Nintendo Denies Product Removal from Amazon in Spat

Following the start of Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders earlier this year, console inventory appeared at numerous US retailers — with one notable exception: Amazon.com.

The absence of Switch 2 consoles and games for sale in the United States via Amazon has been widely noted but never officially clarified. Now, Nintendo has refuted a Bloomberg report claiming ongoing friction between the iconic game developer and Jeff Bezos’ retail giant over third-party resellers.

As reported by IGN earlier this month, first-party Nintendo games have been almost entirely unavailable on Amazon.com over the past year, aside from a brief listing for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. This shifted when Amazon began offering pre-orders for the upcoming Switch 2 exclusive Donkey Kong Bananza starting June 17.

However, the Switch 2 console itself and other anticipated Nintendo titles, like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, remain unavailable for purchase or pre-order. In a related development, IGN reported that a previous Switch 2 product page has been entirely removed, replaced unexpectedly by a 404 error page that occasionally features a dog named Bowser.

Bloomberg’s recent coverage suggested the scarcity of Nintendo products on Amazon was a deliberate strategy by the Switch 2 maker to address bulk purchases by third-party sellers in Southeast Asia, who then export the consoles to the US at lower prices than Nintendo’s official rates.

Reportedly, Amazon proposed labeling games sold directly by Nintendo to boost buyer confidence amid concerns, but the effort did not resolve the situation.

Nintendo, however, has firmly denied the Bloomberg story. A company spokesperson told Tom’s Hardware, "This report is not accurate. We do not discuss specifics of our discussions or agreements with retail partners."

Amazon also refuted Bloomberg's account, describing its depiction of the relationship with Nintendo as "inaccurate."

An Amazon spokesperson stated: "We are happy to provide Nintendo products directly to our customers as part of our commitment to an outstanding shopping experience and the broadest selection available," without elaborating on why the current selection of Nintendo products remains limited.

IGN has reached out to Nintendo for additional comment and to inquire about the reasons behind the limited availability of its products on Amazon.com.