"The Sky Is The Limit" For amiibo, As Nintendo Considers Future Third-Party And Indie Support

Indie support? Since they're considering cards, why don't they unveil an amiibo card set that doubles as a hanafuda card set and support the Indies that way?

And people said there wouldn't be a Sonic Amiibo

Consider how indies often have characters from other games in them, I wouldn't be surprised to see it work in this way: Buy a, say, Commander Video amiibo and then scan him into other games. Although now that I think about it, that would really only be beneficial to the company whose amiibo you bought...

@Mega719 By default, there would be a Sonic amiibo because he's in Smash, but I understand your point.

Please, scanable ptcgo cards or at least a pokemon adventure that uses cards or figures! That is every little kid's dream, to ACTUALLY, PHYSICALLY own a Pokemon!!

It looks like at this rate Amiibo are looking to become quite the prominent accessory for the Wii U and looking at how they are used and how cool they look, I welcome them! Also, Shovel Knight Amiibo please!

@Captain_Gonru you can't say that yet maybe Nintendo or another party could make them. Afterall there is a Commander Video trophy in Smash Wii U showing Nintendo's love for Indies. Maybe we'll get a Amiibo version in a future Bit Trip game

I mean if these start a sales explosion, would Ubisoft want a piece of the action, as in bringing games like assassins creed back, but with amiibo assassins, etc? Also, Rayman Legends would have been perfect for this. What about the leech that is EA? Would they come crawling back by the smell of money? These toys could actually prove to be a pivotal moment for the future of Wii U, and again diffetentate the Wii U from the competition.

I would like to see Mario with Mickey both wielding lightsabers. Is that too much to ask?

third-party support sound like that could be good

I don't think this means having new Amiibos but rather having Amiibos do stuff in other games.

Shantae amiibo please. I would love a belly dancing genie figure!

Hopefully this turns out well. Also, I was expecting third-party amiinos, but Indie amiibos have me intrigued. I'd gladly buy a Shovel Knight amiibo for no other reason than to own it. (I'm basically gonna make an amiibo collection.)

@Mega719 well there is going to be an amiibo for every SSB character, so there will be one for sonic

@DiscoGentleman I'm feeling the same way. Originally I was gonna buy just one, but I'm kinda wanting to collect them now.

I think a Shovel Knight figurine would look cool. Still waiting for that game to go on Sale though.

@blackbeltbap yeah we got that

Nice, because indies and other devs can contribute ideas where Nintendo can't, hopefully making Amiibo more important and enjoyable.

I like how they are handling Amiibos.. I was a bit of a skeptic at first (even though I was going to buy some for display purposes), but now I'm pretty excited to have Link, Shulk and Sheik Amiibos!

Definitely a wait and see w/ amiibo. And like w/ the Wii and Wii U a lot of what happens is out of their control. If Skylanders and Disney characters started a whole new way to game that lasts for a decade or so then amiibo are just in time. If everybody is burned out and wallets depleted from those 2 then they may be too late already. First wave will sell out this holiday, but how they sell in Feb and March is what really matters. Just look at how quickly Wiimote, Move and Kinect came and went. You can't predict these things.

And we still don't really know ANY 3DS games besides SSB. They built NFC into the new 3DS so they must have a game or 2 in mind. And 3DS amiibo usage is different from Wii U. For 1 thing the install base is 5 times larger (though the new 3DS may always be smaller but the portal should come out eventually). I can easily imagine kids bringing both 3DS and amiibo to gatherings like in the video to swap and share whatever it is they will do in game.

Could be the start of something big, could be the end of a fad. Hard to say.

Robot Master amiibos please

I want a Master Chief Amiibo.

If you build it. they will come. Well hopefully,

They just need to let me read my NFC headphones with the NFC reader to use them wirelessly. If buying amiibo makes that happen, then maybe...

