Well, it is not the Soviet period or the 1990's anymore. Many, if not all Western brands are present in Russia. Disney, Microsoft and Sony products can be bought just like in the West. We use PC here, go see Disney films, buy all the toys from those films, have PS3, PS4, Sony TVs, phone, etc.
This article is "interesting" not because Russia is some strange ("other") place but because it is a market that was always niche for Nintendo. I live in Moscow, it is like London+Manhattan.
I know that for the WII, people would have friends traveling abroad pick one up. That may just be due how much it cost. There are retro shops in Moscow that sell SNES, SEGA, NES, GameCube, etc. I am assuming that there was a market, but a small one. Nintendo was just never popular here.
It is true. Nintendo Russia is doing a great job here.
I have been to three Nintendo events--Switch opening night where they had a huge hall, gave away prizes and let everyone play Switch the games.
There was another one for the 2DS XL launch. Same thing, Switch games and 2DS games. And a big Splatoon tourni.
They had a similar, but smaller event at Russia Comic Con.
The main problem is that the Switch is not affordable for people living outside big cities. 22,000 rubles is a lot for some people--and even some people's monthly salary.
I wrote on another site, but on the metro here I see people playing Switches. I was in the shop the other day and people were buying them. There were ads in the metro here and some shops still have Mario Odyssey ads up.
Comments 103
Re: Feature: Nintendo Is Finally Taking One Of The World's Biggest Countries Seriously
@KIRO
Well, it is not the Soviet period or the 1990's anymore. Many, if not all Western brands are present in Russia. Disney, Microsoft and Sony products can be bought just like in the West. We use PC here, go see Disney films, buy all the toys from those films, have PS3, PS4, Sony TVs, phone, etc.
This article is "interesting" not because Russia is some strange ("other") place but because it is a market that was always niche for Nintendo. I live in Moscow, it is like London+Manhattan.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Is Finally Taking One Of The World's Biggest Countries Seriously
@BoilerBroJoe
I know that for the WII, people would have friends traveling abroad pick one up. That may just be due how much it cost. There are retro shops in Moscow that sell SNES, SEGA, NES, GameCube, etc. I am assuming that there was a market, but a small one. Nintendo was just never popular here.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Is Finally Taking One Of The World's Biggest Countries Seriously
I work in Moscow.
It is true. Nintendo Russia is doing a great job here.
I have been to three Nintendo events--Switch opening night where they had a huge hall, gave away prizes and let everyone play Switch the games.
There was another one for the 2DS XL launch. Same thing, Switch games and 2DS games. And a big Splatoon tourni.
They had a similar, but smaller event at Russia Comic Con.
The main problem is that the Switch is not affordable for people living outside big cities. 22,000 rubles is a lot for some people--and even some people's monthly salary.
I wrote on another site, but on the metro here I see people playing Switches. I was in the shop the other day and people were buying them. There were ads in the metro here and some shops still have Mario Odyssey ads up.