Ex-Nintendo President Claims Amazon Requested Potentially Illegal Pricing Support

Sun, 03 May 2026 22:17:00 +0200

At a recent lecture at NYU, former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé revealed that Amazon once attempted to pressure Nintendo into offering exceptionally steep discounts on their products, which could have violated U.S. antitrust and price discrimination laws. Fils-Aimé explained that Amazon wanted to undercut all other retailers, including Walmart, by demanding financial support from Nintendo to offer the lowest market prices. Nintendo refused, prioritizing legal compliance and fairness toward its retail partners. At the time, the Wii and DS were Nintendo's top-selling hardware, making the request particularly high-stakes. The decision led Nintendo to temporarily stop selling products to Amazon, though relations eventually normalized, and Nintendo consoles, including the Switch 2, are now available on the platform. Experts commenting on the matter noted that discounts are legal, but coordinated efforts to manipulate prices across retailers could constitute price fixing un