'I Wasn't Going to Do Something Illegal' — Reggie Fils-Aimé Remembers the Phone Call That Made Nintendo Stop Working With Amazon During the DS Era

Reggie Fils-Aimé has opened up astir the clip an Amazon enforcement gave him a telephone telephone and asked Nintendo to bash thing "illegal" during the epoch of the Nintendo DS.

The erstwhile Nintendo of America president recalled what sounds to person been a tense speech astatine a caller lecture astatine New York University (via Nintendo Everything). It was a speech that saw him screen the ups and downs from his clip successful complaint of the Wii and Switch maker, but it's the company's tumultuous narration with Amazon that whitethorn person caught the audience's attraction much than thing else.

Fils-Aimé remembers the telephone telephone arsenic happening toward the "tail extremity of the Wii and DS generation," oregon sometime astir the precocious 2000s oregon aboriginal 2010s. His engagement successful its income saw him "driving a batch of revenue" astatine the aforesaid clip that Amazon was looking to get much into video games and "have the lowest terms retired successful the marketplace."

Reggie Fils-Aime. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

"It was a speech that got to maine aft it had progressed done each of the levels of my income organization," Fils-Aimé said. "Essentially, what Amazon wanted, is they wanted an obscene magnitude of enactment – fiscal enactment – truthful they tin person the lowest terms and bushed Walmart. I virtually said to the executive, 'You know, that's illegal. I can't bash that.' You know, you get soundlessness connected the different end, and it's like, 'but this is what I want.' Literally, we stopped selling to Amazon, and it's due to the fact that I wasn't going to bash thing illegal."

Nintendo's unusual narration with Amazon extends beyond the erstwhile bigwig's meeting. Just past year, rumors swirled that the 2 companies were astatine likelihood implicit the taxable of third-party resellers, resulting successful pulled products up of the motorboat of Nintendo Switch 2.

The Mario shaper denied the claims astatine the time, with Amazon besides adding that it was "pleased to connection Nintendo products directly" to its customers. After astir a twelvemonth without first-party titles being made disposable for predominant shoppers astatine the online retailer, Nintendo games returned to Amazon successful June 2025.

The behind-the-scenes details regarding wherefore the 2 recovered themselves making headlines past summertime stay a mystery. Although Fils-Aimé wasn't acceptable to connection the afloat picture, we bash astatine slightest cognize wherefore their narration was much strained during his clip arsenic president.

"I wasn't going to bash thing that would enactment astatine hazard the relationships we person with our different retailers," helium added, "but it besides acceptable the signifier to say, 'Look, you're not going to propulsion maine around. This is the mode we bash business.' And so, that's how, overtime, you physique respect."

Fils-Aimé clarified that Amazon was "right determination astatine the table" erstwhile it came clip to motorboat the archetypal Switch successful 2017. He said that success, however, was lone imaginable due to the fact that it was "based connected a mutually beneficial approach."

For much from the satellite of Nintendo, you tin drawback up connected the company's past successful location gaming console releases. You tin besides work astir wherefore 1 erstwhile developer feels the institution doesn't truly request to marque immoderate caller franchises.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).