When it comes to product launches, amiibo is full of contradictions. Millions of units - about 5.7 million - have been sold: that's great. Fans have been frustrated by low stock, especially of particular highly sought after toys: that's bad. They've been a success as fans can't buy enough, yet Nintendo's struggled to get the most wanted figures into stores.
While stock issues with the current and upcoming Super Smash Bros. waves are ongoing, it'll be interesting to see whether the Super Mario range will have the same impact; they'll be marketed and released alongside Mario Party 10 on 20th March. Despite pre-orders previously opening and selling out within minutes, we can apparently expect plenty of this range to be available in stores - in North America, at least.
Destructoid has spoken to one of its trusted sources within GameStop and been told that Nintendo was "confused" by the mad rush for pre-order stock of the new range - we can only imagine the big N hasn't been following its own trends closely enough. That said, it's suggested that retailers will have stock in "abundance" for the Super Mario toys, and while Toad will have the "lightest allocation" he won't be considered as "rare"; that would suggest he won't be as hard to find as Rosalina, for example.
That's some positive progress, assuming that this all transpires to match up with the reality when these toys launch. We're doubtful that - aside from Toad - these Super Mario toys will be as heavily in demand as their Smash Bros. predecessors, simply due to the fact that we've had these characters before. Nevertheless, we hope that stock will be plentiful.
Are you planning to pick up some Super Mario amiibo, and if so which ones?
[source destructoid.com]
Comments 68
And 5 of those Amiibos that they plan to keep in stock are in the same group of Smash Amiibo's that you can find in every store.
Out of all the reactions that Nintendo could have about so many people preordering amiibo, they are "confused" about it? Good lord....
the only one I want is Toad..... and hopefully in the future, a Toadette one
I'm wondering if there'll be a second wave with the rest of the playble cast of MP10. That would be DK, Wario, Rosalina (sans Luma), Waluigi, Toadette and Daisy. I think this'll be the first Mario Party since DS without a random enemy as a character.
These figures are simplistic compared to the Smash ones so of course they'll mass-produce these.
And, of course, they will under-produce Toad, who's the only char who hasn't been released before AND can be used to unlock something beyond Smash Bros / Mario Party.
The Super Mario Peach amiibo looks better than the Super Smash Bros. amiibo. I'm gonna get it since my sister might want it (although she likes the Smash Bros. one more).
@FernandoMachado got it in one!
Only want toad myself. The rest of the Mario's look just, generic and bla.
Anyway, I have sonic, mega man, Wario, Pac man and Ness all preordered and I think that's it for me. Pointless little figures really, but nice to have. Along with Marth, villager, rosalina and Wii fit chick
has the super mario line been opened anywhere other then amazon?
@FernandoMachado Because millions of fans want to play hide-and-seek with 8-bit Toads?
Well of course there will be enough - they're Mario amiibo. I'm pretty sure even the Pikachu and Link Smash amiibo are becoming hard to find. Only the Mario ones are super easy to find.
@Guybrush20X6 Spike is confirmed. There is artwork for him.
http://youtu.be/iG9c6Y6m2Nw
Of course they'll be an abundance. They're all MARIO characters.
Give me news of a Fire Emblem amiibo line that will be in abundance, then we'll talk.
@IceClimbers: Nope. Both are still available everywhere
@tingLz Belive it or not, both have repeatedly gone out of stock onAmazon and temporarily been replaced with scalper listings above 20 dollars
I managed to pre order Toad on amazon.ca today FYI Canadians
Thanks Nintendo for letting the scalpers know which Amiibo to buy in abundance.
I believe it. These Amiibo are the same ones I've been seeing since November
Until Rosalina, Daisy and Waluigi come out then we'll see how "abundant" they are.
It's Mario. Even the Smash amiibo Mario characters are easy to find.
"... while Toad will have the "lightest allocation" he won't be considered as "rare"...."
Great. The one I want most is the one that has the biggest chance of being sold out.... or at least, hard to find.
