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Forums - Nintendo - Nintendo, DLC, and Amiibo

 

Are Amiibo physical DLC and are they worth the money?

Yes they are DLC, Yes they're worth it. 41 30.60%
 
Yes they are DLC, No they aren't worth it. 19 14.18%
 
No they aren't DLC, Yes they're worth it. 45 33.58%
 
No they aren't DLC, No t... 5 3.73%
 
Amiibo are just a cash grab. 8 5.97%
 
Gotta catch 'em all! 16 11.94%
 
Total:134
Lonely_Dolphin on 22 January 2015

Atm, no, which is why I don't have an amiibo, but thanks to the ToysRUs deal I should be getting a free one a long with my Rainbow Curse purchase, and maybe after using it I'll be convinced of buying more... maybe!



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hsrob on 22 January 2015
Recycle001 said:

A lot has been said lately about the quality of Nintendo DLC and how they are doing DLC right. The amount of content you get for the price is pretty incredible. Lets look at the Mario Kart 8 DLC: $11.99 gets you 16 new tracks, and 6 playable characters*edit* as well as 8 new karts. Jesus Nintendo, that comes close to doubling the content of my game for a little over 1/6th the price. Totally worth the money in my opinion and to be honest, I have no idea what Nintendo was thinking. This particular DLC should have been at least $20, not that I'm complaining. 

Now lets look at the Hyrule Warriors DLC: $20.00 gets you 3 playable characters, 8 outfits, 3 adventure mode maps(which are huge), Epona, 5 story episodes, 2 new weapons, and two new game modes(whatever that means). Once again, holy crap Nintendo, thats a lot of content for the price. Sure DLC costs less to make due to it reusing assests that have already been devolped, but damn how are they turning a profit on DLC?

So this brings me to Amiibo. In case you didn't know, Amiibo are figurines of varying size of famous Nintendo characters such as Mario, Link, Bowser, Kirby, and Samus. They use NFC technology to unlock different things in different games, as well as generally looking amazing on a shelf with other gaming collectables(currently Samus is staring down Bowser while Groot bobs his head as Claptrap runs away screaming). Some examples of extra in game content you get by using your Amiibo are: AI training partners in Smash4, weapons and items in Hyrule Warriors, once a day power up's in Kirby, themed racing suits in MK8, extra game boards in MP10. 

Notice a difference? With the exception of Hyrule Warriors(maybe MP10 as well), the content you get from Amiibo's versus DLC is lacking, at best. The content you get from Amiibo is really, nothing. So what are you really paying for? The toy. Of course the toy, duh. But wait, then why are Amiibo removing features from games and putting these things behind a paywall? Don't believe me? Amiibo functionality was present in Smash 4 at launch, as well as Captain Toad. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Kind of like on-disc DLC(*cough*Capcom). 

Don't get me wrong, I love Amiibo and their concept, but are they DLC in physical form, or are they just cool collectables that have the addtional benefit of a little extra content for a game you already own or are going to buy? Personally I fall somewhere inbetween. I'd love to be able to scan my Marth Amiibo into MK8 and race as him, or my Mario one and unlock a new kart, but at the same time, I also love just having the great looking figurines on my shelf.

Let me know how you all feel about Amiibo and Nintendo DLC, looking forward to some of the responses. 


I think it's fair to make a distinction between core Amiibo functionality i.e. portable, trainable AI partner, which requires a physical object to work, and Amiibo-unlockable content. Amiibo had to launch alongside some game so it make sense for that core functionality to be included in a game, it just happened to be Smash.

With that said I'm not aware of any unlockable content (characters, maps, weapons etc.) for Smash or Captain Toad that was on-disc, but maybe I've missed something.



