To be completely honest, I don’t understand the Amiibo. They’ve been around for a while now, and I still don’t get it. Are they models/action figures? Are they physical keys used to unlock digital content? Both?
Now, don’t get me wrong– I understand the market value. There are plenty of people who like to have miniature figurines of their favourite video game characters. The barrier for me is in many cases those who buy these types of figures wouldn’t want them taken out of the box. It would diminish the possible future value. So the person has to decide– do they want a figure to sit on their shelf, unopened, while it (hopefully) appreciates in value? Or do they take it out, see everything it has to offer while at the same time diminishing the value? (If only canine teeth marks and baby drool made collectibles worth more, it wouldn’t be an issue.) Of course, buying two is always an option, and that may be what the creators are banking on.
While that may work generally, Nintendo has decided to make things a little bit more challenging with their new announcement. A “Dairantou Smash Bros. Series 63 Amiibo Set” is being released in Japan (noticed by fan site Japanese Nintendo), available for purchase the same day as the game itself. So far it appears Amazon Japan is the sole seller, and only 50 sets will be produced in total, so that duplicate idea is out the window. It doesn’t specify price or the actual release date of the product (Dec. 7th is when it goes on sale).
It will have the majority of the characters from the roster of Super Smash. Bros. Ultimate, including the newer announcements like Piranha Plant and King K. Rool. The ones that are missing from the set will no doubt be released as Amiibo figures at a later date.
If you manage to nab 1 of the 50, you may want to keep them out of harm’s way. It would be almost too tempting to create one’s own Smash tournament on the dining room table, but there is also no indication that this package will be released anywhere other than Japan.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be released on Dec.7th for the Nintendo Switch.
