Nintendo has started to tightly control the distribution of its products in Europe, especially in the UK, all thanks to retailers breaking street dates.

A street date is broken when a retailer sells games or any kind of product before its official release date. This was evidently seen last month when retailers in Mexico and various countries broke street dates for Super Mario Odyssey.

Smaller retailers are worried about this decision, as they now have a shorter amount of time to send out their products to guarantee the games will reach consumers by launch day. Some even lament that they may have to spend more on shipping as a result of this decision.

“It’s a bit of a worry. Nintendo is doing so well at the moment, and it’s been a boost to us in what would have been a difficult year. If I end up getting stock late, then customers will just shop at the supermarket instead,” an independent UK game retailer told GamesIndustry.