Reggie Fils-Aimé says Amazon once asked Nintendo to break the law

Amazon wanted ‘obscene’ financial support to undercut Walmart.Amazon wanted ‘obscene’ financial support to undercut Walmart.by Terrence O'BrienMay 3, 2026, 3:24 PM UTCPhoto by Susan Goldman / Bloomberg via Getty ImagesTerrence O'Brien is the Verge’s weekend editor. He has over 18 years of experience, including 10 years as managing editor at Engadget.Way back in the DS days, Nintendo decided to stop selling to Amazon. During a recent lecture at NYU, former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé said it was because Amazon was seeking preferential treatment that would have hurt its relationship with other retailers, and potentially broken the law.The two sides have since made amends, and you can buy a Switch 2 through Amazon. But for a long time, Nintendo consoles had been largely unavailable on the site. In the 2000s, Amazon aggressively expanded beyond books and tried to undercut everyone on price. According to Fils-Aimé, Amazon wanted to undercut even Walmart and was looking for an “obscene amount of support, financial support.”While he didn’t specify what kind of financial support Amazon was looking for, Fils-Aimé says he told the Amazon executive in question, “You know that’s illegal, right? I can’t do that.” He went on to say this was