Nobody knew how big the NFC figure fad would get. It’s exploded since Skylanders set the stage, but one particular line of toys has become the golden ticket for gamers. I’m talking, of course, about amiibo. In the words of Kelis, Nintendo’s milkshake is bringing all the boys to the yard.
In the past, this has meant all sorts of problems. Some stores would be lucky to get one amiibo of specific characters. Scalpers exploited the situation. People weren’t getting access to the characters they loved. It was a fiasco. However, Nintendo has been promising to do better and, while the amiibo issue is still a problem, we can see firsthand that the company is trying to make things right.
This concentrated effort began in Japan, of course. If you follow sites like Play-Asia and AmiAmi, you’ll have seen restock notices. The former even has an amiibo Hunters update, alerting people as to when specific figures will restock, so customers can wait at their browsers for the perfect moment. Not that such a thing is entirely necessary, given that many of the formerly rare figures, like Marth and Ike, are often in stock at the site.
What’s striking is that these rerun amiibo have begun appearing in local stores as well. GameStop received fresh shipments of Ness, Marth, and King Dedede, though Ness was still only available in extremely limited numbers. The Pac was back in Best Buys, based on a friend’s joyful recounting of finding Pac-Man waiting on a shelf for her. I happened upon Silver Mario and Toad amiibo in a Walmart while grabbing some groceries. The figures still aren’t lasting long on shelves, but the important thing is that restocks are happening.
One of the most surprising developments happened this past weekend. Ness wasn’t the only store-exclusive to make a comeback. Both Rosalina and Jigglypuff appeared on Target’s website. Even better, they weren’t fleeting cameos. They were available for hours. Granted, they’re out of stock now, but it’s still encouraging to see two of the rarer amiibo made a reappearance.
Nintendo still needs to make improvements. The company needs to produce amiibo in larger numbers, have dedicated warehouses, and make a larger show of demonstrating their understanding of the situation. Still, the fact that change is happening and we can see it is a definite positive. Perhaps by the 2015 holiday shopping season, the situation may even be under control.