Why Nintendo's Amiibo situation is good for them.

[Dunban67]

Nintendo knows their market share has been and continues to shrink. THey have not been able to do anythng in the last several years to change that- They also know their core fan base is loyal and has a high tolerance when it comes to Nintendo taking advantage of them- So they are selling multiple sku s to the same core group over and over again-
The Amiibo market is being driven by collectors, scalpers and/or serious Nintendo fans that want 1 or more complete groups to save, invest and/or collect-(and never opening many of them) The demand for Amiibo IS NOT being driven by game play which is too bad as game play is what will drive longer term demand- But it is just not there now

Intentionally short supplying the market is short term business- it is a "profit now" mentality that many Co's that sell thru retail could also employ but rarely do- at least not intentionally- They are continuing to frustrate/anger part of their shrinking core base and alienating potential new customers all for quick profits going back to the same group of people again and again-

Want game play with that Amiibo?- tough buy it now or risk never owning (fill in the blank) - Want to play Xenoblade Chronicles and presumably other up coming games on your 3DS- well you need to buy our 3rd? version in the last 2+/- years Want to own that Amiibo so badly you pay $50 to a scalper- well, we will re-release a ton of stock in the future for some (perhaps all) crashing the value of those instantly- hope yo guess riht when paying a premium

PS: There are 2 or 3 of the "non rare" amiibo at Walmart now priced at $9.95+/- non sale price while the others are still $12.95+/-