Since their launch in November, Nintendo’s Amiibo characters have been making big headlines recently, but not for the reasons you may think. During what could only be the most confusing event ever, a source from within Nintendo announced that Marth, Villager and Wii Fit Trainer were discontinued, igniting a frenzy of scalpers to purchase these Amiibos in large quantities just to resell them on eBay for ten times their MSRP
Just shortly after these Amiibos disappeared off store shelves, Polygon reported that none of the Amiibos were discontinued, but that limited retail shelf space would make it more difficult for Holiday shoppers to find their favorite characters.
Fast-forward to present day and the recent release of the second wave of Amiibos. So far, there hasn’t been a reproduction of Marth, Villager or Wii Fit Trainer. Some retailers such as Target and Walmart still have active SKUs for these hard to find Amiibos, and product pegs – while they remain empty – can still be seen hanging in their Amiibo displays. We have reached out to multiple Toys R Us stores regarding the ‘Three Amiibos’, and the response seems to be universal store wide — the company itself has discontinued the SKUs for Marth, Villager and Wii Fit Trainer, so the likelihood of TRU ever receiving a restock of these Amiibos (if a reproduction ever happens) is slim at best.
Will gamers see a re-release of the Three Amiibos sometime in the future? Nintendo reportedly said that a reproduction of less popular Amiibos may happen in the future, but no release date was given.
The Next Big Three:
Amiibo exclusives are also a hot commodity with collectors at the moment. Starting this February, Gamestop, Target and TRU will launch exclusive Amiibos that cannot be purchased anywhere else. Lucario is a TRU exclusive; Rosalina is Target only; and Shulk will only be available at Gamestop. But when online pre-orders opened for these Amiibos, they sold out within hours. The same thing happened when Target and Gamestop offered in-store pre-orders for their exclusive Amiibos; they sold out immediately.
Just one week shy of Christmas, TRU was still accepting in-store pre-orders for their exclusive Amiibo at select retail locations.
The Amiibo Landscape and What Gamers Can Expect:
The chances of finding any Amiibo exclusives in retail stores on launch day will be slim at best. Since the discontinuation of Marth, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainer – and the high prices on eBay due to scalpers – gamers have learned rather quickly that if they want an Amiibo, they need to either pre-order it or go without.
While there is nothing wrong with making a profit, there is a certain stigma that goes along with buying a dozen Amiibos and then reselling them for ten times the MSRP on eBay.
More Amiibo Cancellations?
A new rumor has surfaced, stating that more Amiibos will be cancelled sometime during early 2015. Can you guess which ones they are? According to multiple sources (i.e. Destructoid, MyNintendoNews), Fox and Samus are scheduled to share the same fate as the Three Amiibos.
Considering the current climate of Amiibo sales on eBay (which have fallen flat in recent days), it’s quite possible that someone could be trying to manipulate the value of these two Amiibos. But then again, we haven’t seen Nintendo fill the recent demand for the Three Amiibos either. It’s one of those ‘sit and wait’ scenarios that will have everyone biting their fingernails in angst. One thing is for sure – now is the best time to add Fox and Samus to your collection, if you haven’t already. Better safe than sorry, as they always say.
