{News} - Nintendo's amiibo
Nintendo’s amiibo are the new toy-like figurines modeled to represent popular Nintendo characters. Since their release with Super Smash Brothers 4, sales have been very steady.
amiibo can be used in several ways: In Super Smash Bros. 4, they can be used as fighting partners. amiibo can train, fight, and even be customized. Link, from the Legend of Zelda series, remains the best selling amiibo in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.
For Nintendo’s amiibo, there have been many problems during its life cycle. People have claimed that many amiibo have come with defects: disoriented limbs, detached body parts, being flipped upside down during shipping, and overall not being up to par with their character design. Another big problem are shortages: many amiibo have been out of stock since launch and people are selling the ones they do have online for ridiculously high prices. Every gamer seems to want one, either for their collection or for gameplay.
Nintendo is claiming that amiibo are to be restocked in Australia. The highest selling amiibo in Australia is Mario, from the Super Mario Brothers series. Nintendo states that “In the coming months, limited quantities of some amiibo figures will be replenished in stores, with some figures sourced from other regions that will feature non-AU/NZ packaging”.
It is not fair to the gamers in the states because of the many out-of-stock amiibo in the U.S., such as Rosalina, who debuted on February 1st, the Wave One trio (Villager from Animal Crossing, Marth from Fire Emblem, and Wii Fit Trainer from Wii Fit), as well as many others. This is caused by the West Port Strikes (people not working on a contract and slowing transport down) that have been occurring, and is the reason why many products from Nintendo have not been able to preorder or have not been on shelves for a while.
As of March 20th, amiibo functionality will be included with Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, another recent Nintendo game. The Toad amiibo from the Super Mario Bros. series will introduce Pixel Toad in stages, where the player must find him in a hide-and-seek style. Another game that will have amiibo functionality is Mario Party 10, where they have their own mode called “amiibo Party”.
Emmett, from Thorne Middle School, says: “Nintendo is making a great move by making more amiibos from all different series”. When asked about Nintendo producing more of the rare amiibo, he replies: “They should occasionally restock them, but keep some of them rare, that way fans can appreciate their value”.
Scalpers have also been a huge problem. Emmett describes them as “incredibly selfish, and are the worst people among the gaming community”. Some amiibo that he would personally would like to see are Tom Nook and Isabelle from the Animal Crossing series, a Legend of Zelda line of Midna and Fi, and Jigglypuff and Mewtwo from Pokemon.
