Sony, Nintendo suspend video game operations in Russia
Tokyo, Mar 10 (EFE).- Japanese firms Sony and Nintendo confirmed Thursday the suspension of their shipments of games and consoles to Russia, as well as online sales in the country, following its invasion of Ukraine.
“Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine. We have suspended all software and hardware shipments, the launch of Gran Turismo 7, and operations of the PlayStation Store in Russia,” the company’s video games division announced on Twitter.
On its part, a spokesperson for Nintendo, who asked not to be named, confirmed to EFE that “all export would be suspended, although the existing stocks would be sold.”
The company, which has stopped online sales through Nintendo eShop recently due to the inability to process payments in ruble because of recent sanctions, has made the decision on shipments “because this situation makes logistics difficult”.
Sony and Nintendo are the latest in a number of companies that have suspended their exports and sales or halted their production in Russia amid the war and the consequent sanctions on Moscow by the international community.
Other companies in the entertainment sector to have taken similar action are Xbox, EA, Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, Take-Two and Ubisoft, with some of them also having extended the measure to Belarus.
Other Japanese companies that have altered or suspended their activity in Russia as a result of the conflict include the tech firm Panasonic; the construction firms Komatsu and Hitachi Construction Machinery; and the automobile companies Toyota, Nissan and Yamaha. EFE
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