Recently, a noticeable change has occurred on Amazon US: several Nintendo products, including the highly anticipated Switch 2, have vanished from the store’s listings. The cause? A disagreement between Nintendo and Amazon over unauthorized third-party sellers. According to Bloomberg’s sources, Nintendo grew frustrated with sellers who were sourcing products from Southeast Asia, where prices were presumably lower, and reselling them on Amazon for a profit.
These sellers were undercutting the official Nintendo prices, prompting the Japanese company to take action.
In an attempt to resolve the issue, Amazon suggested attaching authenticity labels to products sold by third-party sellers to ensure they were genuine. However, this offer didn’t satisfy Nintendo, which ultimately decided to remove its official products from Amazon US. This led to the major retailer being excluded from the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, despite the console’s record-breaking performance. In just four days, the Switch 2 sold more than 3.5 million units, twice as fast as the original Switch. Notably, despite not being available directly on Amazon US, the Switch 2 still sold 1.1 million units in the launch week, setting a new record for the fastest-selling console.
The Nintendo Switch 2’s remarkable success was achieved even though Amazon US, one of the largest online retailers in the world, wasn’t able to participate in its launch. Nintendo products, including the Switch 2, remain available in several other markets such as Japan, the UK, and Canada, but Amazon US represents a significant chunk of global sales, which makes this dispute all the more notable.
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