Reggie Fils-Aimé, the former Nintendo of America boss, recently shared a juicy tidbit about why Nintendo hit pause on working with Amazon during the DS era. Turns out, a phone call from an Amazon exec asking for something ‘illegal’ was the breaking point.
At a New York University lecture, Reggie opened up about this tense moment, which unfolded near the end of the Wii and DS days. Amazon wanted a sweet deal to beat Walmart’s prices, but Reggie wasn’t having it. He flatly told the exec, “That’s illegal. I can’t do that,” and just like that, Nintendo pulled the plug on selling through Amazon. Talk about standing your ground!
Interestingly, Nintendo and Amazon’s rocky relationship didn’t end there. Rumors flew last year about more beef over third-party resellers, but both companies played it cool publicly. By June 2025, Nintendo’s games were back on Amazon’s shelves, showing that sometimes a little space is all you need. For more Nintendo drama, check out how PlayStation’s DRM is causing a stir or dive into Netflix issues.
So, what’s the takeaway? Reggie’s call to keep things clean paved the way for a more respectful partnership down the road. Keep an eye out for how Nintendo navigates its partnerships as new consoles hit the market.
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