Discontinued amiibo Figures Could Be Released In Card Form, Says Miyamoto

Managed to pick up all second wave except little mac, which seems to be impossible to find atm...Have made sure to preorder future waves!

I have the last 3 I needed of wave 1 on reserve and only Captain Falcon in wave 2 in Argos. I would have gotten little mac but I can't find him anywhere.

On Topic. Most people who want the amiibo want them for the collection portion, not a card form but I don't hate the idea and would help people who want to use the amiibo for use with games. If you are going to do that you need to make them much much cheaper then the figurines. A €5 a card would be fair.

Well this changes some things. I only bought Captain Falcon (I'm not really a fan of the stick support on the figurine) to unlock him on MK8 and hopes to see more games that utilizes it. I wish this news have come to my knowledge earlier.

Too early for cards.they should not discontinue amiibo so early

It's a neat idea, but a card isn't a very good substitute for a figure.
They should instead focus on minor characters, enemies, and NPC's with the card format - or maybe even specific objects.

A card hardly compares to a figure.

Bury them in the E.T. landfill

Got my Luigi and little Mac just an hour or so ago

Give us a full-blown amiibo based game, where you can play as your characters!

Now it gets interesting. To me, amiibo are too expensive as a collectable, however cards are a nice substitute.

Why they don't just sell those useless amiibo extras (skins, weapons...) as other companies do? Are they afraid of calling them with their real name, "microtransictions"?
I love and buy Nintendo VIDEOGAMES.
When I see people buying these things while copies of Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101 and other great games collect dust on the shop shelves I just get mad!

This is the most stupid idea I've heard. Nintendo is much smarter than that. What a let down. A collector does not want a card he wants the figure. What a way to cheapen the toys to life concept.

@jj87 It was just a thought. No need to overreact

I could see people on places like Etsy cutting out the NFC chips out of cards and incorporating them into custom handmade figurines!

Making the amiibos in their current form more accessible could work too.

I wont be interested in the cards, I like the figures!

I think Nintendo's plan to 'make all 49 Smash characters' is what's causing them all this trouble. They should of planned on making 20 in the first wave, and producing them for 6 months. Then bring out another 20. I bet they've already got waves 5-7 in production which is what causes problems with making more of the early designs.

What about a free phone app (assuming your phone has NFC) and you can buy them in the phone app for a dollar each?

@StarDust4Ever geat idea, especially for those who have a really fancy figure already of one of the Amiibos.

It's ridiculous how hard these amiibo are to find. I don't see Luigi or Diddy Kong anywhere. And Villager is still missing. 😕

I pre-ordered Pit along with the rest of what I wanted from wave 2 and just got an email saying Pit was cancelled. If anyone is looking for Little Mac or Wii Fit Trainer I've got them still sealed in their packages and would be willing to trade either for Pit. Had been hoping to have him under the tree next week for my son. :-/ Not cool that demand is so high that they can't even fulfill pre-orders.

Nintendo's marketing dep gets full stars from me for creating demand for amiibo. First the stock shortage prompts a sort of "panic buying" so that many rush out to buy the figures till they're sold out. Then more stock miraculously appears and again people rush out to buy it. Simutanesously, new wave pre-orders sell out, you know, just in case you can't get the one you want, you just have to pre-order it. Then there's the hint that perahps some of these will be short production runs and maybe a card alternative will be introduced. That's utter genius if you consider that amiibo were criticised before release for not really doing anything much in games. Would shelves full of amiibo really have created the same "need to buy" issue we are seeing now? That's clever, Nintendo, verging on the manipulative, but so clever.

I'd pass. I'm interested in the real amiibo--the figures--themselves. It's not just about unlocking things.

@Refurin
If you're in the Uk, the Official Nintendo Store has Pit for £10.99 in stock.

@Sakura
Thanks for the heads up but I'm in the US. I'll have to see if any of my UK friends would be interested in sourcing it for me

EDIT: just checked the conversion rate. Ouch I may as well buy it on ebay. I always forget how much more you guys pay for some of this stuff.

Nintendo apparently gave up even trying to do a decent job with Amiibo-supplies, and are just moving on to cheaper alternatives in cards?

Already Nintendo are taking a PR-pummeling with the whole Amiibo-affair, saying "Forget figures, here are some cards!" would be a surefire way to make a bigger smoldering crater out of the whole thing, what are they thinking?

