Nintendo Pulls Products from Amazon US Over Unauthorized Sales

Nintendo Co. has removed its products from Amazon.com Inc.’s US site following a dispute over unauthorized sales, resulting in Amazon missing out on the recent launch of Nintendo’s Switch 2, which is considered the biggest game console launch of all time.

The Japanese company made this decision after noticing that third-party merchants were selling games in the US at prices lower than Nintendo’s advertised rates. These sellers were purchasing Nintendo products in bulk from Southeast Asia and exporting them to the US. This practice led to a significant drop in Nintendo’s product listings on Amazon’s US site last year, with some listings still appearing but sold by independent merchants rather than Amazon directly.

Amazon attempted to address Nintendo’s concerns by offering to attach labels to products to guarantee their authenticity and help track merchandise. However, this offer was not sufficient for Nintendo, which ultimately decided to pull its products from Amazon in the US. Both companies have declined to provide specific details about the dispute, with Nintendo stating that it does not disclose details of negotiations or contracts with retailers, and Amazon claiming that the claims made about their relationship with Nintendo are inaccurate.

When Nintendo released the Switch 2 this month, major retailers such as Walmart Inc., Target Corp., Best Buy Co., and GameStop Corp. all stocked the console in their US stores. Amazon, however, is only selling the Switch 2 in foreign markets, including Canada, Japan, and the UK, leaving US customers unable to purchase the console through Amazon. The US accounts for about two-thirds of Amazon’s sales, making this a significant loss for the company.

Nintendo is not the first brand to have issues with Amazon over third-party merchants’ conduct on the company’s marketplace. Many big brands have expressed concerns about Amazon’s ability to police independent sellers and prevent counterfeits. In the past, brands have pulled their products from the site due to a lack of control over how their goods are displayed and sold. Amazon has taken steps to address these concerns, including filing lawsuits against suspected counterfeiters and striking deals with high-profile holdouts such as Apple Inc. and Nike Inc.

In recent weeks, Nintendo appears to have reestablished a direct relationship with Amazon in the US, with preorders for the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza appearing on the site as sold by Amazon. However, as of the latest update, there was no Switch 2 listing on Amazon, and the company did not appear on Nintendo’s list of retailers in the US that carry the console. Nintendo sold over 3.5 million units of the Switch 2 in just four days, marking a strong start for the company’s first new console in eight years. The company aims to sell 15 million units by next March, with gamers around the world eagerly awaiting the release of the new console.