Former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé says Amazon once pressured Nintendo to accept pricing terms he believed would be illegal. Speaking at an NYU lecture, Fils-Aimé describes a conversation during the Nintendo DS era, when Nintendo was selling major hardware such as the Wii and DS. He says Amazon wanted to expand into video games and push for preferential pricing and substantial financial support so Amazon could offer the lowest prices in the market, including undercutting competitors such as Walmart. According to Fils-Aimé, he told an Amazon executive that the proposal was illegal and that he could not proceed. He adds that Nintendo stopped selling to Amazon as a result, describing it as a move to avoid actions that would harm Nintendo’s relationships with other retailers and potentially break the law. The reports note that relations have since improved, and that Nintendo consoles, including the Switch 2, are now available through Amazon after the parties “made amends.”
Reggie Fils-Aimé says Amazon sought “illegal” pricing support from Nintendo
Former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé says Amazon once pressured Nintendo to accept pricing terms he believed would be illegal. Speaking at an NYU lecture, Fils-Aimé describes a conver...
- Reggie Fils-Aimé says Amazon sought pricing terms and financial support that he believed would be illegal.
- He describes the discussion occurring during the DS era, with Nintendo’s Wii and DS among its top-selling hardware.
- Fils-Aimé says Nintendo stopped selling to Amazon to avoid violating laws and harming relationships with other retailers.
- The reports describe Amazon’s aim as enabling very low prices in the marketplace, undercutting retailers like Walmart.
- The parties have since resolved the dispute, and Nintendo consoles are available on Amazon again.
Amazon once tried to pressure Nintendo to break the law, says former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé. At a recent NYU lecture, he describes a conversation with an Amazon executive, Kotaku reports: "Amazon was looking to get bigger into the video game space," said Fils-Aimé. "Amazon's mentality back then is they wanted to have the lowest price out in the marketplace, even lower than Walmart... Essentially what Amazon wanted (was an) obscene amount of support, financial support, so they could have the lowest price and beat Walmart. I literally said to the executive, 'You know that's illegal, right? I can't do that'...." At the time, the Wii and DS were Nintendo's best selling hardware in history. Amazon originally sold books, but in the 2000s rapidly expanded with cheaper discounts to became a one-stop shop for almost everything. Everything except Nintendo, that is.... "Literally we stopped selling to Amazon," Fils-Aimé continued, "and it's because I wasn't going to do something illegal. I wasn't going to do something that would put at risk the relationship we have with other retailers." "The two sides have since made amends," notes the Verge, "and you can buy a Switch 2 through Amazon. But for a long time, Nintendo consoles had been largely unavailable on the site." Read more of this story at Slashdot.
3 months agoWay back in the DS days, Nintendo decided to stop selling to Amazon. During a recent lecture at NYU, former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé said it was because Amazon was seeking preferential treatment that would have hurt its relationship with other retailers, and potentially broken the law. The two sides have since made […]
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