I think collectible Amiibo cards would be a great idea. Although they may not be as functional as an Amiibo figure because I would doubt it would have any kind of save function for use in games like Smash Bros., they would still at least give you the chance to unlock exclusive items, weapons, outfits etc. in games like Mario Kart. This seems a fair comprise so people still have a chance to unlock content within a game but yet allow for some figures to become limited and thus highly collectible.

Yeah cards would just cheapen the experience. Anyone remember the failed e-reader format? Sadly it was already dead by the time I bought my first GBA.

I think that makes for a good compromise - after all not everyone cares about figures, but being able to enjoy the in-game experience rather than having to track down hard to find figures means no one needs to miss out on their favourite characters. It might also put a dent in speculators trying to horde the things.

@noctowl thanks darl!

Good to hear, as long as the cards are always available I can live with the limited releases for the figures. More for less is cool with me.

Only ones I wanted are Ike (probably never gonna happen since I can't pre-order it on amazon) and Zero Suit Samus.

Nintendo sure loves its cards. This really shouldn't be considered until after some demand dies off. Like, you know, following the first few production runs selling out, not the first one amd then that's it. It couldn't be too expensive to keep producing toys that there is clear demand for, after all.

Just make MORE! How hard could that actually be?

@Raptor78 The chip in an amiibo fits in a card as well (just like a credit card, bus card, etc.). There would be no difference if they used the same technology.

I would be happy with the cards if I cared for the NFC aspect of Amiibo. I like figurines.

I think a bigger problem, for me at least, is NOT knowing what games will support what amiibos. Sure Mario and Zelda will be the most utilized in games, but Villager, Pit etc all cost the same and aren't, nor will they ever be, used in as many games.

@RainbowGazelle Amiibo Party. A Mario Party spinoff for amiibos.

I'm not buying a mixture of figures and cards of amiibo I hadn't preordered in time, Nintendo. You don't need to be cheap, Amiibo are selling like hot cakes.

That's not a bad idea, though I do love collecting the figurines as they do look pretty decent. So I'd rather just have them restock on more amiibo figures whenever they get the chance.

This would be awesome! My Kirby figure is still MIB cos I can't bring myself to open up the package. Will hold on to it now and hopefully buy a card code later.

The moment they announce a card as a rplacement for a figure - say for Wii Fit Trainer or The Villager - signifying the end of toy production, the whole thing will come crashing down. And deservedly so.

Guess I Should have bought Zelda the other day after all, and left her in the box. ugh. Ugh I say.

@rjejr
People said the same thing about Skylanders and Disney Infinity. The market for these things is huge and Nintendo already have a brand within it. Amiibos are not going to go anywhere anytime soon.

Cards just wouldn't have the same feeling as a figure... but what they could do is make a set of cards for the figures that people couldn't get. They could sell the figures and the cards at the same time. Just a thought.

I hope so. I care more about function, than form, so whether it's on a card or figure makes no difference to me.

I don't like the idea of cards personally, as I'm only buying the amiibo I am buying for the figure aspect, however for those who do want to utilise the different bits and bobs the figures unlock in games the cards could prove a whole cheaper alternative. As for those mentioning the Pit figure earlier, my amazon (UK) pre-order of him arrived today. Only cost £10.85 as well!

Miyamoto-sensei mentioned this before so I'm not shocked. It is a good way to handle franchises with large rosters. Like pokemon.

@Sentinator - "Nintendo already have a brand within it."

But a brand can't survive forever on eBay resellers. At this point, these aren't even comparable to DI or Skylanders, they are more like plates from the Franklin mint. Or Tickle Me Elmo. Pet Rocks. Cabbage Patch dolls. It's all about the collecting, not about the playing like the other 2.

