Nintendo suspends digital sales in Russia

Gamers won’t be able to make digital purchases from Nintendo’s Russian eShop for now. The gaming giant has announced that the eShop in Russia has been temporarily placed in maintenance mode “due to the fact that the payment service [it uses] has suspended the processing of payments in rubles.” As Nintendo Life notes, people have been reporting about the outage on social networks, showing photos of their Switch getting error code 2813-0999 when they try to access the Russian eShop.

It’s unclear if Nintendo itself cut off payments in the region on purpose, or if the company had no choice but to place the eShop in maintenance mode because a third-party processor removed ruble payments from its system. The translated wording seems to indicate that the latter is more likely. 

Other gaming companies had previously taken steps to limit access to their products and services in Russia. CD Projekt Red halted sales of its games, including Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and all titles on its GOG store in Russia and Belarus. EA followed suit, preventing players in the two countries from making purchases from its Origin storefront and app. 

Microsoft suspended all new sales of its products and services (including Xbox) in Russia, following a request from Ukraine to ban all players in the country from its system. Ukraine also asked Sony to ban all players in Russia from the PlayStation network, but the company has yet to respond. According to Eurogamer, though, Sony quietly pulled Gran Turismo 7 from sale in the country.

Facebook blocks Russian advertisers from running ads globally

Advertisers within Russia can no longer create or run ads on Facebook “anywhere in the world,” including their home country, the social network told Business Insider. The website has also suspended all ads targeting people in Russia, “due to the difficulties of operating in [the country] at this time.” 

This is just the latest step Facebook has taken following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shortly after the attacks started, it blocked Russian state media from running ads on its platform before restricting access to RT and Sputnik in Ukraine and across the European Union. A few days after that, Facebook started demoting the outlets’ pages and any post linking to them on its main website and on Instagram. 

As a response to the social network restricting access to state-run media, Russian telecom regulator Roskomnadzor blocked Facebook in the country, though Instagram and WhatsApp remain available. The agency throttled access to the website before that when Facebook officials refused to stop fact-checking state media outlets upon its request. In a statement issued after Roskomnadzor blocked Facebook completely, Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg said the company “will continue to do everything [it] can to restore [its] services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action.”

According to a report by independent Russian news agency Interfax, Russia also recently blocked Twitter in the country. Roskomnadzor previously limited the country’s access to Twitter, as well, after the social network paused ads and recommendations and started labeling tweets from Russian state media outlets. The social network said, however, that it’s only seeing the effects of throttling within the region and not of an outright ban. 

Samsung halts product shipments to Russia

Samsung has stopped shipping its products to Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine, the company told Bloomberg News. The tech giant said it’s monitoring the “complex situation,” and that it’s donating $6 million, which includes $1 million worth of consumer electronics, to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. According to the publication, the shipment suspension affects all Samsung products, including its smartphones, chips and other consumer electronic devices. 

By halting all exports of its products to Russia, Samsung has joined the growing list of companies that had paused sales of products and services in the country. Apple halted all product sales in response to the invasion and after receiving a request from Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The company also limited Apple Pay, pulled the apps for Russian state-backed media outlets from its store and disabled traffic data for Maps in Ukraine to avoid putting residents in danger. Microsoft suspended all new sales of products and services in Russia, as well. 

The Korean tech giant is the top smartphone brand in the country and has a 30 percent market share, according to Counterpoint Research data. That’s much higher than Apple’s 13 percent market share, as of the fourth quarter of 2021. In addition, Samsung has a TV plant in Russia, though it’s unclear if it has also stopped production in the factory.

Its decision to halt shipments to Russia comes after Fedorov sent Jong Hee Han, the CEO for Samsung’s SET division, a letter similar to what he sent Tim Cook. In it, he asked the Korean tech giant to stop supplying the country with its products, as well as to block Samsung Pay, Samsung Galaxy Store and Samsung Shop.

As Bloomberg notes, South Korean smartphones were an exemption to the export bans recently imposed by the US government. But even if Samsung did want to continue shipping products to Russia, it would have a hard time sending products to the country anyway due to airlines and shipping services halting their activities in the region.

Activision Blizzard faces wrongful death lawsuit over employee suicide

Activision Blizzard is dealing with particularly serious fallout from the sexual misconduct allegations surrounding the company. The Washington Post has learned Activision Blizzard is facing a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of Kerri Moynihan, a woman who died by suicide in April 2017 during a company retreat. The family alleges sexual harassment at the game developer played a “significant factor” in her death.

Moynihan’s death was referenced in a California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) lawsuit over Activision Blizzard’s reported “frat boy” culture, albeit without mentioning her name. Male colleagues reportedly shared an explicit photo of Moynihan at the holiday party preceding her death, according to that lawsuit, and referred to a male supervisor who supposedly brought sex toys to the retreat.

The family lawsuit alleges Moynihan’s boss, Greg Restituito, lied to Anaheim police and otherwise tried to hide evidence of a sexual relationship with the victim. He made “unusual inquiries” with employees present with Moynihan the night before her demise, according to a police report cited in the suit. Restituito left Activision Blizzard in May 2017, the month after Moynihan’s death.

