For several months, official Nintendo products have not been sold on Amazon. While there’s a wealth of third-party accessories and games, offerings directly from Nintendo have been null. Even with the massive launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, no efforts were made to rectify this. A new report from Bloomberg claims that this is all due to a tiff going on in the background between Amazon U.S. and Nintendo. Allegedly, it has to do with Nintendo being irate over the marketplace’s lack of policing when it came to third-party merchants.
How the cookie crumbled
As the story goes, it appears that Nintendo took notice of the lower prices that third-party merchants based in the U.S. were selling games. These merchants were reportedly gathering bulk stock from smaller, cheaper markets like Southeast Asia. They then exported the games to the U.S. and sold them at a discounted price.
Ultimately, the decision was made by the Big N to pull away from Amazon altogether, despite apparent efforts by Amazon to provide labels that would guarantee product authenticity.
Interestingly, neither of the companies validate the components of this report. Amazon told Bloomberg: “There is no such fact. We do not disclose details of negotiations or contracts with retailers.” Amazon also called the reports “inaccurate,” saying it was “pleased to offer Nintendo products directly to our customers as part of our commitment to providing an exceptional shopping experience with the widest selection possible.”
It’s not entirely surprising at all that neither company is willing to outright admit fault, whether it be on their own part or that of the other.
Going back to Nintendo’s statement, while it may come off as regular ‘PR dismissal,’ it would’ve been very strange to see such a prominent company openly talk about background negotiations with its partners.We may never get a straight answer from either side as to why Nintendo products were quietly removed from Amazon, but things do seem to be on the mend.
Slowly but surely
Following the Switch 2’s complete absence at launch, some games and accessories have begun popping up on the official Nintendo Amazon storefront. One such example is that of the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza, which will be launching exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2 in July.
Both the physical and digital editions are available for pre-order on Amazon U.S. and indicate they’re coming from Nintendo. The same goes for the recently-revealed Donkey Kong & Pauline amiibo figurine.
The Nintendo Switch 2 itself along with first-party accessories (like the Pro Controller, for instance,) have yet to make an appearance on the site.
More console news:
First four days: Nintendo Switch 2 sells 3.5 million units | New Xbox consoles are coming—but where do they fit in?
