Since its launch on June 5, the Nintendo Switch 2 has shattered records with over 3.5 million units sold in just four days. Major US retailers like Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop stocked the console immediately, yet Amazon US conspicuously did not offer it for sale at launch. This absence has left many customers puzzled and frustrated.
The conflict reportedly stems from third-party merchants purchasing Nintendo products, initially intended for markets in Southeast Asia, in bulk and exporting them to the US. These sellers then listed games and hardware on Amazon at prices below Nintendo’s official US rates, undercutting the company’s authorized pricing structure.
In response to these pricing irregularities, Nintendo halted its direct sales on Amazon US. While some of its titles and consoles still appear on the platform, they’re exclusively sold by independent resellers, not by Amazon itself. Nintendo’s internal data suggested these unauthorized listings were harming both the brand and its official retailers.
Amazon offered to label Nintendo products as "verified and authentic". a tactic commonly used to combat counterfeit goods and reassure buyers. Despite this gesture, Nintendo deemed the measure insufficient and declined to restore its direct listings on Amazon US.
Nintendo has publicly stated, "There is no such fact. We do not disclose details of negotiations or contracts with retailers" in response to Bloomberg’s report. Amazon, for its part, rejected the allegations as inaccurate, asserting its commitment to providing Nintendo products directly to customers and maintaining the widest possible selection.
Despite the standoff, there are early indications that Nintendo and Amazon may be mending fences. Pre-orders for upcoming first-party titles such as Donkey Kong Bananza are now listed as “sold by Amazon” on the US site, although official Nintendo listings for Switch 2 hardware remain absent from the company’s own retailer roster
