Nintendo doesn’t appear to give any reasons for this decision. But the company does state that this is a direct result of halting the use of rubles as a form of payment in Russia. It’s also not clear if the payment suspension was Nintendo’s choice or not. Either way, the result is the same. Gamers in Russia can no longer make purchases in the Nintendo eShop.
The Nintendo eShop in Russia may open back up soon
Nintendo’s post on the support page about the suspension is fairly vague. Possibly because Nintendo may be less involved than people think. The post states, “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 put into maintenance mode.” Nintendo follows the statement by apologizing for causing any inconveniences. Then notes that it will share more information as the situation evolves. This would suggest that the suspension of payment processing may not have been entirely at Nintendo’s discretion. And may in fact have been a choice by a third-party payment processing service that Nintendo simply uses within the region. Of course, it comes at a time when many other businesses have made a conscious choice to stop doing business with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Both EA and CD Projekt Red are no longer selling games in Russia or Belarus. And Microsoft has now suspended sales of its games and products in Russia as well.
Wii U and 3DS owners get the short end of the stick
While this only seems to be temporary, it may not be for some. Specifically gamers in Russia who want to buy games digitally on the Wii U or 3DS. Earlier this year Nintendo confirmed it would be shutting down the eShop for those two systems beginning in March. Now that the eShop can’t be used in Russia for the time being, it may not come back up in time to grab digital games before it’s gone for good. Nintendo won’t be shutting down the eShop for the Wii U and 3DS until the end of March, however. So gamers may still end up being able to make purchases before the shutdown.