6mil amiibo should be enough for Nintendo to realize that the toys are in demand. Hope they pull through.
Not too interested, except maybe Toad one day since he doesn't have a smash equivalent. Funny how the one truly 'unique' in this bunch is the one with the "lightest allocation".
Nintendo is confused as to why these are selling out? Really...
You know, should i even be surprised at this point? They don't seem to understand what's happening globally with their products.
@shinokami Rosalina is out. we missed her.
@Daruncic uuuuuhhhhhh that's the Smash one not the Mario Party one -____-
Why the hell would they make Toad the rarest one, given that he doesnt have a Smash figure he's 100% guaranteed to be the most demanded one. Oh well, I'm skipping this series altogether anyway, I'll stick to Smash for now.
I pre-ordered the entire lot and the fuggin game with mario.
Once again...only Mario, Luigi, Peach will be available.
Amiibo is the most mis-managed product in Nintendo's history and that is really saying something.
Too bad too, I'd be happy to buy some, but it's so painful to try and get some I've given up and become nearly anti-Nintendo over the silly things and how incomprehensibly stupid Nintendo has been about them.
Oh Nintendo why you do this?
Seriously Nintendo, Toad will have the lightest allocation!!! REALLY!, Its the only one most people want from this series, why, because its the only new one! and the only amiibo that functions with captain toad, ugh!!! frustrating, lets just hope I can get one.
@SwaveSays
I don't think they're surprised Amiibo are selling out, I think they're surprised the uber-common mass-production line sold out within minutes, seeing as those will have little to no resale or collectors value above MSRP
The only Smash Bros amiibos that are still in stock are the mario ones. So they make more mario ones. -__-
@JaxonH Everything they've produced in the past 4 months has practically sold out within a few hours of being available for preorder. I wasn't surprised to hear that the new line also sold out instantly.
@SwaveSays
I suppose not, though I don't think anyone actually thought the Mario Party line was going to end up being rare.
@JaxonH To be fair, no one thought any of the Amiibo were going to be rare when they were first released. It wasn't until they were gone that we realized there were limited runs of certain figures. Meanwhile, Nintendo was like, "They're not going anywhere. JK."
While I doubt the MP10 line, being main Nintendo characters, isn't going to become rare, I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo pulled the rug out from everyone. All while the scalpers snagged every last one of them up.
@SwaveSays
I'd say go ahead and keep em then (to the scalpers). Buy em all up and sit on em, cause ya ain't gonna have any luck sellin' em!
I'd love to see all the worst scalpers get stuck with a thousand bucks worth of product. Pisses me off seeing Majora's Mask 3DS at Buy It Now price of $899 on eBay. Like, are you for real? And yet, 7 people watching the auction! Boggles the mind...
@JaxonH - Nothing Nintendo does or says anymore boggles my mind. Passing 2nd and goal at the 1 w/ beast mode in the backfield, that boggles my mind.
@Dreamcaster-X - Props for getting that in 1st post, makes every other post redundant.
@rjejr
I tell you what, I was surprised they announced a new Fire Emblem in that last Direct. And Metroid Prime Trilogy as a download for $10. Blew the socks right off my feet, matter of fact I think they're still stuck to the wall in my dining room
Tell you what would really, REALLY boggle my mind though. To log into Club Nintendo and actually be able to use these 2700 coins before the program expires in June. That would be unprecedented.
Wait a second. They're confused? Oh boy.
Well, it's good to hear them saying they'll make plenty. I hope they follow through. I haven't even bothered to get into amiibo because of the stock problems.
The Mario Party series isn't that great but I love playing these game by myself and sometimes with people. Love the fun simplicity of the games but Im not sure if I dig the cart.
...Confused...interesting. Anyways, at least I can pick up Luigi and Toad (and hopefully Waluigi and Rosalina) without worry.
I think eventually the only amiibo available will be Mario characters.
