We've consistently highlighted amiibo stock issues as a failing on Nintendo's part, in actually producing enough stock, communicating clearly and managing expectations or - perhaps most accurately - a mix of those factors. Stock shortages have also led to some inaccurate assumptions about discontinued figures, too, and Nintendo's merely stated that it's working on providing stock while admitting that, yes, not all figures will be renewed forever.
That's been the company line for a number of months, in defence of the big N, even if the news that some figures will be limited runs is not what we want to hear. The ambiguity over which figures are limited isn't ideal, but it is increasingly looking like Little Mac will be one toy that'll be hard to procure. The rumour's been about for a short while, but an accumulation of circumstances seems to suggest that the little challenger may be on the ropes.
An article on geekparty.com highlights attempts to get hold of a Little Mac amiibo, and following the removal of the toy from GameStop's website at the end of 2014 (triggering initial rumours) the following answer was given when enquiring on stock.
We deeply apologise however Little Mac Amiibo was delisted / discontinued. Since we will no longer be receiving any stock of this item due to manufacturer shortages/cancellation we would be unable to fulfill [sic] your request
A look around retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy in the US returns a lack of stock or inflated marketplace prices; it's a similar case with Amazon and GAME in the UK. Little Mac isn't the only amiibo currently out of stock at most outlets, of course, but the circumstances are piling up to suggest that it may, indeed, have been discontinued.
We'll reach out to Nintendo and share any response we receive.
[source geekparty.com, via gonintendo.com]
Comments 99
Phew, glad I managed to pick one up then. He's a great amiibo, real shame he's so rare.
Glad I already have mine but it really stinks for those who haven't procured one yet! Disappointing to see how Nintendo has (mis)handled this.
Commence Uproar
iv never even SEEN one of these figures at the local shops
iv never even SEEN one of these figures at the local shops
Why is Nintendo discontinuing Amiibo so early on?
I got one for a friend. Glad I did.
Whew. I just got mine today! Good luck to others.
AND JOIN CLUB NINTENDO TODAY, MAC BABY!
well i have little mac good thing i dont live in north america
WHAT?
I haven't even seen a Little Mac, Pit, or Captain Falcon Amiibo on shelves.
Was it EVER in-stock in the UK in the first place? 0.o
Never ever saw it. Too bad. My Villager and Wii Fit Trainer could have used a sparring partner.
It's like Nintendo hates money. amiibo as shown to be a huge success and what Nintendo does? Limit some figures and even discountinue them. Way to go, Reggie. I guess it's time for me to preorder the Megaman amiibo because it seems that also would be a very rare figure on the upcoming months.
@BurningSonic
Yeah Nintendo has handled this very poorly. If they are really wanting Amiibo to became a big thing, they will have to get their act together.
The only Wave 2 amiibo I've seen on store shelves was Zelda.
Got mine and Capt Falcon. Can't get pit, nor villager... Annoying.
If they release the cards/smaller cheaper plastic or just let everyone have the in game content that shouldn't be locked then I would be happy...
Connect the dots of 'amiibo's that are discontinued' to 'amiibo's that aren't actually going to be used in any games outside smash'.
Ninty should of kept to a core of 15 or so characters in the first year and avoided linking them to the Smash roster and be used in a variety of games.
@rdrunner1178 I know I wanted a Marth Amiibo since Day 1 and still haven't found one on shelves!
@NintyMan
That's my take on this, too. The words "manufacturer shortages" in the response doesn't tell me they're done with making these. Until I hear something official from Nintendo, I wouldn't worry too much about this. But, if you're collecting these, it wouldn't hurt to nab him up anyways if you haven't already.
....Really? :c
checks stores ...Dammit Nintendo. T.T
Glad I got my Little Mac from Best Buy online. I never even saw the thing in the stores here.
Nintendo, I love you, I really do, but KNOCK IT OFF!
@MrGawain This guy gets it and has the best and valid point and I totally agree with this
I'm beginning to think the only way to get the full story on what the plan for amiibos is would be to launch a Ninja raid on Nintendo HQ.
Good thing I found one.
I'm worried about Pit and Captain Falcon though. I haven't so much as seen one ever.
Aw dang...
Nooooooooooooooooooooo! 😰
And here I am with 3 Little Mac amiibos bwahahahaha.
