Isn't that how Disney Infinity works too? The figures add additional content? It's not unexpected given that and Skylanders are exactly what Nintendo were aiming Amiibos at.

Except those are games where basically all of the content is locked behind figures. Figures aren't DLC. Figures are how you actually play the game. It's a stupid money pit and everybody knows it, but they still makes tons of money because reasons, I guess. Nintendo, on the other hand, has taken to using amiibos as their DLC system, which is complete and utter crap. Instead of charging say, $5 for $5 DLC, it's now $5 DLC locked behind a $13 or w/e amiibo that most people will probably get unlucky and have to pay closer to $25 for. That's problematic, especially when other developers start thinking it's a good idea, and we end up with the greatest amiibo offense yet where they lock an entire DLC mode behind a physical DRM figure. It's almost as bad as Splatoon, but at least the main draw of Splatoon, the multiplayer, isn't tainted by amiibo BS. It was tainted by a method of release I hope never ever ever ever catches on with anybody else ever, but at least that is basically resolved at this point.

Overall, I appreciate that Nintendo is experimenting with DLC, but they should really stop trying to be different and just accept that a competent online system is actually a good idea, and that digital distribution is the only way everybody will be satisified while being able to pay the same price. I think making figures would be a great way to generate money on the side otherwise. Let them do nothing and make them higher quality, and boom, you have figures you can sell for $25 per that will still sell like crazy. It's one of the only reasons most people buy amiibos to begin with. They just want the figure.

You're not missing out on too much OP, the game's ok but definitely not as good as all the praise would make it seem.

It does still make the figures a paywall to content though.

If anything locked on disc content unlocked with the figures is even closer to the on disc DLC stuff Capcom got so much crap for before haha.

I'm not justifying what they've done, I'm just saying it was kind of expected that they would do this sort of thing when the whole Amiibo idea was unveilved.

Agree

It definately is that great though.

If every Nintendo game has an amiibo, and every game has locked content with an amiibo, then every full Nintendo game costs more than the typical $60. There is a difference between selling amiibo to add content to a game and selling amiibo to complete a game. Smash bros did this flawlessly, but mandatory amiibo for coop in shovel knight? really?

Yes, but those games are designed for nfc figures. People would start a shit storm if sony/activision/microsoft started selling nfc locked content in every major game they release (like Nintendo is now)