TL;DR
A single phone call from an Amazon executive asking Nintendo to do something "illegal" during the Nintendo DS era led Reggie Fils-Aimé to immediately sever the company's retail partnership with Amazon. This incident reveals the extreme lengths platform holders and retailers will go to in pursuit of market control, and it matters right now as regulators globally scrutinize Amazon's dominance in e-commerce and digital marketplaces.
What Happened
Reggie Fils-Aimé, former President and COO of Nintendo of America, received a phone call from an Amazon executive during the peak of the Nintendo DS era. The executive demanded that Nintendo take an action that Fils-Aimé recognized as "illegal" — and he refused, ending Nintendo's working relationship with Amazon for a period during the mid-2000s. The revelation came during a recent interview with IGN, shedding new light on one of the most contentious retailer-manufacturer standoffs in gaming history.
Key Facts
- Reggie Fils-Aimé served as Nintendo of America's President and COO from 2006 to 2019, overseeing the DS, Wii, 3DS, and Switch eras.
- The Nintendo DS, launched in 2004, sold 154.02 million units worldwide, making it the second-best-selling video game console of all time behind only the PlayStation 2.
- The Amazon executive's request was something Fils-Aimé described as "illegal" — he told IGN he "wasn't going to do something illegal for Amazon."
- Fils-Aimé said he made the decision to stop working with Amazon during that phone call, prioritizing legal compliance over retail revenue.
- Amazon has faced multiple antitrust investigations globally, including a 2020 U.S. House Judiciary Committee report that found Amazon had "monopoly power" over third-party sellers.
- The incident occurred during the mid-2000s, when Amazon was rapidly expanding its electronics and video game categories, competing aggressively with traditional retailers like GameStop, Best Buy, and Walmart.
- Fils-Aimé did not disclose the specific "illegal" action the Amazon executive requested, but it likely involved price fixing, exclusive distribution deals, or anti-competitive retail practices.
Breaking It Down
The core of this story is not about Nintendo's legal purity — it's about the raw power dynamics that defined the gaming retail landscape in the 2000s. Amazon, then still building its electronics empire, wanted Nintendo to give it an advantage that crossed legal lines. Fils-Aimé's refusal cost Nintendo a major retail partner, but it also sent a signal to the entire industry: Nintendo would not bend its compliance standards, even for the world's fastest-growing retailer.
"I wasn't going to do something illegal for Amazon" — this single sentence from Reggie Fils-Aimé encapsulates a moment when a $10 billion company (Nintendo's market cap at the time) stood up to what would become a $1.6 trillion behemoth. The power imbalance was staggering, yet Nintendo chose principle over profit.
The timing is crucial. The Nintendo DS was Nintendo's most dominant platform in a decade, having revived the company after the GameCube's struggles. The DS generated $20 billion in lifetime revenue and sold over 150 million units. Nintendo had leverage — retailers needed DS stock far more than Nintendo needed any single retailer. This gave Fils-Aimé the confidence to walk away from Amazon, a luxury that smaller publishers and hardware makers never had.
What Fils-Aimé did not reveal — the specific "illegal" request — is itself telling. In the competitive retail environment of the mid-2000s, common anti-competitive practices included price fixing (requiring a manufacturer to sell at a specific price to other retailers), exclusive inventory allocation (withholding stock from competitors), or demanding preferential placement in exchange for reduced fees. Any of these would have violated U.S. antitrust laws under the Sherman Act or the Federal Trade Commission Act.
What Comes Next
The Fils-Aimé revelation arrives at a moment when Amazon faces unprecedented regulatory pressure. The Federal Trade Commission, under Chair Lina Khan, filed a landmark antitrust lawsuit against Amazon in September 2023, alleging the company uses "anticompetitive and unfair strategies" to maintain monopoly power. The case is expected to go to trial in 2026.
- The FTC v. Amazon trial — Watch for 2026 as the central venue where Amazon's retail practices will be scrutinized. The Fils-Aimé story could be cited as a pattern of behavior, though it occurred nearly 20 years ago.
- Nintendo's current retail strategy — Nintendo now works extensively with Amazon for Switch sales and digital game codes. Watch for any shift in Nintendo's retail posture as the Switch 2 (expected in 2025) approaches launch.
- Other former partners speaking out — Fils-Aimé's revelation may encourage other former executives from Sony, Microsoft, or major publishers to disclose similar interactions with Amazon during the 2000s and 2010s.
- European Union Digital Markets Act enforcement — The DMA, effective 2024, designates Amazon as a "gatekeeper" platform. Watch for EU regulators to investigate Amazon's gaming retail practices under these new rules.
The Bigger Picture
This story connects to three broader trends reshaping technology and gaming. Platform Power — the increasing ability of digital retailers like Amazon, Apple, and Google to dictate terms to manufacturers. Amazon's gaming retail share has grown from single digits in 2005 to an estimated 40-50% of U.S. physical game sales today, giving it enormous leverage that Nintendo no longer enjoys.
Antitrust Revival — the global shift toward aggressive enforcement of competition laws, particularly in the U.S. and EU. The Fils-Aimé story is a historical data point in a much larger narrative about how Amazon built its dominance through tactics that regulators now deem illegal.
Gaming's Retail Evolution — the transition from physical to digital distribution has made these power dynamics even more extreme. Nintendo now sells over 50% of its Switch software digitally, meaning the company faces a different set of platform holders: Nintendo eShop, Steam, and the Epic Games Store — each with their own demands and commissions.
Key Takeaways
- [Nintendo's Legal Stand]: Reggie Fils-Aimé ended Nintendo's partnership with Amazon during the DS era rather than comply with an illegal request, demonstrating that even dominant platform holders can face hard legal choices with major retailers.
- [Amazon's Historical Tactics]: The incident reveals Amazon's willingness to push legal boundaries with major manufacturers during its growth phase, a pattern now central to FTC antitrust litigation.
- [Regulatory Relevance]: This 20-year-old story gains new importance as the FTC's 2023 antitrust case against Amazon heads toward trial in 2026, potentially serving as evidence of a pattern of anti-competitive behavior.
- [Power Shifts in Gaming]: Nintendo had leverage in 2005 because the DS was a must-have product; today, with digital distribution dominance, Nintendo and other publishers face even more concentrated platform power from Amazon, Apple, and Google.