No I don't plat to sell them, I paint different variations for the characters, I currently have done the one with black shirt and red gloves and I'm brainstorming how to make a wireframe version
Crazy that means I got one of the last few. After Christmas Gamestop put Little Mac back in stock on the website and I purchased one with a gift card I got right away. Actually just received it in the mail two days ago in the mail. (Came four days early ).
Add that to the list of Amiibo I have never seen in store shelves.
It was worth almost arriving late to work because of traffic to get Little Mac!!
>: U Also can't find Pit anywhere, must I resort to throwing my ice cream on the floor..........AND FALCON PUNCH IT!!!!????!!!!
Still mad that he is the only one I don't have. Argos never stocked him on the day of wave 2 and that goes for the same for smyths and gamestop for me.
I still find it funny that out of the 17 I currently own, Little Mac is the one I wanted the most as he is my main in smash.
Well, I guess that explains why I couldn't find one at my local EB Games.
The way that Nintendo has handled amiibo is honestly making me lose interest in them. Nintendo made amiibo flop and they have no one else to blame but themselves.
I went to the shops the other day. Not a SINGLE amiibo on shelves. The shelves were COMPLETELY empty. Absolutely madness.
You hear that, Nintendo? Absolute madness.
Shouldn't this be listed as a rumour article?
Now watch the prices go all the way to the moon, even though there's no official confirmation yet.
Still, this is sloppy handling on Nintendo's end. The amount of figures produced from the second wave barely covers demand, and many are already hard to come by. Nintendo shouldn't discontinue them, but instead react to demands, even at the risk of overproduction. It's better to have a few amiibo's too many than too few, since it damages the positive impact amiibo as a product has.
Nintendo has the problem of a.) They did not make enough for the initial wave, and b.) They have to use their current manufacturing capacity to make the third wave. Add this to retailer reluctance to stock a large variety, I can see where they might only keep a handful of the core characters in stock.
I could see them releasing another shipment of characters AFTER wave 3. But its a bad situation; they would lose too much money to out-manufacture the scalpers; since a lot of this 'rarity' is caused by scalpers.
On a darker note, variable rarity is a sure way to get every initial shipment sold out; since scalpers will rush to get as many as they can until interest dies out. Hence they can keep interest in amibo well into March/April after Smash is old news itself.
Hey people, this is all par for the course when it comes to figure collecting. Get used to it. Many figures are produced and sold in limited quantities and once they're gone, that's it. Toy makers don't want to or can't afford to mass produce figures that aren't a sure hit, and even if the initial release sells out it is often pretty unlikely that a second run will sell out. And they can't afford to sit on stock that doesn't sell. Even major toy makers like Hasbro and Mattel have stock problems (I don't have and can't afford eBay reseller prices for a Masters of the Universe Classics Sorceress for example). Nintendo is a newcomer to the collectible figure market, it is going to take a little time to find what works for them. Bottom line, unless it's a main character from whatever line, if you see a figure you want, you better pick it up because it might not be there next time.
What is Nintendo supposed to do, people? Limit all people to only purchasing 1 of each kind of amiibo? Blame the scalpers/resellers that buy up the stock more than Nintendo. Now I will start the bidding at $100 for my unopened Little Mac...
Glad I got mine. Soon add Pit and Falcon to the list:
This is ridiulous. Screw it, I'm not going to fight over these amiibos. My local best buy only got 1 little mac and and now you're telling me we wont ever have any more, just stupid. This has to be the biggest fail for the most indemand class of items. Amiibo has the potential to make an outstanding profit and sell well over millions, and they've handled this all wrong. Hype up amiibo for little over half a year, and in the 1st month of release they under manufactured quantities, and now they're discontinued. I love my wii-u, love my 3ds, love nintendo, but the Amiibo is the run-away failure of this gen for Nintendo.
But I guess due to the fact that they may be releasing at least 50, including Mewtwo, they have to limit the time period each one goes into production, that and the fact that the ones that they are discontinuing seem to be characters that will only be on Smash in the foreseeable future, and not really of any use in other games. I kinda get it. Besides, many fans are still awaiting any news on their favorite characters being released at all. Hopefully they will repeat the release cycle once all of the Smash Characters have been released. Hopefully...
