Shigeru Miyamoto has just made whipping out your Donkey Kong in public socially acceptable.
Thinking back to E3, there was one announcement which seemed to reverberate throughout the industry more so than any other. It was the news that Nintendo had decided to rip-off Skylanders . OK, that might be overstating things a bit. But the general consensus was their new Amiibo venture was one part exciting, one part innovative and one part collector’s dream! The notion of a portable stat-machine (completely customized in the shape of your favorite Nintendo mascot) instantly captured the attention of fans.
So after months of anticipation, the little guys (and gals) finally went live in November. Right away, the economic impacts of the roll-out were felt not just by Nintendo, but capitalism itself. You’ve no doubt heard of the astronomical eBay auction that recently closed, where a legless Princess Peach defect sold for over $25,000! Other listings have also netted insane revenue, like a $12 Samus (sporting two canons instead of one) garnering almost $3 grand. The rarity of more obscure figures isn’t helping either, such as the Wii Fit trailer for example. With some retailers hinting consumers may have already seen the last of several first-run gems, Nintendo of American released the following statement to help semi-clarify things: “Some amiibo were very popular at launch, and it is possible that some amiibo in the United States, Canada and Latin America may not be available right now due to high demand and our efforts to manage shelf space during the launch period. Certain sold-out amiibo may return to these markets at a later stage. We are continually aiming to always have a regular supply of amiibo in the marketplace and there are many waves of amiibo to come.” It reads.
Clear as mud right? With any launch such as this, you’re going to experience an initial rush in the earliest days (especially with novelty items being branded with the Nintendo logo). However, after this rush calms down and folks finally come to their senses, the time will come for practical application. We’ll still be left with toy figurines that must now act as more than just trinkets colleting dusk atop our entertainment centers. In that regard, I do feel like Nintendo has placed all their proverbial eggs in one basket. They’re banking on the additive nature of leveling up your character to draw users in, and feed upon the whole Pokémon culture which demands they “gotta’ catch ‘um all.” I’ll admit, the idea of going toe-to-toe with an opponent utilizing a secret weapon who’s stats are uniquely my own is quite appealing. Imagine if a franchise like Mortal Kombat did that? We’ve all seen those Scorpion vs. Scorpion battles a thousand times. But imagine if each ninja were tweaked and specifically fine-tuned to each gamer’s play style. That would make for a very different matchup. That is, in essence, what Nintendo hopes to do with Amiibo.
You also can’t argue with success. Aside from the madness at the register, data shows interest in the concept has significantly moved the needle on the hardware front. Wii U sales have received a bump in recent weeks, something we’ve not seen since the release of Super Smash Bros. This can be credited to the versatile nature of the Amiibos themselves, as the cross-play capabilities amongst other non-fighting games (like Mario Kart and more) open up a plethora interesting possibilities.
In the end, I hope Nintendo knows exactly what they’re doing. They’ve clearly thrown a huge portion of their resources and R&D behind this. Now it’s a waiting game to see if this roll of the dice pays off.