Nintendo to Sell Games in Russia through Yandex.Money

October 1, 2014

Yandex.Money has become Nintendo’s first digital distribution partner in Russia. Now users from Russia and the CIS can buy games for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U in Yandex.Money’s digital goods section. Users can choose from various commission free payment methods: Yandex.Money e-wallet, Visa/Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro bank cards and more.

Yandex.Money is the largest payment service in Russia. According to a TNS survey carried out in March 2014, 87% of users from big cities are familiar with it. In addition to its payment solution, the service offers a wide selection of digital goods from leading publishers and developers: software, games, music and others. Yandex.Money also distributes digital content on Russian online banking portals, cash payment kiosks, and other traffic-heavy platforms.

Nintendo is a Japanese company, which develops games and video game consoles. Nintendo’s products are very well known in many countries, including the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia, as well as across Europe and Asia. By June 2014 the company had sold over 44 million 3DS consoles and more than 6 million Wii U since their launch date.

Around 60 Nintendo products have already appeared on the site. Among them are such popular games as Mario Kart 8, The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Pokemon X, Pokemon Y, Sonic Lost World and a brand new Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, released in Europe on 3 October.

“In the last year, the number of users who buy games through Yandex.Money has doubled,” said Yandex.Money’s Director of Sales Eugene Maleev. “Digital distribution is one of the fastest growing segments for us and the same section on our site is one of the most visited. Now we have games for Nintendo, and every user from Russia or the CIS can buy them easily, quickly, and commission free. In the future, we plan on increasing the selection, adding more new and popular games.”

“For digital distribution of our games in Russia, it was essential to choose a partner who Russian audiences know well and trust,” said Yasha Haddaji, General Manager of Nintendo in Russia. “And in that sense, Yandex.Money is the perfect partner.”