Never seen him or Captain Falcon in any shop despite driving all over western Washington in search of them, the only ones I wanted.
@CosmoXY That's semi true, but then you look at the over abundance of sky landers and disney infinity figures that are sitting in every retailer and you can't help but wonder. At my best buy, we've NEVER been sold out of any figures for skylands or infinity, yet have never had a quantity of more than 10 in stock for any amiibo (i work in inventory). The way i know this is nintendo being the core of the problem vs retail, the same thing has happened with gamecube controllers and adapters.
@NintyMan Agreed. I believe they removed the listing for the Wii U Gamecube adapters when they ran out of stock as well and the listing has come back since then (albeit, in bundles).
Oh come on!! I guess i really have to save money to preorder the next wave of amiibo's!Nintendo man get your act together!
@CosmoXY And there you have it. I've secured everyone but Rosalina, and now I can't lock her in and will have to take to the streets come release day. But guess what? She was lower on my priority list and when the pre-order was staring me in the face, I didn't bother. My fault? Suuure is!
@Ryno ....create the kind of stock Activision does with Skylanders?
Nintendo is truly run by idiots if they want to discontinue toys that have barely been out for a month when they're obviously selling well. It's like they want to fail this generation.
I got lucky finding him last week. Went to a retailer to get the last Fox amiibo in their stock, and the guy at the counter said they just got a Little Mac in earlier that day. Got him then, for MSRP and no shipping.
Despite that bit of luck, it is awful that they limited availability of these. This distribution issue is a pattern though.(e.g. Game Cube adapters, Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Wii, the circle pad pro...)
I never expected to get a little Mac amiibo but sometime after the amiibo had sold out at my local TRU one day (at TRU) I saw a single Little Mac amiibo so I grabbed him and when I brought him up to the register and as I was paying the guy told me it was one someone had preordered but never picked up, so after two weeks they were allowed to put Little Mac on the shelf.
@umegames well if they base it on the low numbers of Wii U's actually sold, I can't blame them. As for Skylanders and Infinity, these are toys good on multiple consoles, so I can see what that's about. What's killing this are these scalpers. There are PLENTY of Marths, Wii Fit, Villagers and Little Macs on eBay and Amazon, plenty! It sucks, because when you are selling images of your pre-order confirmation, it's obvious you have no interest in actually collecting
@umegames Amiibo is entering into a competitive market with a brand new product, unlike Skylanders, a brand that is well established in this space. And Little Mac is at best a third tier character. There's every possibility that general consumers pass him by. Nintendo didn't want to gamble on overproducing so probably ordered a fraction of those compare to Mario, Link and Pikachu for example. And just because the first release sold out does not mean there are enough consumers out there to justify a second run. Chances are good that a second run of Mac, Wii Fit Trainer and others in this third tier would end up clogging store shelves.
@Quorthon And others - Amiibo is not a failure by any standard. Fast sellouts are good for business. This is only going to give Nintendo confidence to produce more amiibo and games that utilize them. No where in any marketing that I've seen does it state that all characters will be available in plentiful supply forever.
Trust me, I've been a toy collector for as long as some nintendolife readers have been alive. This is the way toy lines go, especially new ones. As a collector and fellow fan, I also feel your pain when that one figure you really want slips away. But keep your eyes open, watch for good deals on eBay, or even wait it out. After the initial enthusiasm dies down, people will start selling their collections and you'll be able to get them relatively easily on the secondary market.
@HeroOfCybertron Yeah thats how I got Pit, I went to a Gamestop a couple of days ago and asked about Pit and the clerk told me that a couple of people canceled their orders so he sold me one.
@CosmoXY Yeah I'm begining to wonder if these early discontinues are actually Nintendo creating a scarcity which prompt people to rush out and grab up as many as possible so they won't miss out.
@Ryno
What Nintendo is supposed to do (in my opinion): provide enough stock that people who want figures within 3 months of release can actually buy them without resorting to paying scalpers, and communicate openly with people about whether figures will be reprinted.
I'm not saying make an infinite amount. I'm not suggesting ongoing support for extended periods of time. But the only notable discussion around Amiibo so far has been how Nintendo did a lousy job providing enough stock to meet demand or to communicate accurately with their customers.
