It's no longer possible to purchase Nintendo Switch through China's grey market, as it has been pulled as a response to recent Hong Kong protests that have taken place within the game. The Nintendo Switch is available in China thanks to Tencent, but there are only a handful of games that have been approved for sale in the region, due to the country's strict censorship laws and content guidelines.
The Tencent Switch can play games made for other regions through online grey market sellers, but the downside to this is these games lack any online functionality. One game that is affected by this is global shortages of Nintendo Switch units, as it has become incredibly difficult to buy a new Switch from online retailers.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been regularly trending on social media since its release. As such, fans have been using Animal Crossing: New Horizons for Honk Kong protests from home. One notable example of the protests occurred when pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong created a "Free Hong Kong, revolution now" sign on his Animal Crossing: New Horizons island and shared it to Twitter. According to Reuters, this has led to Animal Crossing: New Horizons being pulled from grey market sites in China.
It's still possible to purchase Animal Crossing: New Horizons through sites like Taobao, but s of the game have removed the name and are relying on consumers to recognize the game through its description.
There have been a number of incidents involving video games being used as a vehicle for political protests, with the most famous involving controversy proved that political activism within the video game world does get a response. The fact that a game as inoffensive as Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been pulled from outlets in China is proof of this, as the creative opportunities within the game and the ability to share one's opinions through artwork is clearly scary to some people in the world.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Reuters
