Nintendo puts Russian eShop in ‘temporary maintenance’ and blames payment issues
Russian Switch owners seemingly cannot buy digital games
Nintendo is the latest company to temporarily halt the sale of games in Russia.
According to a Notice on the company’s Russian website, the Nintendo Switch eShop has been “temporarily placed into maintenance mode” after the payment service it uses for transactions stopped accepting Russian currency.
“Due to the fact that the payment service used in Nintendo eShop has suspended the processing of payments in rubles, Nintendo eShop in Russia is temporarily placed into maintenance mode,” the website reads, a spotted by The Verge.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused. We will share updates as the situation develops.”
Although Nintendo’s suspension of Russian game sales is allegedly the fault of a technicality, many other game companies have pulled out of the region this week and criticised its invasion of Ukraine.
On Friday, Microsoft announced that it will stop selling products and services in Russia, while Sony Interactive Entertainment quietly pulled Gran Turismo 7‘s planned Russian release and EA halted sales of its products in Russia and Belarus.
On Thursday, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher maker CD Projekt also halted sales of its products, including PC games distributed through GOG, in Russia and Belarus.
The Pokémon Company announced on Thursday that it would be donating $200,000 to provide humanitarian support in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Sony announced a $2 million dollar donation to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the international NGO, Save the Children, “in order to provide humanitarian aid to the affected populations in Ukraine and countries in the region.”
The company also plans to connect donations from Sony employees and match the amount raised, it said.
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Ukraine calls on Xbox and PlayStation to end support in Russia
The news follows Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister calling on Xbox and PlayStation to temporarily end support in the Russian and Belarusian markets.
In an open letter published on Twitter, Mykhailo Fedorov called on the platform holders to “block all Russian and Belorussian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belorussian teams and gamers in all international esports events”.
