Update: Amazon have answered our inquiries. While we gave many questions, the Amazon representative stated the following:
“Yesterday’s email was sent in error and all impacted listings were reinstated within hours.”
Original:
A user on Reddit has revealed Amazon has allegedly banned the unlicensed sale of Nintendo items.
“BananaNailGun” posted an alleged transcript of an email they received from Amazon to r/Gaming.
Please read this email carefully. The listing information described below may affect your ability to sell certain products.
As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience, we are implementing approval requirements for Nintendo products.
What does this mean for me?
Effective on 2019-10-31, you will need approval to list the affected products. If you do not obtain approval to sell these products prior to 2019-10-31, your listings for these products will be removed.
The user reportedly received the email due to selling “affected products in the past.” However, no penalty has resulted from this. The rest of the email discusses the approval process.
The user also proposes his own theory on why Nintendo is doing this:
Brands can “gate” their products on Amazon to restrict who can sell them. The email officially says that no third-party seller can sell any Nintendo product on Amazon as of tomorrow without Nintendo’s express permission, but the change seems to actually only affect used Nintendo products. The official reason for the change is probably to reduce counterfeiting. However, the change will also give Nintendo greater control of the resale market and make re-releases more lucrative.
We have reached out to Nintendo and Amazon for comment on the validity of the claims.
Back in 2013, Microsoft found themselves in hot water when they announced the Xbox One would perform online checks to prevent users buying and playing used games.
Then President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America Jack Tretton announced at E3 2013 that the PlayStation 4 would have no such restrictions, much to the delight of the attending audience.