Recycle001 on 22 January 2015
HylianSwordsman said:
I think of Amiibo as a content platform that supplements my games. So like, I buy the Link Ammibo, right? I get several costumes across several games, a new weapon in HW, and a computer that learns with me in Smash Wii U and can train me to tournament level play. Seriously, Amiibos have been entered in tournaments and some do really well, and eventually a lot tend to surpass their owners. It's some damn good AI. Not bad content to have, worth the price alone, and wouldn't even make sense without the Amiibo. How are you going to take an Amiibo to a friend, or even enter a tournament as some have, if it's stored on the disk or the system? But whatever. So my Link Amiibo, when Zelda U comes out, will get substantial new content, you can be sure, and I already paid for it. Buying an Amiibo, then, is like buying more than a season pass of DLC for a game, hell it's even more than a pass for all relevant DLC for the Wii U. Link alone gets me tons of Zelda related DLC for as long as he remains functional, going beyond generations, beyond platforms. I'll have certain Zelda DLC paid for even if Nintendo went third party! Amiibo is a unique content platform, that allows you to buy a figure from your favorite franchise and get supplemental content for any future game in the franchise released on any system Nintendo releases the franchise on.

That's so long as they keep supporting it, and they fucking better or so help me...

I'm just kind of worried about the Amiibo model in general. Yes over time you will get your monies worth of content through various games(most likely), but how long is it going to be before we see something along the lines of "Your Smash4 series Link Amiibo won't work for unlocking X content in Zelda U, if you choose to use that Amiibo, you get a costume only. But hey! If you buy our Zelda series Link Amiibo you'll get 2 extra dungeons and a bomb bag upgrade!" We're already seeing something similar to this with Mario Party 10 deleting your Smash4 AI data. That's a little fishy since a backup is stored on your Wii U incase the Amiibo data gets corrupted.



“What I say is, a town isn't a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it's got a bookstore it knows it's not fooling a soul.”  - Neil Gaiman

Recycle001 on 22 January 2015
Einsam_Delphin said:
Atm, no, which is why I don't have an amiibo, but thanks to the ToysRUs deal I should be getting a free one a long with my Rainbow Curse purchase, and maybe after using it I'll be convinced of buying more... maybe!


This is refered to as the 'Drug dealer model'. It's brilliant tbh. Just a little taste of what they can do and how neat they are and all of a sudden you're hooked! :P



“What I say is, a town isn't a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it's got a bookstore it knows it's not fooling a soul.”  - Neil Gaiman

Mnementh on 22 January 2015
Legendary_W said:
Well, I used to think that the same way until I realized than one amiibo works for multiple games, so eventually the content unlocked by the use of Amiibos will, altogether, match the amount of content an average Nintendo DLC has.

Yes, this. Also you get an physical collectible item (if you into it) and in Smash it is something more than a DLC. As the character issaved to the Amiibo, you can take it to a friends house and play there with your Amiibo. It will be interesting if and how other games will utilize the save-space.



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bunchanumbers on 22 January 2015

Ever play Dungeons and Dragons? It reminds me of the figurines you buy for that game. You don't need them for the game. We used to handle all combat situations on graph paper and later on a greaseboard. But with the figurines, you got a little more. It added a little more to the game but didn't make it so you needed them but could still appreciate them.



Frogger on 22 January 2015

I mean, I guess. I dunno. They're not for me, though. Can't understand why anyone who isn't a child or a collector would want it, though, especially without a real platform like Skylanders or Disney Infinity to support it.

Then again, I still wouldn't want them. Maybe if they make a cheap $1 card/coin variant, and then built a compelling enough F2P game like those games around them, I'd budge, but for now I just don't see it.

Most don't even look good.



Panama on 22 January 2015

Currently compared to the utility of their market counterparts via Disney Infinity and Skylanders, they're an absolute cash grab.

If they're integrated into far more games then I'd change my stance on this.



fedfed on 22 January 2015

I see your point but nintendo has stated that different Amiibo (shape and forms) but of the same character will have same functionality and therefore make it worth in the long run.

the same Mario can be used in Mario Kart/Smash/Party 10 - no need to buy a new one.

Link too - Hyrule/Mario Kart and for sure other games too.

In this sense yes. £10 it is worth.



Switch!!!

Ruler on 22 January 2015
spemanig said:

I mean, I guess. I dunno. They're not for me, though. Can't understand why anyone who isn't a child or a collector would want it, though, especially without a real platform like Skylanders or Disney Infinity to support it.

Then again, I still wouldn't want them. Maybe if they make a cheap $1 card/coin variant, and then built a compelling enough F2P game like those games around them, I'd budge, but for now I just don't see it.

Most don't even look good.

Disney infinity figures look worse

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U19E90Qatps



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