Amiibo!!

NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii
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BogusMeatFactory
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Re: Amiibo!!

Post by BogusMeatFactory »

ninjainspandex wrote:The problem is Nintendo making these Amiibo's impossible to get.
Is that really the case though? Think about that for a second. If scalpers are going absolutely nuts over these, don't you feel that they may be responsible for the scarcity? I'm not joking when I say that in my job, when we get amiibos in, some guy comes up and says, "I'm going to buy all of those." Every single one. And we get a box with roughly 25 amiibos when the first run starts and then get around 5 every week on a regular basis. That is just my store. You stop a scalper by flooding the market. By flooding the market, you make too many amiibos and therefor you lose money.

Take into note that there is the possibility of reprints. Nintendo has addressed that with Marth. I feel like if there is enough outcry, the possibility for other reprints are definitely there.

Also, when you mention that they are impossible to get, are you saying they are impossible to pre-order, or impossible to go to a store they day of and get an amiibo. From my experience, going to the location the day of tends to be successful if you really try. One of my co-workers has a complete set minus, marth, villager and wii fit trainer and he did so by just going store to store. Didn't go crazy, just called up a place, saw if they had it in stock and went and picked them up. Sure some places, like my store get hit by scalpers hard, but other places don't see any of that.
isiolia wrote:
BogusMeatFactory wrote: I just don't see all the fuss about the actual content you get with the amiibos. I view it right now as, "I want that figure and the things I get with it are just a cherry on top."
It's basically DLC, yes, but on-disc DLC, which Capcom (and others) don't exactly get a lot of goodwill for either.

I see it more as a future thing. It may not seem like a big deal to go grab the figure now, unless of course it winds up being understocked and hard to find...but 5 years from now? 10, 15, etc? Nintendo hasn't exactly been double-dipping a lot of their games. Other companies, DLC may be annoying, but the chance of a Complete Edition in a few years, at a bargain price, is often fairly good.

Even if they slapped a sticker on the case or manual that did the same thing (which they could), it'd necessitate a complete copy of the game down the line.

It may not be a huge deal yet, but it's a pretty slippery slope I'd say.
I have always found the DLC/Digital Game argument incredibly flawed. By the time the WiiU becomes obsolete and no longer supported and people don't have access to their digital library/DLC content, you can easily soft mod your system and get access to those games and content.
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isiolia
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Re: Amiibo!!

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BogusMeatFactory wrote: I have always found the DLC/Digital Game argument incredibly flawed. By the time the WiiU becomes obsolete and no longer supported and people don't have access to their digital library/DLC content, you can easily soft mod your system and get access to those games and content.
What I'm thinking more of is, down the line, you can find a copy of the game...and then still need to track down a (possibly rare) Amiibo just to unlock part of it. Not everyone mods their systems.

Selection I've seen locally for them has been downright pathetic, so it's not even a future thing. It's not unlikely that games coming out this year might be hard to find the corresponding Amiibo for by Christmas. Great for Nintendo's business strategy of getting people to ravenously buy up their products on sight. Not good for the consumer.
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Re: Amiibo!!

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What is good for the customer, then?

One of the things I love about the Amiibo - DLC concept is that it is a value added approach to what every other developer is doing already. Only the Amiibos largely open features across multiple games with some exceptions. That super common Smash Bros Mario Amiibo is essentially a one time DLC cost that adds features or at least opens up bonuses across (at this moment) at least 5 retail games.

And at the end of the day, you also have a physical product (which is prized in our community) to enjoy long after the WiiU is a memory in the market place.
Maybe now Nintendo will acknowledge Metroid has a fanbase?
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isiolia
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Re: Amiibo!!

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Flake wrote:What is good for the customer, then?
To start with, something that allows them to choose to buy add-ons for their games at their convenience, not when OMG IT'S IN STOCK. Most things have shifted more towards that, even the game sales themselves if you go digital.

They've paid lip service to doing that via figureless NFC tags, but haven't delivered yet that I've seen. Depending on how it's set up, they could also just offer them as actual DLC as well for less, like Disney does for the PC version of Infinity (offhand).
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Re: Amiibo!!

Post by BogusMeatFactory »

isiolia wrote:
Flake wrote:What is good for the customer, then?
To start with, something that allows them to choose to buy add-ons for their games at their convenience, not when OMG IT'S IN STOCK. Most things have shifted more towards that, even the game sales themselves if you go digital.

They've paid lip service to doing that via figureless NFC tags, but haven't delivered yet that I've seen. Depending on how it's set up, they could also just offer them as actual DLC as well for less, like Disney does for the PC version of Infinity (offhand).
It is still very early in the amiibo life. The stuff has been out for what...4 months? Not nearly enough time to gauge the market and make proper adjustments. We are making the assumption that Nintendo will not allow for the content available from the Splatoon figures to be available later as DLC, which is folly.
Ack wrote:I don't know, chief, the haunting feeling of lust I feel whenever I look at your avatar makes me think it's real.
-I am the idiot that likes to have fun and be happy.
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Re: Amiibo!!

Post by s1mplehumar »



Lol
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Re: Amiibo!!

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s1mplehumar wrote:

Lol
Needs the other egg firing creature...now I need me a Birdo Amiibo
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Re: Amiibo!!

Post by s1mplehumar »

BogusMeatFactory wrote:
s1mplehumar wrote:

Lol
Needs the other egg firing creature...now I need me a Birdo Amiibo
The comments, man. The comments.
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Re: Amiibo!!

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isiolia wrote:
Flake wrote:What is good for the customer, then?
To start with, something that allows them to choose to buy add-ons for their games at their convenience, not when OMG IT'S IN STOCK. Most things have shifted more towards that, even the game sales themselves if you go digital.

They've paid lip service to doing that via figureless NFC tags, but haven't delivered yet that I've seen. Depending on how it's set up, they could also just offer them as actual DLC as well for less, like Disney does for the PC version of Infinity (offhand).
...but that's not how most things have shifted. We still have timed DLC, system exclusive DLC, multiple SKUs at launch where premium items are shuttered away behind DLC codes that are printed on paper and useless after one use.

Again, using that common Mario amiibo as an example: The figurine is essentially multi-game DLC that can be re-sold and enjoyed as a great model for the entirety of your life. At full retail we're talking $14 bucks to unlock costumes in Mario Kart, an alternate AI fighter in Smash Bros, an entire gameplay mode and board in Mario Party, extra items in Hyrule Warriors - and that's just four months into the Amiibo market being a thing that is.

That same $14 is something that many gamers spend on premium DLC for a single title which can never be used for anything else ever.

If you can point out to me where Nintendo is doing something that isn't better than their competitors with the one exception of limited stock for some models (due largely to a past circumstance that was entirely out of Nintendo's control) then I'd be interested to see what you have.
Maybe now Nintendo will acknowledge Metroid has a fanbase?
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Re: Amiibo!!

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Image
Soooooo close! Still in my cart...
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