Ex-Nintendo President says Amazon made illegal demands, before Switch 2 launch renewed tensions

With physical Switch 2 games still popular, Nintendo’s retail presence remains formidable. However, the gaming giant has often sparred with the popular online storefront Amazon. Former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé has shed new light on the animosity between the companies.

What caused the Nintendo Amazon rift?

Shared on the ResetEra forums, Fils-Aimé recently appeared at the NYU Game Center Lecture Series for an interview. The executive, who left Nintendo in 2019, discussed how he fostered relationships with retail partners. The most surprising revelation during the chat was Amazon's “illegal demands.”

The ex-President detailed a conversation toward the end of the Wii and DS era. He explained how the storefront wanted to expand its reach in the video game market. According to Fils-Aimé, an executive requested an “obscene amount of support, financial support, so they could have the lowest price and beat Walmart.” He replied, “You know that's illegal, right?”

Fils-Aimé decided he didn’t want to compromise relationships with competitors, like GameStop. As a result, it stopped providing Amazon with stock. Other suppliers have since accused the Jeff Bezos company of similar strong-arm tactics. Sure enough, that wasn’t the only occasion that the two sides didn’t see eye to eye.

A curious case of disappearing Nintendo merch

By the time the Switch arrived in 2017, Nintendo products were again listed at the retailer. Still, tensions emerged over used game sales. Complaints surfaced about third-party vendors with questionable reputations. It became rarer for buyers to find titles and consoles sold directly from Amazon.

When the next handheld debuted in 2025, gamers were shocked to see U.S. Amazon not support the launch. This time, the Mario maker reportedly objected to third parties undercutting its suggested prices. There was also concern that international scalpers would exploit regional differences in MSRPs. Nintendo eventually denied many of these claims, but fans remained unconvinced.  

A wide selection of first-party Switch 2 games and the system itself are now available. In fact, after Nintendo announced lower costs for digital releases, Amazon began matching those prices on physical copies. Even so, more disagreements over pricing and selling policies are likely.