Activision Blizzard was reportedly uncooperative with police at the time. It refused to hand over the company laptops of either Moynihan or Restituito, and also declined access to Restituito’s phone.

The family’s lawyers shared a copy of the lawsuit with The Post, but otherwise haven’t commented on the lawsuit. Anaheim police and Restituito have so far been silent. An Activision Blizzard spokesperson said the company was “deeply saddened” by Moynihan’s death and would respond to the complaint through legal channels, but said it had “no further comment” out of respect.

Activision Blizzard has taken numerous actions in response to the misconduct scandal. It removed 37 employees between July 2021 and January 2022, and disciplined another 44. Blizzard leader Mike Ybarra has also vowed to restore trust by reforming company culture. The Moynihan lawsuit underscores the apparent toxicity at Activision Blizzard in previous years, however, and adds to the pressures on the company (and its buyer Microsoft) from the SEC and others to fix its workplace practices.

In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting HOME to 741741 (US), 686868 (Canada), or 85258 (UK). Wikipedia maintains a list of crisis lines for people outside of those countries.

YouTube reportedly offers podcasters up to $300,000 to create videos

YouTube might be eager to compete against giant podcast hosts like Amazon, Apple and Spotify. Bloombergsources say YouTube is offering podcasters “grants” to produce videos, including filmed versions of their shows. Individual show creators would receive $50,000, while podcast networks would receive $200,000 or $300,000.

Parent company Google declined to comment. YouTube is already a home for some podcasts, but it hasn’t pursued that episodic content as aggressively as Spotify and other (typically audio-focused) services. There have been hints of changes, though, such as appointing executive Kai Chuk to lead the podcasting strategy. In Canada, YouTube also stopped requiring paid Premium accounts to play audio in the background.

A strategy like this wouldn’t be surprising. Amazon and Spotify have been landing more major podcast deals, while Apple’s Podcasts app is still considered a vital home for many shows. While YouTube’s grants wouldn’t secure any exclusives, they would give creators more incentives to make podcasts available on the platform — and fans more incentives to consider YouTube.

Russia cuts off access to Twitter

Russia has moved to block access to Twitter just after a similar crackdown on Facebook, Interfax reported. Russian regulator Roskomnadzor reportedly said it was complying with a February 24 request from Russia’s Prosecutor General.

Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company had previously confirmed its service was being “restricted for some people in Russia,” and there were widespread reports of throttling. Now, it seems Russia is looking to make Twitter completely inaccessible, just as it has with Facebook. Twitter said earlier this week it would label all tweets with links to Russian state media outlets, as social media companies have rushed to limit the influence of RT and Sputnik.  

Update 3/1 5:23pm ET: A Twitter spokesperson said they haven’t seen “anything significantly different” compared with the earlier limitations on the service in Russia. “We’re aware of reports, but we don’t currently see anything significantly different from what we previously shared that would point to a block,” the company said in a statement.

Hulu users will lose next-day access to ‘SNL,’ ‘The Voice’ and other NBCU shows this fall

As of September, new episodes of some NBCUniversal shows such as Saturday Night Live, The Voice and American Auto will no longer hit Hulu the day after they air. NBCUniversal has ended a content deal between the two sides, meaning those series will stream exclusively on Peacock. It’s not clear which other shows will be affected by the move, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.

The decision to sever ties with Hulu comes as NBCU tries to drive more subscribers to Peacock. At the end of last year, it had 9 million paying subscribers (most of whom opt for the $5 ad-supported tier) and 24.5 million monthly active accounts. It’s unclear how many of those are using the free tier. Comcast subscribers can access an ad-supported version of Peacock Premium at no extra cost.

“Much of our strong NBC content premieres on Hulu. Over time we’d like to bring that back to Peacock,” NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said during Comcast’s January earnings call. Comcast CFO Mike Cavanagh said the company planned to spend $3 billion on Peacock content this year.

Keeping popular shows like SNL and The Voice as streaming exclusives could help NBCU boost Peacock user numbers. NBCU has invested in other types of content to bring in subscribers, including live sports rights, local news channels and making WWE Network exclusive to the platform. Peacock also has a slate of originals, including Bel-Air and an upcoming Twisted Metal series.

Having many broadcast and cable shows available to stream the day after they air has long been a selling point for Hulu. It’ll be a blow for the service to lose some notable NBC series.

Although Disney has been fully in charge of Hulu since 2019, Comcast still owns 33 percent of the service. Comcast can require Disney to buy out its stake, but not until 2024. At the end of 2021, Hulu had 45.3 million subscribers.

Update 3/4/22 8:30pm ET: “With the proliferation of streaming services entering the marketplace, we have long anticipated changes to our third-party content offering and over the past few years have increased our investment in original content, including popular and award-nominated titles,” a Hulu spokesperson told Engadget via email. “As a leading destination for breakthrough storytelling, we continue to transform Hulu into an exclusive home for stories from across The Walt Disney Company and beyond to bring our viewers even more premium content led by Hulu Originals and next-day television programming.”