Amiibo figurines for Rusty from SteamWorld Dig and Shovel Knight would be sweet!!! I'd get those to go with my Mario and Link day 1 purchases. Those games are a lot of fun and the amiibo potential could give reason for sequels for either game.

I don't care for the amiibo at all, they don't interest me at all. When nintendo and 3rd party start releasing new figures every few weeks and start making people purchase amiibo to unlock/play there full games that will be the day I quit purchasing Nintendo Products.

@mowerdude
What if the game was on the figure?

The best part of 3rd party amiibos, is that no one would have to plug in those damned portals, anymore. It would make it that much more accessible.

@SCAR392 I still wouldn't purchase them plain and simple. I purchased a wii u to play games not to collect nintendo figures.

Commander Video Amiibo please

An amiibo just providing some extra consumable like some in game currency or a hat is utterly pathetic and a waste of time. Each figure should come with its own downloadable update that is retained in your wii u and 3ds that activates every time the NFC registers the attached figure. That character should then be available to play as in all compatible nintendo games and potentially third party games. To make that character that you have built available as a playable character would be amazing and give more longevity and variety to the games and more purpose tobyour amiibo as your virtual gaming avatar/friend.
Basically enabling wreck it Ralph style game jumping. The character you "beam" into an alien game, finds that game a strange world, adjusts and adapts to the mechanics of that game and builds further on their stats and abilities as you use them.
THAT would be an amiibo

@ryanator008 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I don't want that rubbish franchise anywhere near a Nintendo console

whilst all this is great im still at a complete misunderstanding as to why we do not have a proper pokemon battle game with Pokemon Amiibo's this is lunacy??

'Gotta catch em all' would literally be the biggest cash cow if you could hold and own your powered up pokemon and then licence a carrying case pokeball with full online play. am i the only one wondering why the hell this doesnt exist??

If Nintendo were smart they'd cut a deal with the makers of Skylanders & Disney Infinity to make them work as PLAYABLE CHARACTERS in the WiiU/3DS versions of the game using NFC instead of the portal. This would mean that Skylanders & Disney Infinity on the WiiU/3DS would have more playable characters than the other versions, LOL!

It will be interesting to see how much shelf space Amiibo gets in Asda, Game, etc. . . .

@cfgk24 The Wii U gets next to no shelf space in my Game. I can't see them expanding it for the Amiibo figures. The problem is the Wii U is not on one of the walls, they are reserved for Microsoft and Sony exclusively. Instead Nintendo are on one of the middle shelves that no one ever looks at.

I want a Bayonetta amiibo... Oh yes

This is almost like cross-buy but in physical form!

The multiple game use idea is definitely a good one and the more franchises straddled the better - can see Sony and Microsoft trying to copy this in future, if the sales are good and enough third party interest is garnered.

Since E3, amiibo has become a whole lot better

Hopefully that means a Viewtiful Joe figure. That or Wonder Red.

Zero suit samus hasn't been announced yet? She'd sell well... in a totally non-sexist manner

Yes! Third-party support would be awesome! The amount of amiibo figures I'd get would change from "You'll need a dedicated room for all these" to "HOLY SH** GET A LIFE DUDE!!!", if WayForward, ATLUS, Marvelous, and Level-5 joined the amiibo front!

@YoshiTails It's possible they'll try it, but I don't think it's going to go well. Most of their successful games have a very realistic visual approach, and making realistic collectible figures en masse will either get seriously expensive, or look mediocre. They lack truly appealing mascot characters that make everyone instantly think of them, even if they don't have much in the way of gaming.

Release pokemon TCG app on Wii U. Let any amiibo card or figure you scan appear in your card collection in the game.

I wonder if Shulk's amiibo will unlock him in Xenoblade Chronicles X? I'm sure it will influence the 3ds version in some way.

Does anyone remember that NFC Rayman Legends trailer that got leaked and then never officially released?
http://youtu.be/19g5PrjR7To?t=1m18s
It's a shame Ubisoft is getting cold feet with Ninty, they looked like they were ready to roll out their own amiibo's.

