Nintendo to Enter Russian Marketplace: Reuters Reports Japanese Videogame Company to Be Highly Interested in "Growth Market," and Will Start Business in the Country Later This Year

Reuters is reporting that Nintendo appears interested in the Russian video game market, and is planning to bring its business to the country later this year, intensifying its competition with Sony and Microsoft in Europe, according to business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun in reports released on Sunday.

With "the U.S., European and Japanese game markets maturing, the Japanese video gamemaker known, for game characters such as Mario and Pokemon, needs fresh markets with strong growth potential," the Reuters report explains. Reports indicate that Nintendo has already selected a local agency to market and distribute its products in the country.

Reuters was not immediately able to obtain comment from Nintendo officials concerning the expansion of its European operations to include the Russian marketplace.

Nintendo, which has lost ground to competitors in recent years with Sony and Microsoft taking the top two positions for in-home console hardware during the past decade with their respective Playstation 2 and XBOX consoles, saw strong sales of its DS handheld (including the sleeker DS Lite) lift the historic Japanese videogame developer, made famous by franchises including Super Mario Bros. and Pokemon, back to global prominence. DS hardware and software sales alone, led by innovative titles such as Brain Age and Nintendogs, accounted for a worldwide profit of nearly 72 percent for Nintendo during its first fiscal half.

Nintendo's Wii, which will compete immediately with Sony's Playstation 3 (which will arrive two days before in U.S. and Japanese stores but faces delays in other countries until March due to supply issues) and Microsoft's XBOX 360 (which has been on the market for a year), goes on sale November 19th in the U.S. market, with launches in other countries to follow within weeks.

The Wii, which features an innovative controller shaped much like a TV remote that senses its position in 3D space, allows for motion-sensitive gameplay unlike anything else currently on the market. For example, baseball games on the Wii can be played simply by swinging the controller like a baseball bat. Other games for the Wii allow you to swing the controller to control an onscreen sword or like a rod to catch virtual fish, twist and turn the controller like a steering wheel to control onscreen racing vehicles, or even use the controller like a club to play virtual golf.

Nintendo's expansion into Russia takes the country's status as a growth market completely into account, allowing the Kyoto, Japan-based company to better compete with its rivals in the global marketplace.

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