@cyrus_zuo Does the Wii not ring a bell? That had FAR more stock/scalper issues than the amiibo have. Nintendo isn't being stupid, they're raising demand using a strategy that's proven to work.
Based on their financials it is clearly not working.
Nintendo created so much negativity towards them during the Wii years they will be digging themselves out for years. Core gamers think of Nintendo as a joke for how they handled the Wii, so you may be right, it may have been worse...but they need they money more now.
Toad is the only one I'm interested in. IMO, the 5 duplicate and 3 exclusive Smash Bros series Amiibo have far more personality. Glad I preordered Rosalina as well.
@cyrus_zuo That has nothing to do with the strategy. With the Wii they had stock issues and then purposely withheld stock in order to skyrocket demand for the system, which worked. They're doing the exact same thing now with amiibo. Nintendo's image issues with the core crowd is irrelevant to that.
@JaxonH - Yeah the Prime trilogy for $10 was quite a shocker. I might even get it if they still had DDP OK, that's just me being a jerk, but I am still thinikng abut getting it, but already played all 3 games.
Tryign to log onto Club Nitnedo at midnight, still no go. I like how it says - "Either your password is wrong, or we have high volume, just keep trying". I have about 1,300 coins, but I'm 15 away from Plat, still trying to figure out how to get there. Course if the website isn't up ...
@JaxonH - Man just got an email from Gamestop about triple points Valentine's Day weekend, the weekend Kirby was supposed to come out. See, it does matter when games come out
It's in abundance because scalpers are not interested in the 'super mario' range, especially since the only unique figure (in terms of functionality) is Toad.
@rjejr
Blasted Nintendo you messed up now, and cost rjejr his triple PUR points! Watch out! Tell you what, had Kirby stayed as a 2/13 release it woulda been Christmas all over again- new3DS XL, MH4U, Zelda Majora's Mask, Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy, AND Kirby Rainbow Curse all in one glorious day.
As for Metroid Prime Trilogy, the way I see it is those games are definitely worthy of replay. I beat all 3 as well, own all the originals plus 2 copies of the steel book case edition and yet I STILL bought it again for $10. Even if just to not get up and put the disc in. $10 is worth being lazy, and it sends a direct message to Nintendo- fans want more.
I mean, we all know we're all gonna replay that entire trilogy, let's be real. It's one of the best sets of games ever made.
I saw a cache of 14 Bowsers put onto the shelf of a Gamestop I went into last week. Their representative mentioned that 20 Bowsers had just come in. It definitely seems like the main Mario series characters are going to be the easiest to find moving forward.
I'm only interested in Shulk, myself...
Nintendo really are their own worst enemy sometimes. There are 3 or 4 amiibo that I would like to buy in particular yet I cant because they havent made enough and apparently dont plan to. So thats ÂŁ40+ of my money nintendo wont be getting, it just makes no sense. I can understand they dont want to produce tons of each type and be left with them but they surely should be able to guage which ines are more popular. Take the fire emblem chars for instance, they are tying them in with STEAM which is great but whats the use if you cant buy any?
Take those mario series amiibo above, toad is the only one not available already, yet he will be produced less even though he has his own game, it just makes no sense
@cyrus_zuo "Amiibo is the most mis-managed product in Nintendo's history and that is really saying something.
Too bad too, I'd be happy to buy some, but it's so painful to try and get some I've given up and become nearly anti-Nintendo over the silly things and how incomprehensibly stupid Nintendo has been about them."
You took the words right out of my mouth. I love amiibos but I hate Nintendo for making me love amiibos and making them difficult to obtain. The collector in me can appreciate the situation, but my wallet can't.
I just preordered this collection's Peach and Bowser from Amazon UK. Not taking any chances here, specially when Amazon.com does not even have them up for preorder.
They are boring. I might want Toad. And that's only if I also get the Captain Toad Treasure Tracker game. That's it.
I'm not surprise by this announcement but I'll believe it when I see it. I don't trust anything to do with Amiibos.
