For those of you who don’t speak German (like me…I Googled that phrase), “nervensäge” roughly translates to “pain in the arse,” which pretty much describes exactly how I feel about amiibos.
Don’t get me wrong, I love them. They are attractive, well-crafted, and make great desk pieces for gaming-inclined folks. And that’s even before we get to the collection aspect! My inner collector went wild when these plastic badboys were announced. I’m not the “keep in the box and don’t breathe on them” kind of collector, but I do want them. ALL OF THEM.
Indeed. Because “Smash Bros”
And that is the crux of the issue. I want all of them, but some of them are impossible to find. For example, I had to import my Lucario from Japan. Greninja still eludes me.
Sad State of Affairs
People stand in lines for hours outside of Toys R Us and GameStop for the chance, and not even a good one at that, of snagging one of the rare ones. Nintendo has seemingly created a small supply for what has become a HUGE demand.
Perhaps, they didn’t anticipate the huge success of their figures.
This was an acceptable answer when the first ones rolled off the production lines. But now they know that Amiibos are huge. They should be able to handle the demand. I’m not saying they have to flood the market with rare amiibos; that would defeat the purpose. But when 1 in 10 people get a particular amiibo, there is a problem.
This artificially created shortage is further compounded by the scalpers. I don’t fault anyone for making a few bucks where they can – life is hard and money don’t grow on trees. But some of these scalpers are asking for ludicrous prices… And they’re getting them! The culture of amiibo collecting at this time is a little off-putting to all but the most die-hard collectors.
I think I saw this in the news… Right?
Thoughts?
Looking back through what I’ve wrote, it occurs to me now that this is a little bit of a nerd rage about not having Greninja. But I am curious, what are your thoughts?
Published: Aug 16, 2015 08:22 am