@SanderEvers
Did they confirm that Zelda would? I didn't hear that. It would be amazing if all the Zelda Amiibo's functioned in HW. The random loot deal isn't particularly exciting.

Imagine Star Wars amiibos....!!!

Shovel Knight Amiibo? Yes please!!

If Ubi and EA want in on the Amiibo action will their figurines be made 4/5 complete having less features than all the others?

@ajcismo Naturally!

@SCAR392 - If by damned portals you mean Skylanders and Disney Infinty thats just not possible. Skylanders is on its 3rd portal - which has a very important keyhole in it, the Gamepad does have a speaker, and Disney has places for 2 power discs. The Wii U games could function like the 3DS games but those are far different single player experiences.

Has anybody seen the Mario amiibo SSB U bundle (game bundle, not console) mentioned in the US yet? 2 weeks from yesterday is the release date, if we are getting it Id like to know.

@brewsky both good points. I'm sure they'll make Sonic, Pac-Man and Mega Man Amiibos. What would be really awesome (and prob won't happen) is if they made final smash Amiibos.

@whodatninja agreed! Me too!!

@Hero-of-WiiU Second.

Amiibos of the Shovel Knight characters or Mighty No. 9 robots would be amazing!

@SanderEvers I actually know a lot about programming and you seem to know a lot about abruptness and ignorance. The games would be programmed as compatible games with the amiibo figure also installing a comprehensive update to add that characters data to the game. The game file size as example at 8gb with each amiibo bringing with it a 135mb update addimg the code needed for that player for that game. Not just am unlock activation like skylanders. It is all very easily possible.

Oh, I was thinking about integration of Amiibos into third party games when I read the headline, but this is about third-party characters. That's a bit surprising.

I think the whole thing is a great idea and I hope it succeeds. It's fun that it's platform-wide and not just for a single game. Feels like more value in each figurine.

Not thrilled with the compromises to make the figurines more sturdy, but I guess it's necessary so that kids can use them... would be cool to have collector versions that are less sturdy as odd as that sounds.

Amiibo of Teddie, please.

@rjejr

Just for you to know, I just received (and completed) a Club Nintendo survey centered around Amiibo. Questions ranged from the usual "Do you know about Amiibo?" to things like "What functionality would you like Amiibo to have?" so they are gauging some interest. It said they sent them to select members, so who knows how many they sent?

The survey expired this Monday, and of course it would have been nice if Nintendo would have notified me about it without me randomly going to CN website and stumbling upon it.

@sinalefa I didn't get one...kinda sucks... :c
I hope everyone is telling them to use the Amiibos in the way Smash is using them.

@sinalefa Thanks for the tip on the survey, I had one waiting for me as well.

I am also embarrassed about my response:
-how much do you know: this is really an odd response because I think I know all the info that has been given, and, in my book, that isn't much!
-likely to buy - extremely. I don't know much at all about them, but damn if I'm not buying them...

and holy crap I clicked 10 amiibos that I plan to buy... yup, I'm part of the problem, and that problem is amiibos are a fuzzy concept (meaning the core, to me, a game focused around them, doesn't exist yet)(and I mean a sandbox game not SSB) and they are coming out in a few weeks and I am throwing money at them. Throw me in the fanboy category, I'll wear it with pride.

@SavoirFaire

Glad that I could help

And I felt the same, like "I know everything you have shown, which is a little". I actually admitted not caring about their NFC functions because no interesting effects have been shown for any game. And I also asked for an open world, platformer or traditional fighting game centered around them.

The thing with Amiibo is that you will always have people not buying them if they do not do a lot, and people not buying them if they are mandatory. The good thing of them being useful for several games at once is that they can try everything in between to try and please all camps and unleash their full potential.

I'm thinking there could still be a chance Ubisoft may actually have their own amiibo support for some of their older titles such as Rayman Legends, just like how it was demonstrated in the 2012 leaked concept trailer for the game! If applying amiibo support for older titles just require an update patch, then it could actually be done, and the Wii U version of the game can become unique once again, if not exclusive.