No outrage on my part though. If Amiibo figures aren't available, it's a minor disappointment... but life goes on. Do I really need a silly plastic figure anyway? Nope.
sigh
I still have yet to even see a Little Mac or Pit in stores. Those are the only two I need T_T
I've definitely learned my lesson after I completed my Wave 1 + 2 collection: Pre-order, pre-order, pre-order (when/if you can). Additionally, GameStop seems to be the most reliable when it comes to pre-ordering or even obtaining Amiibo after launch.
But I really hope the Amiibo cards will be a reality sooner than later. At least if folks miss out on the figures, they won't miss out on the functionality.
I'm disappointed how stressful the entire Amiibo experience is. I get that Nintendo screwed up with expectations. In fairness, they have been on the doormat for a while now and probably didn't think this would be huge. However, the sales data from the last few weeks should show how popular the figures are and Ninty should be burning up the phones with manufacturers to get as many Amiibo out there. Retailers are surely onboard now with the amount of sales they have seen. It's disappointing that a fun toy has become stressful! Nintendo, don't you want my money?
Well, looks like it's time to give up on hope of actually being able to buy Ness. Sad face.
I'm sure once Paultina Amiibo gets released that will be out of stock. That's the one I really want along with Ike.
sigh
I'm not paying over ERP.
I will hold out. IF Nintendo were smart they wouldn't stop producing.
Amazon Europe has them at least http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00O9QC5R2/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?qid=1420515690&sr=8-10&pi=AC_SX110_SY165#wow-twister?1420515736747 I don't think they would ship to America though...
EDIT: Actually they do! They also have Marth for less than 30...
I just noticed that Fox was added back to amazon.ca after being sold out for over 2 weeks. I just ordered one and it should be here in a few weeks. I wonder if Nintendo had more issued so people can have it for Star Fox where as Little Mac doesn't have any use outside of Smash.
@Angelic_Lapras_King
on 12th December 2014, I walked into a GAME shop in Kingston, London, and I saw a few Little Mac amiibos. On that day, though, I bought Captain Falcon instead. It was my first amiibo purchase.
When I returned to the very same GAME next week, they literally only had Pikachu, Link and Samus and no-one else.
I went there two days ago, and they had like twelve Donkey Kong amiibos, three Peaches and a single Samus.
Little Mac must have gotten an incredibly small run.
Ugh.
I got a little Mac and wii u trainer on the way, and I preordered Sheik and toon link...glad I did!
People are going a little nuts over these, and its clear people are buying them (at least currently) just to collect them. I have a few, but I actually use them, and when more games come out that utilize them I will buy more, but I guess I have to be strategic, cuz waiting for a character to be more useful will already be too late ,boo! Nintendo isn't dumb tho, they will rectify the nonsense soon enough.
@MagicEmperor: I just got mine in the mail today as well, along with Pit from GameStop.
Crap.
this is bafflingly stupid. Clearly there still is a demand.
I just bought him last weekend. LUCKY!!
I really think the retail store of everywhere should make a limitation of buying amiibo. Only one of every character, I mean, more than one copy?! Some greedy people.............
I've only ever seen Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Mario and Samus in my local GAME store...
I just can't understand nintendo's stance on this, from a production point of view i can see why they didn't just go and create millions because they had no idea how they would sell and didnt want to be left with tons of unsold stock. But to not keep a constant trickle of each amiibo is stupid, even if it mean just selling them on their website, or even only having them in stock at certain times of the year. But they are just turning away sales now and I didnt think they were in a position to be doing that
GameStop said that Villager, Marth and WFT were discontinued, that wasn't true either. How is this any more credible than their previous statement?
@shinokami @shinokami maybe you could paint one of the figures completely black except for shorts shoes and hair and then put thin green lines.
I got all the current released ones except Little Mac. Indeed hard to find! (Europe)
Limiting the production of certain Amiibis is one thing but to never even see them at retail is lunacy.
And now we have an upcoming Wave 3 release with no less than FOUR exclusive Amiibos (which, no doubt, will be painfully limited), each attached to a different retailer with basically no pre-order option.
Thanks, Nintendo...
...(Sighs)...Nintendo, if you want to earn profits you gotta start by actually HAVING THE MERCHANDISE ON THE SHELVES. It's sad to see people buying $50 Marth amiibos on Amazon. AND THAT WAS SOLD BY AMAZON.
