories: Official Website, Companies Based In Suzhou, Video Game Companies Established In 2002, Chinese Companies Established In 2002, Manufacturing Companies Of China, First-party Video Game Developers, Nintendo Divisions And Subsidiaries, Privately Held Companies Of China, Video Game Companies Of China, Video Game Development Companies, Chinese Brands, Chinese Subsidiaries Of Foreign Companies

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