You know us. We love Nintendo, and this certainly isn’t an article to say anything against them. If anything, it’s a plea to try to make a change. I wouldn’t even think twice about it, if my own feelings weren’t repeated so much around the web. Even my own friends are calling out, eager to throw their money at Nintendo for Amiibo figures. Sadly enough, I know their pain.
So what needs to happen? Why is this an issue in the first place? What is it about Amiibo’s that makes fans WANT change so much? Read on to find out what we think.
To begin with, Amiibo’s aren’t just another NFC (near-field communications) toy. Sure they are, but they’re also something else. Amiibo’s are physical representations of the trophies we’ve come to love and obsessively collect in Smash Bros for years. Nevermind that, these are based on Nintendo releases! Sure, Spyro the Dragon is huge is his own right, but Skylanders even strives to make new characters. Amiibo’s are established characters that already have fan followings. This makes them even more desirable. Even better, these are straight from Nintendo.
Here’s the hard part. The rare releases are hurting fans. On day one, I waltzed into a Future Shop and saw every launch Amiibo available. I’d even considered splurging and buying them all so I’d have a full set. I didn’t. Not long after, suddenly three were missing stores. Worst off, we really wanted a Villager figure from Animal Crossing. I’d decided to pick up the main series ones we wanted only, and get those later. I even got a figure to gift to a friend instead of an additional one for myself. But now, it’s too late. Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, and Marth are all gone.
Meanwhile, January was a busy month for us and I didn’t keep up on Amiibo news. During this time I completely missed the launch of Rosalina and Luma. A few weeks later, she’s impossible to find. So I’m out of luck.
So why is this such a problem? These are first party Nintendo products. Some of which we will never see the likes of again in figure form of any kind, nevermind Amiibo’s. Many fans I’m sure would have loved to collect a full set of these treasures. However, that just isn’t possible now. This is just exhausting for some fans. Many of us have done the Skylander’s hunt. When you’re in a department store, you check to see what the stock is just for fun. It’s exciting to see a rare Skylander figure, sure. What’s even more exciting is being able to buy a Nintendo figure you really want. I don’t want to be excited about an Amiibo because it’s rare. I want to be excited because it’s Nintendo, and like many of us, I grew up on their games.
Hopefully Nintendo will produce more of the rare figures all of us want. If it’s too much of an additional cost to ship them to stores, make a direct sales online store. Fans out there are eager for these products, and we can’t find them. I don’t want to be out in the freezing cold trying to find Rosalina’s figure. I want to be at home playing the latest Nintendo releases and staying warm with a nice happy shelf full of physical Smash Bros trophies.
Honestly, rip the NFC chip out of the figures if it makes them easier to produce and sell me these products Nintendo. I want to enjoy the first release set of Nintendo Amiibo trophies. Unfortunately some collectors have just stopped because they don’t know if their favorite figures will even be available for to purchase when they get to the store.
I get it. I know it’s just marketing. But I also know I’ll never own figures I wanted from the Amiibo launch, and on top of that will never have a complete collection. Nintendo taught me that I “Gotta Catch Em’ All” not “I Gotta Catch The Ones I Can”. I’ve spent far too much time slaving away for Tom Nook in order to have a nice home in Animal Crossing. But now I can’t get the cool Amiibo figure of that games main star.
Again, I wouldn’t complain if so many others weren’t as well. We love Nintendo, and that’s why we care about this issue.
