At a recent NYU Game Center lecture — an appearance summarized by Eurogamer — former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé described a decisive moment in Nintendo's retail strategy during the Wii and DS generations.
Fils-Aimé, who led Nintendo of America until his retirement in 2019, said an Amazon executive requested substantial financial support so the retailer could offer the lowest market price on both systems.
According to his account, Nintendo declined and withdrew the Wii and DS from sale on Amazon in the Americas.
Context and scale
Fils-Aimé framed the request against a backdrop of strong hardware sales: during the mid-to-late 2000s Nintendo was moving millions of units annually.
The Nintendo DS family ultimately sold more than 154 million units worldwide, while the Wii reached just over 101 million units in lifetime sales — two of the best-selling platforms in Nintendo history.
At the time, Amazon was expanding aggressively into video game retail and was pursuing price positions that could undercut traditional brick-and-mortar partners.
Rewriting the key statements
Fils-Aimé characterized Amazon's proposal as an "obscene amount of financial support" intended to enable below-market pricing.
He said he refused because the arrangement would be illegal and would jeopardize Nintendo's relationships with other retailers.
In his words, Nintendo chose to stop selling the Wii and DS to Amazon because the company would not participate in practices that risked other retail partners or crossed legal lines.
He added that the move established a clear business principle: Nintendo would not be pushed into uneven or potentially unlawful retail deals.
Retail strategy and the Switch era
Fils-Aimé also noted a change in tone by the time Nintendo launched the Switch.
By the Switch's 2017 launch, Amazon participated in a cooperative, mutually beneficial retail approach and supported the console's roll-out.
Doug Bowser succeeded Fils-Aimé as president of Nintendo of America in 2019.
Why it matters
The anecdote illuminates how platform holders manage retail relationships and pricing across generations.
For industry observers and retailers, the episode is a clear example of how business decisions around pricing and channel management can shape distribution and partnerships for major hardware releases like the Wii, DS, and Nintendo Switch.
Fils-Aimé, who led Nintendo of America until his retirement in 2019, said an Amazon executive requested substantial financial support so the retailer could offer the lowest market price on both systems.
According to his account, Nintendo declined and withdrew the Wii and DS from sale on Amazon in the Americas.
Context and scale
Fils-Aimé framed the request against a backdrop of strong hardware sales: during the mid-to-late 2000s Nintendo was moving millions of units annually.
The Nintendo DS family ultimately sold more than 154 million units worldwide, while the Wii reached just over 101 million units in lifetime sales — two of the best-selling platforms in Nintendo history.
At the time, Amazon was expanding aggressively into video game retail and was pursuing price positions that could undercut traditional brick-and-mortar partners.
Rewriting the key statements
Fils-Aimé characterized Amazon's proposal as an "obscene amount of financial support" intended to enable below-market pricing.
He said he refused because the arrangement would be illegal and would jeopardize Nintendo's relationships with other retailers.
In his words, Nintendo chose to stop selling the Wii and DS to Amazon because the company would not participate in practices that risked other retail partners or crossed legal lines.
He added that the move established a clear business principle: Nintendo would not be pushed into uneven or potentially unlawful retail deals.
Retail strategy and the Switch era
Fils-Aimé also noted a change in tone by the time Nintendo launched the Switch.
By the Switch's 2017 launch, Amazon participated in a cooperative, mutually beneficial retail approach and supported the console's roll-out.
Doug Bowser succeeded Fils-Aimé as president of Nintendo of America in 2019.
Why it matters
The anecdote illuminates how platform holders manage retail relationships and pricing across generations.
For industry observers and retailers, the episode is a clear example of how business decisions around pricing and channel management can shape distribution and partnerships for major hardware releases like the Wii, DS, and Nintendo Switch.