Nintendo Denies Amazon Pullout Amid Sales Dispute

When pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 launched earlier this year, the console became available at various US retailers—with one notable exception: Amazon.com.

Many have pointed out the absence of Switch 2 consoles and games from Amazon in the United States, yet no clear explanation has been offered. Now, Nintendo has refuted a Bloomberg report that suggested an ongoing disagreement between the Mario creator and Jeff Bezos’ corporation regarding third-party resellers.

As IGN noted earlier this month, new first-party Nintendo titles have been largely missing from Amazon.com over the past year, except for an unexpected listing of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. That changed when Amazon started offering pre-orders for the upcoming Switch 2 exclusive Donkey Kong Bananza on June 17.

Despite this, the Switch 2 console itself and other anticipated Nintendo releases like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond remain unavailable for purchase or pre-order. To add to the confusion, IGN recently observed that Amazon’s earlier Switch 2 product page has been taken down entirely, replaced by a 404 error page that sometimes displays a dog named Bowser.

Bloomberg’s report indicated that the scarcity of Nintendo products on Amazon was a deliberate strategy by the Switch 2 maker to prevent third-party sellers from bulk-purchasing consoles in Southeast Asia and shipping them to the US at lower prices than Nintendo’s official rates.

Faced with the possibility of Nintendo removing its inventory, Amazon reportedly offered to clearly label games sold directly by Nintendo to boost buyer confidence, but the proposal was not accepted.

Nintendo, however, has strongly denied Bloomberg’s claims. “There is no such fact,” a Nintendo spokesperson told Tom’s Hardware, adding, “We do not disclose details of negotiations or contracts with retailers.”

Amazon has also rejected Bloomberg’s account, describing its depiction of the relationship between the two companies as “inaccurate.”

“We’re pleased to offer Nintendo products directly to our customers as part of our commitment to providing an exceptional shopping experience with the widest selection available,” said an Amazon spokesperson—though they did not clarify why the current selection of Nintendo items falls short of that goal.

IGN has reached out to Nintendo for comment and to inquire why more of its products are not available via Amazon.com.