If you haven’t noticed, Nintendo and Amazon don’t play well together. When Nintendo’s newest console, the Wii U, could first be pre-ordered last fall, stores like GameStop and Best Buy jumped at the opportunity to make a quick buck from gamers eager for the first new console in years. But Amazon didn’t, and to this day doesn’t sell the Wii U. Sure, you can buy one of the consoles on Amazon.com, but they’re all sold by third parties. The same thing is mostly true of Nintendo’s newest handheld console, the 3DS: only one of the many colors Nintendo makes is sold by Amazon, while the rest are left to third parties. Even weirder is the product listings for the 3DS suggest you check out Sony’s portable system, the Vita, while the Vita page makes no mention of the 3DS. Why is this? No one knows for sure, but with Nintendo’s Wii U struggling in terms of sales, it isn’t doing the company any favors.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.