Here's something I recommend everyone read about this buying frenzy sure to head south once the lemming like holiday shopping season ends:

http://www.kovels.com/latest-news/10-collectibles-not-worth-collecting-anymore.html

@RainbowGazelle - I've been saying that since they were announced. And waiting and waiting. After reading this article it finally dawned on me these were never meant to be playable toys, they are just really collectibles. (see #51 for more details). If Nintendo wants to make an "amiiboland" game they would need to keep producing these, ALL of these, on a regular basis. I think theirproblem is, and maybe they are keenly aware of this - the Wii U instlal base can't support that type of production. While Nitneod was saying how great amiibo would be b/c they supported more than 1 game while the others only supported 1 what thy were glossing over was the other toys cover all systems - 120m Wii, 80m PS3 and Xbox360. Plus Gen8, so about 300 million total. The Wii U bas eis abut 10m. Yes 3DS will get support someday, but it already also has support for the other 2 as well. I'd bet most NFC toys ar euse don last gen systems so they can flood the market. So I don't know if Ninteod will make that game anymore. (sorry that was so long)

I find the appeal of these figures completely bewildering.

If the discontinued amiibo figures will not be discontinued until at least Q3 next year then it'd make sense to have a card form for them. It's just too early to discontinue them now. It's a neat idea if the price is lower than the figures themselves, and the cards better have that awesome Nintendo charm in them.

I would like Amiibo cards if they looked like Nintendo Cartridge's or Wii and Wii U packaging in miniature.

So in other words now, The Amiibo figures are now just for collectables with a bonus feature.

I seriously feel like instead of making cards just remake the discontinued amiibos like villager, wii fit trainer and marth at a later time. I rather have the figure of the amiibos Im missing rather than a card of them -_-. Also if they actually go through releasing these cards I hope to god its nothing like the current amiibo situation or the kid icarus ar cards because my god I never seen them sold anywhere and when I did see them they were only given out at nintendo world tournaments or at events like ny comic con.

Retailers appear to be taking steps to stop scalping. Toys R Us cancelled all pre-orders, then reopened with limit of 1 of each amiibo in US.

I'm not paying 15 buck for a card Nintendo!Get it together!

Got the 4 I ordered from wave 2 today. I'd definitely buy a complete set of cards if they released them. I just don't have space to store 50 figures + however many they make for other games.

@mike_intv I'm assuming sans Lucario? I tried pre-ordering him and it wouldn't let me add to cart. So I switched to my computer and it didn't show up in search results at all. Sad Sir_JBizzle is sad.

On topic: I'm down for cards, and it's a great idea to have for those that missed out, but it's way too soon to be looking at that route. I do hope from here on out retailers will put a hard limit on how many of one amiibo you can buy at once if it's true that toys r us is doing that!

@rjejr
It is hardly just a holiday fad. Figures out in February have disappeared before they are even out. How many Pokemon amiibos can Nintendo put out? They could put one of every Pokemon not just the 6 playable in Smash Bros. Cards also have large markets. I still have Yugioh cards and (surprisingly) Pokemon cards still have a large market to this day. If Nintendo started releasing alternate sculpts for the Smash Characters (like Alph) I guarantee collectors would go as mad for them.

It's like they're giving up on the amiibo idea before it even started, which, considering its great success, is quite baffling.

@Sentinator - But cards aren't figures. Nintnedo can keep making amiibo and selling them out as long as they want, as long as they keep stock low. But while low stock helps sell-outs it doesn't help them make more money. In order to make money they need to keep making plenty of stock for each and every character which they don't seem to be doing.

And saying the Feb wave is already sold out doesn't negate what I said, as we are still in the holiday buying frenzy madness, when even people who have finished all of their holiday shopping keep buying b/c they don't know how to turn it off and Christmas is 5 days away so they have to buy more even though they don't. (1 long run-on sentence to emphasize the shopping madness addiction)

The waves that get announced in Feb that go on sale in April is when we'll see how it goes.

Pokemon amiibo would sell, but I don't see Nitnedo going in that direction, even though I think they should. 20 starters, 20 Legendaries, 20 famous ones like Pikachu should get the job done, along w/ a Pokemon Snap type game.

Guess we'll see how next year plays out.

Ah, yes, the reaction is just as expected. People tend to be more drawn towards sculpture figures than cards as children, since they allow us to use our imaginations with what we behold. (Though both is also nice.) This understanding carries into adulthood, and so we lavish ourselves and our progeny. (Except for a few sticklers.)

However... is that possible temporary happiness a true gift of happiness? My parents worked hard to provide gifts such as a full set of Ninja Turtles in the past, as well as Power Rangers, Disney characters, a Mario figure from the Nintendo Power Supplies Catalog, an anthropomorphic shark...

