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Amiibos! How do you feel about the phenomenon? [roundtable]
 
Since the other thread seems like it's mostly about procurement. I'm curious as to how all of my NW chums have been affected by the Amiibo craze. I think it's kind of insane that releasing a steady string of amazing games only marginally helped Nintendo's position, but releasing a bunch of practical figures of questionable utility has made such a splash. (I say "questionable utility", but I personally enjoy the Amiibo integration into Smash Bros. I think it's innovative and cool.) That said, I can't deny feeling the hunger myself.

Anyway, I'll ask a couple of questions. Feel free to answer as many as you wishhh...

1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?


2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?


3) How many of them are still in the box?


4) Have you felt the hunger?


5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)


6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?


I'll answer in a while. Unless the thread disappears, in which case I will forget.

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01/01/15, 23:15  
 
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1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?

I dunno, 5 or 6? Not necessarily right away. It's less about how many and more about which ones are available.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?

Just 2, Samus and Fox.

3) How many of them are still in the box?

None, I play with my toys damnit!

4) Have you felt the hunger?

...what?

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)

I walked into a TRU and bought a few during a sale? Nothing crazy.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?

Probably all of the above to some degree.

To give some general feelings, I think they are pretty cool, but the fact that Nintendo is limiting the "niche" ones so much is utterly annoying to me. I'm not the type to go out of my way to find these things, which means I will probably miss out on a lot of the ones that I want, considering that most of the ones that I want are more niche.
01/01/15, 23:25   
Edited: 01/01/15, 23:26
1) 0
2) 0
3) 0
4) No.
5) $0
6) I don't like them, I feel they're just a money-grubbing tactic, and it's disappointing to see that their planned scarcity strategy is working on people. If Nintendo were in a better financial position then amiibo likely would not have existed, or existed in a better form such as having a game with better integration.
01/01/15, 23:47   
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
Zero.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
One.

3) How many of them are still in the box?
Zero.

4) Have you felt the hunger?
Not at all.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
Free with Smash.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
Meh.
01/01/15, 23:51   
Edited: 01/01/15, 23:52
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
From the initial run, One. Maybe one or two from the later waves.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
Zero.

3) How many of them are still in the box?
N/A

4) Have you felt the hunger?
Nope.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
N/A

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?

I honestly don't understand why they are so popular. Or why people feel the need to get all of them. I guess I kinda do as someone who does collect things. But it's not like these items are that unique. Nintendo has released other figures before. And they're of arguably better quality. Is it the ties to the games? If so are people actually using all of their Amiibos in Smash?
01/02/15, 00:35   
Edited: 01/02/15, 00:36
]1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?

0

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?

0

3) How many of them are still in the box?

N/A

4) Have you felt the hunger?

I must admit that reading the amiibo thread has kind of made me feel like tracking down rare ones just to be part of the big craze. I even checked out the mall's Gamestop and asked about Marths. That was more to send them to people here who are looking, but I may have picked one up for myself if there were extras.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)

N/A

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?

I think it's a little funny that people complain about scarcity when it's the scarcity that is driving the demand. Some people really want them all, but it seems like lots of people only want Marth because he's rare and therefore it's kind of silly that they complain that they don't make more Marths.

In general, though, I don't think there's anything too noteworthy about them one way or another. They're just a popular Nintendo product I'm not interested in, like Pokemon.
01/02/15, 01:03   
Edited: 01/02/15, 01:04
I haven't decided what I think of them. I ended up with more than I expected to buy, but that's more because a) There's always been a scarcity of Nintendo toys, so actually seeing them in person makes my inner Nintendork want them, and b) I'm a member of this community, so when I see a rare-ish one, I'm inclined to buy it because I'm sure someone will be interested in it. Hence, my couple of Wii Fit Trainers.

It's easy to cast us as empty-headed consumers who conned ourselves into buying stuff we didn't want because of a scarcity scheme, but that ignores the fact that we're already Nintendo fans and this stuff was supposed to appeal to us in the first place. Even if they weren't scarce, I'm sure I'd have just as hard of a time not buying one when I saw, for instance, that cool Zelda figure on the rack. When have I ever seen a Zelda toy?

