Ukraine crisis: PlayStation and Nintendo suspend deliveries to Russia

PlayStation and Nintendo are suspending shipments to Russia, the Japanese gaming giants announced on Thursday, as international brands increasingly halt operations in the country following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sony Group, which owns PlayStation, said in a statement that its video game unit “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 PlayStation Store operations in Russia,” he said.

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— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 9, 2022

The tech and entertainment conglomerate also said it was donating $2 million (about Rs 15.2 crore) to the UN refugee agency and Save the Children ‘to support the victims. of this tragedy”.

A growing number of multinationals, from McDonald’s to Adidas to Samsung, have completely or partially ceased operations in Russia after the invasion of its neighbour.

Some cited supply chain disruption while others directly linked the move to outrage over President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops to Ukraine.

A Nintendo spokesperson told AFP that the Kyoto-based company behind the popular Switch console was suspending shipments of all goods to Russia “for the time being”, without giving details on when. beginning or probable end of the move.

“There are two reasons. One is that our online store (in Russia) has been under maintenance since March 4, because the payment provider has stopped ruble transactions. The other is a logistical disruption,” said said the spokesperson.