...WAIT, WHAT? Who is this??? If I look it up... it's from a 90's show called "Street Sharks", this character is Ripster, and the villain knowingly mutated them as humans into animal hybrids, which is backwards from the Ninja Turtles origin story. Woah... I was into some really screwy stuff as a kid... I asked for this?

I vaguely remember such a character, but why have I forgotten? I have forgotten more things in my life than I remember... why? There are so many figures lost in the stream of time to my memory, given away to charity or otherwise... but no, I beheld them in physical form, they didn't just disappear.

Now... now that I am an adult, more or less, I can realize that there were workers behind every one of those figures... Did they know what they toiled upon? Was it just for money or survival? Were they treated fairly, or as trash?

"Made in China"........ Ah......... My feeble mind forgets, and loses bearings on it's own surroundings, yet it has slightly expanded... what have I done to my fellow human beings... even if we never know each other... even if the past cannot be forgiven...

Now I work in electronics recycling. That is where I want to go. I am only one, and yet... somehow... this assembly of computer parts came to me over time. Now they are strangely combined as a fully functioning computer, with a forgotten workhorse socketed into an abandoned standard at the helm. By right, they should not be able to work together like this, yet, they turned out better than I could hope for. I neither bought nor stole any of them.

They all... came to me...? Is that even...

...Oh wow, I went all Japanese anime/RPG mindbreak for a while there. Thinking too hard about amiibo's does odd things to my brain.

I've only managed to find Zelda at the moment. But cards in the future would work in a pinch, I guess.

Contrary to most of the comments here, some people - even collectors - actually prefer cards. Especially in Japan.

They really shouldn't discontinue any Amiibo this early in the line's lifetime.

@Siskan Hey, I don't live in Japan, and I prefer cards! I'm not a collector, though, so having a card or two, a sliver of tree, water, chemicals, and hopefully soy ink (fat chance) is something that doesn't send my mind flying. Just swipe and go, works for me!

The 3DS cards have conspicuously been forgotten, though... Few here seem to remember those. Wasn't Nintendo supposed to be the Hanafuda company?

Cant wait to get some cardmiibos

I'd rather have the figurines, thanks. The correct way to comfort your stressed-out fans is to promise reprints of those, not a half-assed "solution" like this. Okay sure, some people might prefer cards...many will not.

I would rather have cards - Don't have to be kept clean.

Don't like plastic junk lying about. (Mostly I don't like cleaning junk like that).

I'd actually be all for cards. The only figure I want is Lucina but I'd be more likely to collect a few cards to play with.

I've stopped collecting after wave 1. Things are just too crazy, especially in Canada..

"..Shigeru Miyamoto explained that while not all amiibo figures will remain in production.."

So at some point each figurine will run its course correct? Well aside from their staple characters. That being the demand will taper off as most everyone who wanted a certain amiibo will have purchased one. But why on earth would Nintendo stop production after the first wave, second, or third? If sales are still going strong on a figurine, they'd be throwing away money for absolutely no reason to discontinue its production.

On the other hand I'd imagine the last thing Nintendo wants is a warehouse full of Wii Fit Trainers, Meta Knights, etc. that no longer sell. Once they reach that gray area of tapering demand is when I'm sure production will stop.

In the mean time why not offer another option that allows access to in game content? One at a more affordable price for those who'd rather not spend $12.99 per character. This also provides a low risk way to keep the shelves stocked for years to come. And on top of that, adds another collector option for the die hards.

I really don't understand all the amiibo shortage hysteria. Than again I don't have a degree in marketing or psychology.. In any case some of you need to chill out a bit, relax you'll get your villager. Maybe not right now, but you'll have your chance. Patience is a virtue yea?

Now instead of having to go to the store to buy a low quality figurine for $13 for gimmick disk locked content that has an unknown value towards unlocking an unknown amount of disk locked content you can go to the store to buy a (possible still) $13 card for gimmick disk locked content that has an unknown value towards unlocking an unknown amount of disk locked content.

@MadAdam81 Eww no.

Sounds cool some sort of plastic card with detail and nfc inside.

Card idea is a very good one. It will likely be much cheaper, have a nice piece of art on each side, and unlock all the same game behaviors. Not as fun, but then content isn't eternally locked behind discontinued toys.

@DarkKirby Yeah, exactly, it's all a thinly veiled form of DRM, hence my head spinning into madness earlier.

Will there be defective pictures on these cards too?