@sinalefa - Thanks for the tip, Ill go try and find it later.

amiibo could use w/ a bit of advertising. Just sat thru 90 minute Pokemon movie on Cartoon Network and there were 3 videogame commercials - Disney Infinty 2.0 Toy Box ed, Skylanders Trap Team, and Sonic Boom. While all 3 are available on Wii U I was hopeing for an ASOR or SSB commercial. There wad also one for a TMNT Skylanders like game that just hooks up to the tv. It looked awful, but it wad there. I know Nintendo doesnt like having commercials for things thst arent out yet but putting "avsilable Nov 21" is an option. Same for SSBU.

Oh well, Im going to watch the T-day parade for 3 hours, thats a week after release and Pikachu is a float, there better be some Nintendo commercials in there. They should really cough up the dough and become "the official videogame console of the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade".

I would love to see a Godzilla unleashed fighting game with actual collector figures just like skylanders.

@sinalefa I just checked mine and I got the survey too. I didn't know what to suggest for the functionality that I wanted to see. I just suggested a pokemon card video game with the amiibo cards that are supposed to be in the works. I should have thought a bit longer, but I was worried the page might time out one me...

I took that survey for Amiibo, and honestly, I felt like I didn't know much about what they'll really do in the long run. I get how they'll work for Smash, MK8, and even Hyrule Warriors. All of the uses seem pretty much worthless, tbh, but I still find myself interested in the figures.

It could be cool to see games like Shovel Knight employee Amiibo support, same goes for random third party games. Can you imagine being able to use Amiibo in Disney Infinity? It could be cool if you use the characters the same way other figures in that franchise are used. But then that would raise issues of Nintendo properties being on Nintendo systems, and then the internet would explode, along with the rest of the world. I'd rather the Earth remain in tact.

@Crimzonlogic

That was one of the hardest questions for me too. TBH I never expected they would ask something like that so I never thought about it.

In any case, it seems most of the people who got the survey did not know they got it, Nintendo really should send emails (as those surveys appear in a blue moon) notifying us that a special survey is there.

right. 'cause Nintendo and 3rd party support for it's toybox of peripheral gags have such a stellar history. To be fair, Nintendo does them well but 3rd parties? I'll believe it when nintendo starts really advertising even their own products.
Like all it's other machines, what incentive does anyone else have to implement something that takes the extra infrastructure of creating and selling toys when Nintendo has always had abysmal support for 3rd parties trying to implement it's quirky input devices? If it works for them, cool, but they've never been good at pushing 3rd party offerings at all. There are plenty of people who barely know that a Nintendo machine can even run anything but a mario or zelda game.

I can't wait

@Dpishere oooh - the other way around would be great too! I'm imagining each of the amiibo as different knights. The attack patterns for each knight would almost write themselves.

@DESS-M-8
Have you even played it? Halo's easily the best in its genre!

@TheWPCTraveler

That's a really awesome idea.

Zero Suit Samus, Mega Man, Bayonetta, and Wonderful 101 amiibo. That is all I want.

@ryanator008 yes, I have played it and it is the most over-rated game ever made in history with the mout boring, and non-descript central character ever created in gaming history, it's hard to get invested in a storyline which is basically about a storm trooper. It's unoriginal with nearly everything being ripped off from one Sci fi film or another, it's one of the only franchises in gaming history where the developer publicly apologised for how crap it was (see halo 3). And if bland, non descript, reptitive same old same old Sci fi first person shooter is a a genre then yes it is top in its genre as that is a very niche genre populated by only halo and second place destiny....... Wait a minute, wasn't destiny made by........
If you class halos genre as a first person genre then I can name dozens that reign far supreme before you even glance at anything made by bungie.

Sooo, I guess I may end up being on an episode of Horders after all. I think I'll need to buy another bookshelf just in case.