We, the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS owners, are highly disappointed about the situation with Nintendo products in Russia. We believe there are several spheres the company should pay attention to in the first place.
1. The localisation of Nintendo consoles into Russian.
Since Nintendo is a company aimed mainly at people new to videogames, we see the interface localisation as a very important issue. Many parents buy a Nintendo Wii for their children in hope that they would be more active and would not spend hours sitting still in front of a TV screen. But very often they are disappointed with the result and the cause for this is that their children don't understand English. Most games are not translated into Russian, including those aimed at younger audience. It is clear that small children in Russia do not know English at a level required to play those games.
2. The localisation of games into Russian.
Such major titles as Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii are made to attract new customers and to bring profit to Nintendo. Unfortunately, there is no demand for them among Russian customers due to lack of localisation. It is a sad situation that Russian people cannot fully appreciate Nintendo products that are hugely successful all over the world.
3. Online services in Russia.
Nintendo's public image in Russia is made even worse by the fact that Russian users cannot access Nintendo's online services (Wii Shop, News Channel, Nintendo Channel, etc.). Russian Wii owners are forced to choose other regions, which have support for those online services. It is obvious that most customers are not satisfied with such situation, as it affects the game preferences, such as measuring units in Wii Fit. It makes the games even less accessible for wide audience.
4. Distribution issues.
Another weak point is the games' distribution. The range of games available in Russia is significantly lower than that in Europe, even though it is the European Wiis that are sold in Russia. Most of the new titles come to Russia with significant delay; some titles don't come here at all. The same applies to various accessories.
5. The price of Nintendo products in Russia.
Nintendo Wii is the most affordable gaming console of the latest generation in the world. This is different in Russia. The Wii retail price here is about 15 000 roubles, which is about 350 Euros. This is much more expensive than in Europe, and at the same time average monthly per capita income is around 350-400 Euros. The games cost about 50-60 Euros. It is worth noting that the October 2009 Wii price cut did not affect the Russian market.
All of the aforementioned refers to Nintendo Wii, but can be applied to Nintendo DS as well. The major issue with all the Nintendo handhelds is availability. It is very hard to find the DS and DS games in stores.
The Russian users feel sad about the current situation with Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS. We would really like to know if Nintendo has any plans for Russia and if it plans to deal with the problems pointed out in this petition.
We understand that these problems have to be solved in a financially profitable way and have to be thoroughly planned. Nintendo's rivals, such as Sony and Microsoft are constantly increasing their market share in Russia. Their products are mostly cheaper than Nintendo’s and their software and games get localised into Russian. But we believe that Nintendo can gain its market share in Russia. The Russian people are willing to buy Nintendo products. There is only one step to be made, and this step is to be made by Nintendo. The step that will open the amazing new world of Nintendo to Russian gamers and that will make Nintendo popular in our country.
Sincerely, the Undersigned.