Apple is rumored to be developing a ‘Mac Studio’ desktop and 7K display

Those longstanding rumors of a ‘headless’ Mac between the Mac mini M1 and Mac Pro might be gathering steam. 9to5Macsources claim Apple has been developing a “Mac Studio” desktop based on the Mac mini, but with considerably more power — think of it as a replacement for the higher-spec Intel Mac mini lingering in the company’s lineup. A base version would reportedly use the M1 Max processor from the late 2021 MacBook Pro, while a higher configuration would rely on a new, still more powerful chip.

Accordingly, rumors of a more affordable Apple monitor are afoot. 9to5‘s insiders also claim the company is working on an “Apple Studio Display” with a 7K resolution. That’s not as ambitious as some 8K monitors, but it would make the 6K Pro Display XDR seem slightly outdated. A report from 2021 suggested the new monitor would use the A13 chip from the iPhone 11 to offload some processing tasks, including AI, but it’s not clear if that part or a newer CPU is still present. The size is an unknown, too, although a higher resolution hints at a screen larger than the Pro Display XDR’s 32 inches.

It’s not certain when the Mac Studio or the Studio Display would arrive. Apple is holding its Peek Performance event on March 8th, but there are no guarantees you’ll see either device so soon. The company might wait until its annual developer conference (typically in early June), for instance.

The larger question might revolve around the exact role of the Mac Studio. Will it simply represent an upgraded Mac mini, or will it be positioned as a “mini Mac Pro” aimed at creatives who don’t need the modularity of a full tower? There’s also the matter of permanence. Apple introduced the iMac Pro in 2017 as a stopgap before the new Mac Pro arrived, and axed the all-in-one in March 2021. A Mac Studio could be a permanent fixture in the product line, but it could also serve as a temporary solution for pros who want a fast desktop but can’t afford to wait until the launch of a Mac Pro with an Apple processor inside.

The OnePlus 9 Pro is back down to a record low of $799

Android users who aren’t interested in Samsung’s latest smartphones should consider OnePlus’ newest handsets. We gave the OnePlus 9 Pro a score of 88 and called it the company’s best smartphone yet, and now you can get it for $270 less than usual. Both Amazon and OnePlus have the handset for $799, which is an all-time low.

Buy OnePlus 9 Pro at Amazon – $799Buy OnePlus 9 Pro at OnePlus – $799

As the “pro” moniker suggests, this model is the most powerful in OnePlus’ lineup right now, featuring a Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The sleek device is IP68-rated and has a 6.7-inch, 3,216 x 1,440 screen that has a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1,300 nits.

OnePlus worked with Hasselblad to develop the camera on the 9 Pro, and it’s much improved from the array on previous models. The rear setup features a 48MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide shooter and 8MP telephoto lens, and overall, it produces gorgeous photos. It’s also able to shoot 8K video at 30fps.

On top of stellar performance, the OnePlus 9 Pro has a formidable battery life, too. Its 4,500 mAh dual batteries powered the smartphone for a full working day, even with the screen at the highest resolution. You’re also getting one of the company’s Warp Charge 65T power bricks with the handset, which can fully recharge the smartphone in about a half hour. This latest sale is one to consider if you want premium features in your next Android phone but want something a bit different than the latest Galaxies and Pixels of the world. And if you’re on a tighter budget, the OnePlus 9 has also been discounted to $599.

Buy OnePlus 9 at Amazon – $599Buy OnePlus 9 at OnePlus – $599

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Russia blocks access to Facebook

Russian officials have blocked Facebook in the country, though Instagram and WhatsApp are still available. Telecom regulator Roskomnadzor says the move is in response to the social network preventing access to state-run media outlets RT and Sputnik in the European Union, Ukraine and the UK. Meta has demoted content from Russian state-owned media organizations on Facebook and Instagram on a global basis too.

The regulator says Facebook also limited access to accounts from other media organizations, which it claims violates Russian laws. 

“Soon, millions of ordinary Russians will find themselves cut off from reliable information, deprived of their everyday ways of connecting with family and silenced from speaking out,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said in a statement. “We will continue to do everything we can to restore our services so they remain available to people to safely and securely express themselves and organize for action.”

Roskomnadzor previously restricted access to Facebook. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the regulator asked Meta to stop fact-checking content posted by four state-owned media outlets and remove the labels it applied to their Facebook posts, but the company refused.

Other tech platforms have blocked Russian state-run outlets or made it harder to see their content over the past week. Those include YouTube, Reddit, Spotify and Roku. Meanwhile, the EU bannedRT and Sputnik from being broadcast in the bloc.

Update 3/4 1:55PM ET: Added Clegg’s statement.

Update 3/4 2:33PM ET: Noted that the ban doesn’t cover Instagram or WhatsApp.