[FORBES Contributor] Nintendo Needs To Get Its Amiibo Act Together

[Cloudman]

sundin13 said:

Cloudman said:
Nintendo and their amiibo handling is utterly ridiculous. Even now, they fail to meet the demand for them, leaving people to have to hunt for the ones they want, making this some sort of `Amiibo Hunt` game. I thought this was a bold new idea Ninten wanted to pursue. It doesn`t seem like they have much faith in it themselves if they are releasing such a small number of them, aside from Mario ones. How are people supposed to use them in games if they become hard to find? I simply don`t get it. Ninten needs to get their act together and make more of these dang things. You don`t go into something half-heartedly. Ugh... And I love these things too... >: (

The game is the point. The low stock isn't a sign of lack of faith, it is a strategy for creating a fanatical culture around amiibo. While the hunt may be frustrating to some fans, to others it is the centerpiece of the excitement. I think that it is hard to deny that the low stock has created a fanatical fanbase around amiibo. I've been praising Steam for years on how it has turned the act of purchasing games into a game of its own right. It is amazing to see that Nintendo has managed to do a similar thing with physical products...

Also, as I stated before, the ones with the most utility in games tend to be the ones that are extremely common, like Mario, Link and Toon Link.

It definitely is making it a game for getting amiibo, which seems sort of good for Nintendo, but infuriating to fans. Sure, it`s great that Ninten is building this base with Amiibo, but I feel it would be better if they at least reached demand for them. It would build a base for fans and net them some more cash. It seems to be hurting them a bit sales wise when fans have to search elsewhere to get the figures they want rather than just buying them from a store. Also, it doesn`t seem good when these can be used in games, but the figures that can be used  are hard to find. That`s half their drive, being abled to be used across multiple games...

How steam has done it is still rather positive for everyone, aside from people spending so much money, but Ninten and amiibo, it seems mostly negative. It`s mostly hurting Nintendo and the fans. : /