This is why you shouldn't be "loyal" to a brand...or at least, not overdo it...it's just a company that's in place to MAKE MONEY...it's not something to be loyal to.
For example, a lot of people complained about the Mercedes DLC in Mario Kart, yet that was the first quarter Nintendo made money in a very long time. Then people complained about the amiibo shortage, yet Nintendo finally created a phenomenon after 3 years of very huge losses. They are just a company doing what they have to do to make money. Their goal as a company is to make money just like Microsoft and every other company. I think people should just learn that and enjoy the games without worrying about the console wars and whatnot.
All the Mario character Amiibo's (bar Rosalina ) are widely available as it is, so these ones being the same isn't that much of a surprise. Mind you I do want a Toad.
@JaxonH - gotta say, don't like the Metroid games. Not a single one. Though MP 3 was good for the first hour. You know, I really should play Other M, considering my track record of thinking Sonic Adventure is the best Sonic game and Starfox Adventures is one of my favorite games ever, Other M would probably be very enjoyable. I also don't like any 2D Mario, only the 3D ones. And N64 is highly over rated as well. Though for its time and place in history it can't be underestimated, open world platforming is my favorite genre and I thank Mario for that. Sunshine was awesome, Galaxy 1 and 2 gaming perfection, and we can't have Sunshine or Galaxy w/o 64, which I kind of view as a tech demo.
And I get Kirby not coming out the same day as all that other stuff - even though they did it w/ SSBU and Pokemon ASOR, but that Feb 13 date was out there. Had it never been out there and they said Feb 20 then so be it, but it was listed Feb 13 at several places. It's the pushing it back that bothers me, even though I completley understand why. Though I do have a $15 coupon at Gamestop I'm saving for Kirby so the 3x points was actually relevant to me.
11' out, probably typical for you, but I'm not cut out for a world of ice. Penguin suit would be nice
Just tried Club Nitneodo, still not working, must be frozen
@Morph
Yeah I laughed when they announced that the Fire Emblem characters' amiibo will be used with S.T.E.A.M. Nobody will be able to experience this! I have checked every week at the local Gamestop/Walmart/Kmart and never see any amiibo show up other the usual ones (Mario, Peach, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Zelda, Luigi...) that are always there. So either Nintendo is not producing more, or associates at these stores are grabbing them up before they hit the sales floor? Like others on here, Toad was the main one I wanted from this series due to him being playable in Captain Toad. Now Nintendo has tipped-off scalpers to the fact that he will have the "lightest allocation"?!
I'm still just kind of pissed that I can't get a Lucario. It's the only one I really wanted.
Not really sure if a quote by an unnamed gamestop source is the best to use to start beating on Nintendo about stock. IF the person was below DM level they likely asked the Nintendo sale rep, who is usually not privy to manufacturing details. And Gamestop corporate has no idea about Nintendo's manufacturing plans. If they do they aren't telling ANYBODY.
So I doubt that Nintendo is "confused"...though I wish they'd shift some of that Europe stock to NA since folks are putting up pics with store shelves full.
This is why I'm not worried about the Bowser Amiibo
If this is true, how come they're all out of stock on Nintendo's Online Store...?
Personally, I don't care anyway. I'm a fan of certain Smash Amiibos but the Mario ones look cheaper and obviously they're the same characters we already have for the most part.
I think heads need to roll at Nintendo of America.
If Nintendo is worried about making too much product to meet demand, they should make one wave that hits the stores and sells out, then offer an alternative on their website to have them made to order.
Everybody gets amiibo, everybody gets paid, everybody happy. They can even keep the value up of the street amiibo by making them slightly tweaked in terms of either packaging, molding or even slight variations of color on the figure to differentiate them from the web store ones.
If only...
Purely from a collecting standpoint I'd be interested in knowing the actual production/distribution numbers for each individual Amiibo. It's pretty obvious that some were produced in far greater numbers than others.
@readyletsgo
pretty sure you DON'T have ness and pacman pre-ordered. Nobody does, my friend.
@GanonTamer haha what?
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