amiibo Cards: Opportunistic Nintendo or Greedy Nintendo?

People love amiibo. There is no way around that fact. They are excellently sculpted miniature figures of our favorite Nintendo and friends characters. It would be interesting to see what percentage of amiibo buyers are actually using them within games, and how many are picking them up purely for collectible reasons. I think those numbers could prove whether Nintendo is smart with amiibo cards and jumping on a great opportunity, or if they are just getting greedy?

To be fair, I haven’t utilized or purchased any of the Animal Crossing amiibo cards; we will get some hands on time with them when we review Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. All I can do is speculate. Based on what I’m seeing from fans in Japan, and what I’m seeing from the reviews that have already hit in Europe and North America, is that while the cards are nice, they are not bringing the functionality some might have hoped to the game.

Before I continue I should point out: these cards will be usable in some way for the Animal Crossing amiibo Festival title due out this holiday season, and presumably, in future Animal Crossing games. Are amiibo cards really going to be that big of a hit?

I put the question out on twitter today, and received a variety of responses. One of my favorite people I follow, @Stealth___, feels that Nintendo is not getting greedy with amiibo cards until they begin producing them for every franchise. I find this to be a fair assessment. After all, these cards are not aimed at all Nintendo fans, but rather a particular group who enjoy the Animal Crossing franchise.

Here is the thoughts of @NintendoTweet, another Nintendo super fan:

My feelings re: amiibo is that they don’t really add anything substantial to game play but they’re fun to collect. However I don’t like the way they have decided to sell the amiibo cards (in blind packs) especially since there are 400 cards.  I know people will say that that’s how most cards are sold but I don’t think Nintendo needs adopt the norm in this case. At the same time, the cards are optional since you do no’t need to buy them at all in order to play ACHHD so that’s a relief.

Other individuals don’t have a problem with the blind pack marketing decision as many companies – including Nintendo – have done this in the past. Lloyd Hannesson (@dasme), host of the Nintendo Pulse podcast on the VGPodcast Network – @vgpod – had this to say:

They are collectibles for people who like to collect things. The problem with amiibo is they don’t do much. So if you can’t display them on a shelf, I don’t know what you would do with them. A binder of amiibo cards on your shelf doesn’t have the same effect as a cool statue.” When I pressed him on how Nintendo planned to sell them in North America – for 5.99 per pack of six cards – he said, “It is no different than sports cards or and collectible card game, so I don’t have an issue with them being blind. That (collectible cards in blind packs) industry has existed for years and years.

While the Nintendo fan will have the responses read above – and I think those opinions are probably constant among most – it is important to get the opinion of a super fan. I found that Animal Crossing Super fan in Daniel Fugate, @df2506.

I’m definitely a fan but I can’t afford to go nuts with them. I think the cards will be successful, although not as successful as the figures. Animal Crossing fans will want them all or a lot of them. They work for Happy Home AND amiibo festival after all. They will also work for the next Animal Crossing too. Seems like they will have more functionally than amiibo figures have so far. But no, I don’t think Nintendo is being greedy. Its a creative way to build the amiibo brand.

From these varying opinions we can draw a few (fan inspired) conclusions:
1. Nintendo is building on their amiibo brand.
2. Nintendo could get greedy if they flood the market with cards for multiple franchises.

Both are fair conclusions, and to be honest, I have yet to find someone overtly opposed to the amiibo cards. No one seems to be mislead about their functionality or in what way they might be used in the future. The only complaint is how Nintendo plans to sell the cards. We know Disney Infinity experimented with blind pack power disc sales with the original and 2.0 launches, and abandoned that approach for this years edition.

It will be interesting to see two things. First, will Nintendo abandon the blind pack purchasing plan if fans are having a hard time securing a full set, or even, the one or two characters they actually want? Secondly, will Nintendo attempt to branch the amiibo cards out even further into franchises like Mario, Zelda, and more?

It is time to have your say: Is Nintendo getting greedy with amiibo cards, or just being opportunistic?