It's now or never - I've gotta send in my Smash Card Game idea where cards are played at the same time to Nintendo.

Wave 2 got released in the UK today. I managed to get them all + Villager and Marth
I now have them all except that damn Wii Fit Trainer
Debating if to order her on eBay. Currently about £20.

@PlywoodStick I would prefer cards in most cases too. I only like figures if they are of exceptional quality, which isn't something you see in this same price range. Though I must say Amiibo impressed me in terms of quality/cost. I collect neither.

If nintendo made trading cards I would BUY THEM ALL

By cards, do they mean like power discs? If so I don't see a problem, It's good for those with space issues. Although I do wonder if they will go the blind packet route.

Am I the only one who is more excited about the cards idea than the figures?

I don't want a shelf of figurines, so the cards would work well for me.

And somehow disney infinity is able to stock my local gamestop with 100s of figures, while they literally had 8 amiibos. Not even pikachu or kirby. SHAME ON NINTNEDO!

They sure keep the hype going.

I got Link as a present. He would have been my first amiibo choice anyway because he has the most use in games (so far).

To unlock just one costume in MK8 is just a bonus. But it could be there without amiibo.
To unlock a new weapon / and weapons once every day in Hyrule Warriors is a much better bonus. But it could be there without amiibo.
To personalize your Link in Smash and level him up to 50 was a nice little distraction and somewhat innovative, as I can easily bring my personalized Link to other Wii U's.

The thing is, amiibo are not essential. Just one amazing adventure game where all amiibo are essential playable characters that have their own worlds and can interact in local and online multiplayer is all to get it completely out of control.

To bring more popularity: Update older Wii U games with amiibo support:
You have the Olimar amiibo? Unlock a Bonus stage in Pikmin 3!
You have the Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong amiibo? Two bonus stages and new costumes for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze!
You have the Wii Fit U Trainer amiibo? Unlock a new daily lesson in Wii Fit U.
You have Toon Link? You get new Treasure Charts in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD.
etc.

The demand for amiibo is huge and not going anywhere. Here's a thought... maybe make more amiibo and don't discontinue them? You know, satisfy your customers and all that.

If nothing else, my Amiibo would like to wish everyone here a very Happy Christmas

Cards really aren't as much fun but.....if the price is right...

So basically I gotta go out now and buy them, because a "card form" isn't acceptable to me.

Poor fool, he opened his Marth.... Just sayin'

@hydeks

I agree. I mean, I like pokemon cards, And I like amiibos.... But the two probably won't mix very well to me. lol!

I got a select Amiibos collection of the characters I liked and I am really happy with them...despite my sadness when I go to stores and can't find them lol

But If there was a card form of the Amiibos, I would probably get it for the Amiibos I skipped or did not really have an interest for..but it would have to be at a really good price. $13-14 for a card would be ridiculous. Besides that, I think they should keep Amiibos as figures.

Considering how amiibos will be mostly Smash partners to me, some FEA like Enerjar cardswould do me fine, but I would rather like amiibo Trophies.

@JellySplat I opened my Villager and Wii Fit Trainer too

But some people (like myself) enjoying using them with the games and aren't intending to just keep them sealed for the next 50 years hoping to make an extra couple of bucks so it's all good. I've never bought into the whole idea of buying things you don't want solely to profit from them.

I never uderstood why they didn't create AR cards as well as amiibos featuring characters and assist trophies. They'd be much cheaper than amiibo and they could sell them easier in stores next to pokemon and sports cards. It's so obvious.

@BensonUii where do you get Captain Falcon cuz I can't find him anywhere i ended up getting little Mac and Diddy Kong at Target at the same time.

Europe so there are plenty here except UK.

@ToxieDogg See, I'm not really in it for reselling. I just like looking at the figures in the box. I would never sell my Marth, however, I wouldn't want to open either, because the box makes a perfect display case! And if I could retain the value of the item while being able to fully enjoy it at the same time... heck yeah!

I did however buy a Pikachu and opened it, because I wanted to play with it in the game. It's very fun to play with to! Almost at level 50 and I'm having a lot of trouble beating it in a fight!

@ToxieDogg Also, I've got to say I'm very jealous of your C. Falcon! I ordered one from Fry's electronics before it was even released, but they sent me a notification saying that C. Falcon (and Pit) were on backorder I got Zelda though.