EDIT: Okay, I'll answer the questions

1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
3

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
6

3) How many of them are still in the box?
2, but that's only because I've been too busy to do anything with them since Christmas. I don't intend to keep them boxed.

4) Have you felt the hunger?
Yeah. A little. Particularly since I'll probably never find Pit in the wild.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
Drove around to a few local stores trying to assess what kind of stock everyone had. Bought 3 Wii Fit Trainers the day they announced the shortages. Got here and discovered no one really wanted one, other than Stache.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
I think it's pretty crass, though I'd stop shy of exploitative. It's turned into Beanie Babies, which is not what I wanted them to become. They'd be better toys if you could actually play with them.
01/02/15, 01:37   
Edited: 01/02/15, 01:49
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
Never really thought about it. Never had a number in my head.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
Five. Mario, Donkey Kong, Peach, Fox and Samus. Mario and DK belong to my son, Peach is my daughter's, and the last two are "mine."

3) How many of them are still in the box?
Two - Fox and Samus. (haven't used them)

4) Have you felt the hunger?
I assume "the hunger" is the feeling to have to buy them all? If that is the case, no. Haven't felt hungry.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
Walked into a Gamestop and bought a few. My son got DK as a Christmas gift from a friend.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
Same as @nate38: Meh.
01/02/15, 01:57   
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
I wanted to buy all of them from the beginning.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
One. The Mario one.

3) How many of them are still in the box?
One. I still haven't opened the Mario Amiibo cause I have to make some space for it.

4) Have you felt the hunger?
Yes. I want to have them all and put them on display.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
I actually got mine for Christmas so, free. But, once I have some extra money to play with, I'll start collecting.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
I think that, as a collector's item, it's great. As an actual means to unlock stuff in-game, it's kind of exploitative. And it's especially unfortunate that some of these have such limited runs.
01/02/15, 05:28   
1) I wanted them all from the start.

2) I have 14 in hand, with the remaining 4 on the way. I also have 7 of wave 3 preordered.

3) Zero. Just opened them up today, though I kept the packaging relatively clean, cause I think the packaging looks pretty great.

4) Yes, I have felt the hunger.

5) I just bought a Marth from Japan today for $32. Basically I paid double, plus shipping. I have no problem paying extra pulling stock from overseas where there is apparently less of a shortage issue, but I'll be damned if I'll ever pay a penny over MSRP for one purchased here.

6) I think Amiibo are really great looking collectibles with super neat bonus uses in certain games. I also strongly disagree that there was planned scarcity, at least insofar as it has played out. I think it's absurd to think Nintendo planned this. It only makes sense for Nintendo to plan on selling fewer Wii Fit Trainers than Marios, so there will be fewer of them to buy. With 18 Amiibo released so far, the only retailer I've seen that even has 18 possible spaces for the characters is ToysRUs. Most places I run into (Target, Walmart, Best Buy) barely have half that available space. Compared to Skylanders and Infinity, Amiibo only has a fraction of the shelf space.

All this from a man with nearly all available Infinity figures as well, so clearly I'm not right in the head.
01/02/15, 06:47   
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
0

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
0

3) How many of them are still in the box?
0/0

4) Have you felt the hunger?
Nah. I'd be far more likely to consider a high end First 4 Figures Samus statue or something as a collectible than an amiibo.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
Doesn't really apply.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
I don't like the precedent it sets. I fear it is easy to go down a bad road with amiibo but it hasn't happened yet.
01/02/15, 06:47   
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
0, maybe 1 to try

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
2

3) How many of them are still in the box?
0

4) Have you felt the hunger?
Nope

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
Clicked a few buttons to order on Amazon, bought Link on a whim with Smash Bros.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
If I were a child, I'd be way into this. As an adult, I bought a couple characters I love to see what they are all about. I am unimpressed with their functionality, but they are pretty well done and not too expensive. I'm happy that they are making Nintendo money.
01/02/15, 09:51   
@Jargon I don't know who these people are but I certainly had my own desire for characters long before I knew some would be scarce. I decide who I want based on how much I care about the character, period.
01/02/15, 10:26   
@Zero

Yea I'm not accusing anyone here of that, just the feeling I've gotten from reading about them.

