Villager Amiibo

Earlier this week we reported that intense demand for amiibo had prompted UK retailer GAME to hike its prices, increasing the going rate by over 20% from £11.99 to £14.99 in the UK. The situation of limited amiibo stock and increasing prices is getting worse in multiple territories, however, and rumours of discontinued figures are being reinforced by market realities.

The rumour is spreading that the Villager, Marth and Wii Fit Trainer amiibo figures have been discontinued; in other words, if true this means that once current stock is sold no more will be supplied to retailers. This isn't officially confirmed, of course, but some gamers have apparently been told, by stores such as EB Games, that Marth is discontinued and has been removed from their systems.

With demand still high, that then accelerates what we've already seen — prices skyrocket. This is now happening across territories. Amazon in the US is selling amiibo still in stock at the recommended price, but these three figures rumoured to be discontinued are out of stock from Amazon proper, with prices at the mercy of private sellers on the platform. Marth is already commanding over $40 at the time of writing, with Villager at around $25. Gamestop, as another example, is out of stock (online) of a number of figures; these include Villager and Marth, but Wii Fit Trainer is still available at the standard price. As for eBay, bids are also creeping up on the auction site.

In the UK, where prices aren't imposed on retailers, it's becoming open season. Following our exposure of GAME's price hike, we now see Amazon UK joining in, with cases of Amazon promoting other merchants to the status of primary seller and prices going above the unofficial standard price of £12 — the most extreme example is Villager, with the promoted price being £39.99 at the time of writing.

Whether true or not, the rumour of some figures now being out of production isn't a total surprise, as Nintendo has stated before — in investor presentations and less formally — that not all figures will be re-produced and kept in stock forever. As one figure disappears from shelves, those from the follow-up waves will — in theory — take their place.

Nevertheless, demand is far outstripping supply, which is proving frustrating for gamers — the situation is similar, perhaps worse, with the GameCube Controller Adapter.

Let us know what you think of these issues with amiibo stock and prices in the comments below.

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[source twitter.com, via neogaf.com]