I'm disappointed how Nintendo has handled this Amiibo thing.
thats what you get when ur op
@CosmoXY
Careful there, sir, I never said Amiibo was a failure, but that Nintendo has been bouncing around and clawing at failure this generation with the sluggish start to the 3DS, the apparent early decline of the 3DS, it's sales falling well short of the DS, and the general failure of the Wii U to snag sales and the failure of Nintendo to properly understand modern gaming (the industry and consumers).
Amiibos are quite successful, so Nintendo's failure in both getting them to market in substantial numbers, and in ensuring quality to the product line (which is becoming notorious for broken and ill-crafted figures) is where the failure aspect comes in. Here they have something that's actually selling and they can't keep them in stock, have apparently created a market to be abused by resellers, and are consistently failing to properly communicate with consumers on the supply of these things.
The failure theme certainly doesn't help things that Iwata would rather sit in front of a camera and apologize for failure instead of actually doing something to correct things, like merging or acquiring other companies, taking necessary risks, or bothering to target what's not working. The Amiibo line itself is certainly not a failure, but it still reeks of failure all around it. It's one thing to not meet demand, but it's another to toy with consumers and him and haw on supply shipments that ultimately put too much power in the hands of crafty resellers bilking fans out of their money.
It isn't really a big deal - I have 5 amiibo - and I'm all set - I mean they have minimal functionality - and whatever they provide - well I am all set. After you get a few, there isn't much reason to get more other than if you are a collector. I WANT to get a Luigi and a Bowser - but if they cancel them - no big deal. I almost feel as though they are manufacturing future demand. I'm fine with that. I'm just aware of it.
Shame, that was cool looking one.
If this is true, and Little Mac is already done, then I'm done with Nintendo's Amiibos. This is ridiculous. Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to lose sleep over the matter, nor is it going to ruin my day, I just will not support Nintendo's Amiibos going forward. First the GC adapter and now Amiibos? My oldest son has wanted Little Mac since he was announced. I refuse to overpay for one on ebay too.
It reminds me of the early days of the N64 when I couldn't find a second controller anywhere.
Good thing I got mine just feel stupid I gave my spare two away for free lol
Hmm... have to admit it's making me want to find Pit right now. I still find it very hard to believe that any would be discontinued at this point. They are selling out stock quickly, so what's the hurry? Why discontinue so quickly? Maybe some retailers only? Maybe Nintendo will sell direct? Just doesn't make much sense to me. Not yet.
Still, I want Pit. :/
Well... good thing I imported from Japan. Just got him this morning, actually.
But seriously - these things aren't region-locked. Might cost a bit more, but importing's an option.
I think I've realized what the problem is.
50 different amiibos to manufacture. They barely have enough time to make batches of any one character before the next wave, so stock is severely limited.
I think we're putting too much thought into this being the only iteration of amiibo. They have a Smash-specific base, these first rounds, and they'll surely do different things, like other figures, cards, etc. I think a Pokemon CCG with one NFC-compatible card per pack would do brilliantly.
But for those concerned they won't have Fox for when Star Fox comes out, I'd have to think that, if they're going to integrate amiibo with it, it will have its own deal, not the Smash-specific ones we have now.
I wish some people stop jumping the gun with these rumors. Remember when everybody said the Gamecube Adapter was discontinued? That was disproven. Remember when everyone said the WFT, Marth, and Villager amiibo was discontinued? That was also disproven. I think everybody should just wait for Nintendo say so on this instead of blaming them for something they didn't even say. If anybody is the bad guy in this story its Gamestop. They're the ones making up the rumors just to stir things up. They should have just said on the website "Little Mac Amiibos are currently unavailable. We will try to restock as soon as possible."
regarding amiibo: FU nintendo.
Okay. Do I have to go to the store now and buy Little Mac? I really don't want to buy all at once, so I just picked Zelda, Star Fox and Cpt Falcon when I went to the only store that sells those around here.
@CosmoXY what if some collectors never saw the character online or in store that they wanted, how were we supposed to just pick it up.
@baglady05 this story is a month old, you know that right? You also realize that not all products are available perpetually, right? Toys come in waves, often quickly replaced. It sucks, I'm with you, I'm anguished over my inability to obtain a Lucario amiibo, but that's how it is.
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