Edit: Just listened to a recent episode of IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat and they flat out admit that they're only interested in getting them because they're rare, so it's not like I'm just inventing this.
01/02/15, 10:42   
Edited: 01/02/15, 12:13
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?

2 - 3 max

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?

5

3) How many of them are still in the box?

0

4) Have you felt the hunger?

Negative.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one?

My local Walmart and Bestbuy is 10 miles away. 10 miles.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?

Nice little figurines but not perfect. They depict some of my most loved characters so buying them just to display is worth it to me. The amount of memory in the base is kind of disappointing. The support in games is okay, the best being Smash. It would be nice if attributes that your amiibo obtained in one game could be used in a completely different game. That would make them have more of a personal identity to its owner. For now, I patiently wait to see how Nintendo handles the situation. Hell if I'm buying that Link figurine thats looking down at the ground. He doesn't seem to have the triforce of courage yet...
01/02/15, 18:58   
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?

I originally wanted two from each announced wave, but then the idea of them becoming rare made me want to find them all and I went on a spending binge...and now I'm being a bit more selective in the ones I purchase.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?

Eight. Luigi, Zelda, Villager, Marth, Wii Fit Trainer, Peach, Link, and Samus. Pit is in the mail, so nine once he arrives.

3) How many of them are still in the box?

They're all open.

4) Have you felt the hunger?

Yes, unfortunately. But I don't feel compelled to buy them all any more.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)

I have Rosalina & Luma on import because I want all of the Mario characters eventually and Target is stupid, but even that is only $24 shipped. I haven't driven much father than a few miles from my apartment or office looking for them.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?

I think Disney Infinity does it better...the figures are generally sturdier and have more functionality. That's probably why I have every single one of those figures and only eight amiibo.
01/02/15, 19:08   
Edited: 01/02/15, 19:09
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?

Two: Ness and Mega Man.


2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?

One: Link which I got as a gift. I do have a Pit on the way as another gift though. So far, I haven't actually bought any myself yet.


3) How many of them are still in the box?

None. Toy Story 2 taught me that toys are meant to be played with! Also, it'd feel kinda weird to just buy something to display it.


4) Have you felt the hunger?

A little, during the shortage craze. But I think I'm over that and now I just "hunger" for Ness and Mega Man figures.


5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)

Not very far at all, but I'm willing to preorder for the two I really want.


6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?

Okay-ish, but a little underwhelmed. I think the quality of the toy is pretty good and probably worth the price on its own. I hope no future games require it or lock content behind amiibo stuff. The Spinner in HW was kind of a bad precedent, honestly.


I'll answer in a while. Unless the thread disappears, in which case I will forget.[/quote]
01/02/15, 20:48   
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
A few I guess? I want them all but I can't really get them at the moment. So I'll probably be buying them throughout the year.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
3

3) How many of them are still in the box?
3, I can't bring myself to take them out yet. I tried out a friend's Samus figure on Smash, but haven't used mine because I just love the way the packaging looks.

4) Have you felt the hunger?
YES

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
Only searched through my local stores.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
Cool little collectable for any Nintendo fan. This is the first time we've had anything like this that's affordable*

*considering how much high quality figures like figmas and nendoroids cost
01/02/15, 21:07   
see new update:
01/03/15, 01:46   
Edited: 01/08/15, 06:20
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
Seven or eight of the initial batch.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
One.

3) How many of them are still in the box?
Zero.

4) Have you felt the hunger?
Huh? Probably not, since I'm totally indifferent to the concept at the moment.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
Preordered three and returned two, after using one.

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
Just in terms of its SSB usage... Lame to the max. As a novelty display item? Not bad, though inconsistent in quality.
01/03/15, 02:14   
1) How many Amiibos did you originally think you were going to buy?
One, just to try it out.

2) How many Amiibos do you have so far?
Zero. Haven't gotten around to it yet.

3) How many of them are still in the box?
N/A

4) Have you felt the hunger?
Nah. I've never been much of a figure collector.

5) How far have you gone to obtain one? (ex. highest price paid, most finagling, import, pre-order, etc.)
N/A

6) How do you feel about the Amiibo product, overall? Cool toy? Real-life Pokemon metagame? Crass and exploitative?
I think they're a cool little idea! They only add to the experience. They're just a fun thing to enjoy.
01/03/15, 02:20   
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