Fils-aimé: amazon demanded 'illegal' price cuts, threatening nintendo’s stability
Reggie Fils-Aimé has revealed a startling chapter in Nintendo’s history – a tense phone call from an Amazon executive demanding a drastic, and potentially unlawful, price reduction for the company’s consoles and games.
A price war that almost broke nintendo
Speaking at New York University, the former Nintendo of Americapresident recounted a late-2000s encounter where Amazon, eager to muscle into the gaming market, attempted to pressure Nintendo into offering the lowest possible price – a tactic that threatened the company’s established retail relationships.
“Essentially, what Amazon wanted was an obscene amount of support financially, so they could have the lowest price and beat Walmart,” Fils-Aimé explained. “I literally said to the executive, ‘You know, that’s illegal. I can’t do that.’ There was silence on the other end, and it was like, ‘but this is what I want.’”
The fallout was swift. Nintendo severed ties with Amazon, a decision Fils-Aimé insisted was driven by a commitment to upholding ethical business practices and protecting its partnerships with other retailers. He described it as “not going to do something that would put at risk the relationships we have with our other retailers.”
A history of discord
This isn’t an isolated incident. Rumors of friction between Nintendo and Amazon have persisted for years, culminating in last year’s attempted suppression of third-party resellers ahead of the Switch 2 launch. While Nintendo initially denied the claims, Amazon’s subsequent action – pulling products – underscored the underlying tension.
The return of Nintendo games to Amazon in June 2025, after a year of absence, felt less like a strategic partnership and more like a grudging concession. Fils-Aimé hinted at the complex, behind-the-scenes dynamics fueling this uneasy truce.
Mutual benefit, a delicate balance
Despite the conflict, Fils-Aimé emphasized that the original Switch’s success was predicated on a “mutually beneficial approach,” highlighting Amazon’s presence at the table during the console’s initial launch in 2017. However, he stressed that respect – and a willingness to stand firm – were ultimately crucial to building a sustainable business relationship.
A measured response
“I wasn’t going to do something that would put at risk the relationships we have with our other retailers,” Fils-Aimé concluded. “But it also set the stage to say, ‘Look, you’re not going to push me around. This is the way we do business. And so, that’s how, overtime, you build respect.’”