After reading horror stories about Rosalina at Target and Lucario at Toys R Us, we visited a local Best Buy to learn more about its own store exclusive Meta Knight. We don’t have a pre-order, and wanted to figure out if showing up on February 20 on the outside chance of purchasing one of these rare amiibo was worth the trouble because, quite frankly, it’s cold outside and we prefer to feel our extremities.
Turns out, this particular store (along with several others) already received their amiibo shipment in time for this coming Friday, but if the small sampling of locations is anything to go by, the odds of getting Meta Knight are slim at best.
The store currently has 16 Meta Knight amiibo. From that number, 13 are pre-orders, leaving three Meta Knights for whoever lines up. Stores open at 10AM and there’s no telling how early people will camp out, so you either go at some ridiculous time (7AM seems about right) and hope the store you chose adopts a ticket system similar to Black Friday, or you prepare to scratch and claw your way to the register or wherever the place keeps its Meta Knights; keep in mind that Meta Knight numbers will vary by location.
Conversely, you could sit at home all comfy like and let the massacre take place, then check eBay. When Rosalina released, a few scalpers in possession of multiple figures attempted to make a quick buck by pricing Rosalinas to sell, anywhere between $35 to $50. Prices for Meta Knight pre-orders are absurdly high right now (hovering around $99), but we expect that number to come down the weekend of February 20.
Should you brave the elements, check with your Best Buy to see what the deal is. Ask if they received Meta Knight and in what quantities, then prep for launch day. You cannot pre-order Meta Knight at this point, so it’s camp out or eBay. Furthermore, you need to give this serious effort. Casually strolling into a Best Buy on Friday will probably result in failure.
On a side note, we don’t know if the Nintendo World Store in NYC will receive Meta Knight, but considering it had Rosalina and Shulk for sale, it wouldn’t surprise us to see this particular amiibo any day now. Of course you have to be at the store at the right time. If you first learn of Meta Knight availability through Twitter or Reddit, chances are he’s already gone and/or there’s a line of 200 plus people about to form outside Nintendo World.
As always, good luck.
Published: Feb 16, 2015 08:50 pm