During the Time interview, Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima revealed that he isn’t entirely happy with amiibo functionality at the moment and want’s to strengthen the bond between the figures and the software that they work with. It basically sounds as though the team over at Nintendo have grand plans for the immensely popular figures and want to further enhance the things they provide in-game and to make them more useful.
“A challenge that we’re facing right now is, our earliest goal for the Amiibo was to have these connected to software and have them enhance the play experience for the consumer, and for other consumers to say ‘I see my friend using this Amiibo with that software and it looks great,’ and again increase that attractiveness of that combination. What we’re seeing instead is that the Amiibo are being picked up more as a collection item at this point, rather than, say, as an interactive item with software. And so we haven’t really established them as an enhancement for all of our software at this point.”
“I think again that challenge is, how can we connect that IP to our software in general, and using the Amiibo to further enhance the play activity will allow us to get more people looking at, they see the Amiibo, they tie it back to the game experience, and then we’re creating a stronger connection with general knowledge of our IP and that fun experience they have.”
“But I do understand that the American market is a very busy, very crowded space. I went to a mall recently and saw all of the different toys that are available and I understand that it’s a crowded field. I do think that we some more room for expansion in the Japanese and European markets as they are not quite as full as the U.S. market at this point.”
They do what that Rayman Legends protype did and I will buy my first Amiibo.
I don’t like how amiibos — or, more precisely, the lack thereof — alienates those who, for whatever reasons, don’t/cannot have them.
Dumb move Kimishima, people are happy buying amiibo as a collection artifact. I hope this does not mean they will SHOVE the amiibo functionality in the games, we already saw Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival fail in a glorious way, I also hate to need plastic toys to access single player missions in Splatoon, I would hate if the 8-bit costumes in Super Mario Maker were unlockable only through amiibo. I think the most ideal amiibo usage would be like in Smash Bros. and Mario Party, where you literally bring that amiibo to life inside the game, this is something completely optional that does not break my fun with the game.
I thought the only fun part of Mario Party was the amiibo board though…
Please no. I’d much rather they go in the opposite direction and cut out their inclusion in games entirely, while upping the quality of the figurine itself. At the very least, keep what they unlock in games to content that can still be achieved with some effort without having to shell out even more money.
What would be the point in buying them then? Why would I pay money for an amiibo when it doesn’t do anything extra for me?
That’s like asking why people like figurines in general. I don’t really get it, but plenty of people apparently do. I’d much rather see them be supported as higher quality figurines rather than a day one paywall for exclusive content in $60 video games.
I understand that people do collect them for their aesthetic value (most of them are really good looking) but Nintendo already makes some high quality collectable figures. If they were to focus just on making high quality figurines, then there would be no reason for amiibo to exist at all.
And people already pay money to unlock dlc in games. What’s wrong with paying for a figure that unlocks extra content in multiple games?
People like amiibo largely in part because it provides physical merchandise for characters who otherwise wouldn’t get any and as collectibles. One off amiibos that serve next to no point outside of Smash, or variations of the same character are still highly sought after and sell out within minutes purely for those reasons. I would hope Nintendo would play towards that crowd by upping the quality, rather than attempt to shove them down the throats of people who don’t want them and would, frankly, consider them expensive, useless trinkets that take up space after being used for their compatible games.
As for DLC, we all know there’s the acceptable kind, and then there’s the bad kind. Games that are developed with amiibos in mind are no better than games that come out with day one DLC. The more they lock away behind amiibos, the worse it’s going to get. You could argue that a few amiibos are compatible with multiple games, but there are currently over 80+ amiibos and they show no signs of stopping. Considering Nintendo’s new president just announced he wanted to up their relevance and necessity in games, and that just buying 10 amiibos, that you might not even want, will run you well over $100 (if you’re lucky and they’re all available without getting scalped), you must see where I’m coming from.
I do see where you’re coming from. But still, as I said, I don’t see a problem with providing extra content to people who pay extra; that’s not to say that all dlc prices are fair, but that’s up to the consumer to decide. However, I said in a post lower down I do think it would be a good idea for Nintendo to offer the extra content that amiibo unlock seperately as paid dlc. That way, people who don’t want to buy the physical amiibo can still get the extra content.
For those who don’t like the idea, I think they are just saying that they have not fulfilled their initial ideas and think there could be a better way to integrate them… which I think is true. Like for instance, to load a saved game you just put an Amiibo (perhaps the one you have that you could personalize as your #1 Amiibo) and just wave it over the NFC and bam, saved game comes up and that’s it… maybe some other things too that I honestly can’t think of because I just sat down again here, but nonetheless, I think it should be more than just a figurine because other than that, what’s the point.
of ocurse there is no, singular amiibo that holds your info just yet, but that would an interesting inclusion… for the non-collector, just to have one that represents yourself on the platform would be good.
Yes, please. I love my Amiibo, but it would be nice if thy actually did something more useful. I’m actually shocked the Smash Bros Series Amiibo don’t give you costumes and gear in Splatoon. Seems like a missed opportunity there. I’d totally dress my Inklings up like Zelda or Mega Man.
you never know when splatoon might spring another surprise update on you…
They haven’t really had an impact on gameplay. Instead of trying to shove amiibo functionality into every game any way they can, they should make a game only for amiibo. Maybe something akin to skylanders or disney infinity.
As long as they remain an optional way to get certain things in the games, I’m okay with this. I don’t want to buy a specific amiibo because a certain game I love can’t be 100% because I refuse to buy the amiibo needed to complete the game 100%. It’s bad enough they did this with Mario Kart 8 with the Mii costumes of famous Nintendo characters. *twitch*
Is it just the amiibo you’re against or do you not pay for extra content at all?
I buy extra content all the time when I feel it’s reasonably priced. So yes. I’m against being hindered by a figurine that I don’t even want. For example, I shouldn’t have to buy a Bowser Jr, a character I hate, amiibo just to unlock something in say a future Mario game that I like & want to 100%.
That makes sense. Nintendo should offer the chance to buy the extra content that amiibo unlock seperately as paid dlc. That way, people who don’t want to buy the physical amiibo can still get the extra content.
Personally, I like the idea of having an item that can unlock extra content in multiple games. I just don’t think that at this point, the amiibo unlock enough. Like in Mario Kart how all they do is unlock Mii costumes. They should unlock characters, stages, and vehicle customization.
At the end of the day, as long as there is an alternative way to unlock them without me having to buy what is essentially an external device, I’m good.
I mean, they don’t do enough with the amiibo to be honest. Amiibos do very little. We need an actual Amiibo game that is similar to Skylanders or Disney Infinity.
*throws Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival at you* Be happy with that because that’s the best ya gonna get for awhile from Ninten
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/files/2013/07/homer-simpson-doh.jpg
I’d rather just collect Amiibo cards. I’m over the figurines. Too fucking hard to get at retail price in the US.
$30-$80 each? Fuck that shit. I’m done.
After I get a Shulk. I’m done.
After a Twilight Wolf Link too.
Fuck you Nintendo.
Luckily, I’ve only got around 3-5 more to get to go along with the other 11 I already own. Sadly, one of those has had no mention of a restock. *cries*Lucina*cries* D: