Nintendo stops selling on Amazon after request to break the law

In a recent conversation during a lecture at New York University, Reggie Fils-Aimé, former president of Nintendo of America, revealed that Nintendo decided to stop selling on Amazon. The decision followed a meeting in the late 2000s, during which an Amazon executive pressured Nintendo to break the law.

The background of the meeting

During the meeting with Amazon, Fils-Aimé said the company wanted to expand into the video game market. Amazon’s goal was to offer the lowest prices on the market, even lower than rival Walmart’s. Fils-Aimé said Amazon wanted an “obscene” amount of financial support from Nintendo to help back that pricing strategy. He refused to give in to the pressure. “You know that’s illegal, right? I can’t do that,” Fils-Aimé told the Amazon executive.

Consequences for Nintendo product availability

The relationship between Nintendo and Amazon has remained strained ever since. When Nintendo launched its new console, the Switch 2, it was not available on Amazon, while pre-orders were offered on other platforms. This fits a pattern in which pre-orders for Nintendo games were often canceled on the e-commerce site. Many gamers speculated that the poor relationship between Nintendo and Amazon had to do with third-party sellers trying to sell Nintendo products at lower prices.

Historical context

Tensions between the two companies date back to the Nintendo DS and Wii era, which were among the best-selling systems in Nintendo’s history. Amazon, which originally started as a bookstore, expanded rapidly in the 2000s into an all-in-one retailer for all kinds of products, but without Nintendo’s lineup.

Industry impact and Amazon’s recent developments

Amazon has played an awkward role in the gaming industry, with its attempts to support game development failing to produce successful launches. Over the past year, the company has laid off thousands of employees in its gaming division, and its cloud gaming service, Luna, has recently been shut down. These developments have only further strained the relationship between Nintendo and Amazon.

Ultimately, Nintendo’s decision to end its partnership with Amazon reflects its strategy of protecting relationships with other retailers and maintaining integrity in business dealings.