Nintendo held its Third Quarter Financial Results Briefing where it laid out plans for 2015, including new 3DS and Wii U titles, and of course, amiibo. Interestingly enough, the publisher shipped 5.7 million figures around the world at the end of 2014, and plans to ride the momentum throughout the year.
First, the much rumored amiibo cards will appear, though how Nintendo plans to distribute these remains to be seen. In theory, they will allow fans to use amiibo in supported games by scanning the cards instead of figures. If you don’t have Marth, for example, you can still train the amiibo in Super Smash Bros. with the Marth card.
Second, there will be a free app for the Wii U that will let players experience NES and SNES games using their amiibo. Expect to see it during the first half of 2015.
Third, Nintendo will release an external NFC reader for the 3DS, bringing amiibo compatibility to older systems; the New 3DS XL has built-in amiibo functionality. It’ll be available this summer.
Finally, the company revealed two amiibo charts.
The first is a regional sales ranking chart for Japan, the U.S./Canada, Europe and Australia. These are not the most sought after amiibo per se, but rather the highest selling figures by country. Hence the top 10 for the U.S. entirely made up of commons, whereas Marth and Captain Falcon are more plentiful in Japan.
Next is the regional retail sell-through rate chart. This one showcases the amiibo that sell out the moment they hit shelves. Many of these are out of stock, and it remains to be seen whether Nintendo will replenish them, and if so, in what quantities. That said, a Marth reprint will take place at an undisclosed date for North America.
What do you think of card amiibo? Will you buy those or stick with the figures?
Published: Feb 17, 2015 08:00 pm