Nintendo Has a Problem With Russia, but It Doesn't Care
It looks like Nintendo games may return to Russia, only that thanks to a company not officially affiliated with the Japanese (but run by the president of the company's Russian branch).
Nintendo was one of the many video game industry giants, which withdrew from Russia after the attack on Ukraine. However, the case of the Russian importer of "big N's" products puts the company's exit from Russia in a strange light.
As noted by Eurogamer, Russian website Kommersant reported that the company Achivka plans to provide gamers in Russia with Nintendo games and hardware. It cited, among other things, a photo of the boxart from Metroid Prime Remastered, which was imported by this company. This could be considered another example of the practice of importing products without the consent of the manufacturer (which supposedly is taking place with the government's acquiescence).
There is only one "but" - the founder of Achivka is Yasha Haddazhi, formally remaining at the CEO of Nintendo Russia. What's more, the company was registered at the same address as the headquarters of Russian Nintendo branch.
Many questions and ambiguous answers
Questions quickly arose as to whether Nintendo was aware of Haddazhi's plans. However, only Eurogamer was able to obtain a statement from the company on the matter, albeit quite ambiguous.
- Nintendo asserted that it is continuing to freeze its operations in Russia and is aiming for a complete withdrawal from the country.
- Contracts with local employees were terminated "by mutual agreement" (and with "appreciation of their efforts").
- In doing so, it stressed that the company is not affiliated with "companies engaged in parallel import of goods, including Nintendo products."
However, in the same message Nintendo indicated that it wants to honor its commitments to Russian customers. To that end, it is in discussions with more than a dozen companies, including Haddazhi's Achivka. It has also not clarified whether he is still CEO of Nintendo Russia.
Admittedly, this is only about benefits for "products already sold in Russia," , i.e. service that falls under the warranty. Nevertheless, listing the company of a former (?) employee with ambitions to bypass the blockades imposed by Nintendo as a potential partner is something of a curiosity.
