Post by: JusDBerube on August 25, 2015, 07:13:00 AM
The King Nintendo Fanboy weighs in on a growing Amiibo problem.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/41034/amiibo-bundle-blunders
Since Amiibo were announced I've been worried about the potential problems with trying to collect them. Up until now I feel Nintendo has been offering each Amiibo figure at a fair price and in a fair way. Sure, there have been some supply issues, but that is another story.
Starting in September, we are going to see more Amiibo offered in bundles. Amiibo bundles aren't necessarily bad if done right. Earlier this year Nintendo released a Mario Party 10 bundle with the Mario series Mario Amiibo as a timed exclusive. What was nice about this bundle is that the Amiibo came with the game it worked for and Nintendo communicated from the start by telling fans that the included Mario Amiibo would be sold separately at a later date.
However, starting next month is when the bullshit begins for Amiibo collectors in North America. For starters, the Modern 8-Bit Mario Amiibo is currently exclusive to a Super Mario Maker Wii U bundle that is being sold exclusively at Walmart stores for $299.96. Nintendo hasn't currently communicated with fans to tell them if this Amiibo will ever be sold outside of this expensive package that contains an entire console that I'm assuming most Amiibo collectors already own.
Then there are the four Amiibo/Skylanders figures. Each of these figures are exclusive to a Skylanders game bundle on different Nintendo platforms. So those wishing to get them all are going to have to shell out around $74.99 for each version of Skylanders and likely end up with at least one duplicate game and multiple spare Skylanders accessories. Real nice. I don't understand why the figures aren't being offered as stand alone products at all.
For now that is where the bullshit ends. Not everything is bad, though. Some good Amiibo bundles for Yoshi's Woolly World and Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash are on the way. These two bundles offer new products along with the Amiibo at fair prices.
I hope the good people over at Nintendo of America know what they are doing to us Amiibo collectors. It's very disheartening when decisions like this are made and there isn't clear communication about what we can really expect in the future. I just want to buy Amiibo at fair prices and not be forced to pay extra for things I already have because of all these bundles. There is no reason to keep fans in the dark about some of these Amiibo decisions, and I really wish the company would clearly communicate what's happening instead of leaving fans to guess if specific Amiibo will be sold in a more economical way in the coming months.
Post by: UncleBob on August 25, 2015, 02:27:18 PM
Yeah, there's no way to get all four Skylanders/Amiibo without doubling up on the Wii U version and tripling up on Wii/U-compatible portals. ;(
Post by: Enner on August 25, 2015, 04:10:29 PM
There is no reason to keep fans in the dark about some of these Amiibo decisions,
Yes there is. Monetary reasons!
To keep the glib short, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Nintendo of America cares not for being fair with how they sell amiibo in North America.
Post by: Ian Sane on August 25, 2015, 05:47:35 PM
Putting an exclusive Amiibo in a console bundle reminds me a lot of how Nintendo originally made the Legend of Zelda Collection on the Gamecube a pack-in for a new console purchase, flipping the bird to pretty much every existing Zelda fan in the world because they would have already bought the console to play Wind Waker. The company doesn't think of things from the fan perspective. They're probably not trying to get you to buy a Wii U over again for that sort of deviousness requires intelligence NOA doesn't have. They're thinking that throwing in an extra doodad will make the bundle all the more attractive to potential new Wii U customers. They are oblivious to how this jerks around their existing Amiibo customers.
Post by: Mop it up on August 25, 2015, 06:38:33 PM
The reason the Skylanders/Amiibo aren't being sold solo is to cut down on confusion when Little Timmy shells out $15 for Boswer only to find he doesn't work with their XBOX 360 version of Superchargers.This is probably true, but couldn't they just use huge letters on the packaging to say that it's compatible only with Wii U, Wii, and 3DS? They could also appear later as individual figures; hasn't this happened before with "exclusive" bundled Skylanders figures?
Putting an exclusive Amiibo in a console bundle reminds me a lot of how Nintendo originally made the Legend of Zelda Collection on the Gamecube a pack-in for a new console purchase, flipping the bird to pretty much every existing Zelda fan in the world because they would have already bought the console to play Wind Waker.Before it was bundled with systems, you could obtain this by registering a GameCube system and two games at MyNintendo.com, which is how I got it. Besides, this was not really a new product, but just a collection of old, existing games... ones which Zelda fans likely already owned.
Post by: NWR_insanolord on August 25, 2015, 06:57:21 PM
'Putting an exclusive Amiibo in a console bundle reminds me a lot of how Nintendo originally made the Legend of Zelda Collection on the Gamecube a pack-in for a new console purchase, flipping the bird to pretty much every existing Zelda fan in the world because they would have already bought the console to play Wind Waker.Before it was bundled with systems, you could obtain this by registering a GameCube system and two games at MyNintendo.com, which is how I got it. Besides, this was not really a new product, but just a collection of old, existing games... ones which Zelda fans likely already owned.
You could also get it by subscribing to Nintendo Power, which was how I got it.
Post by: UncleBob on August 25, 2015, 07:42:11 PM
They could put all the letters they wanted on the packaging - people are stupid and this particular type of exclusivity is brand new to a series already 4 iterations old. On Skylanders haunts, there are *still* people who post "Will Boswer work on PS4?"The reason the Skylanders/Amiibo aren't being sold solo is to cut down on confusion when Little Timmy shells out $15 for Boswer only to find he doesn't work with their XBOX 360 version of Superchargers.This is probably true, but couldn't they just use huge letters on the packaging to say that it's compatible only with Wii U, Wii, and 3DS? They could also appear later as individual figures; hasn't this happened before with "exclusive" bundled Skylanders figures?
Some bundle-exclusives have appeared in solo packaging (Dark Spyro from the original 3DS game had a solo release overseas, Punch Pop Fizz from Giants 3DS had a solo release overseas and was released in a promotional pack through GameStop. Gnarly Tree Rex from the Blue Wii System Bundle had a solo release. Volcanic Eruptor from SWAP Force 3DS was a promo-pack release at Best Buy. Green Gill Grunt from the 360 +SSA system bundle, Royal Double Trouble from the GameStop exclusive version of Battlegrounds, metallic Wash Buckler from the Wii U Basic system bundle and all of the dark starter exclusives from SWAP Force and Trap Team have remained exclusive to their original releases. And now you know more about Skylanders than you ever wanted.) Activision has stated they have no plans to release the Skylander/amiibos down the road, but I'm sure if they think there's money in it and Nintendo is on board, those plans could easily change.
