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amiibo (JP) is a set of character figurines that interacts with the Wii U GamePad, the NFC reader in the touch screen of the New Nintendo 3DS, the NFC reader in the right Joy-Con Controller and the Pro Controller of the Nintendo Switch.
Not only will the figurines send data to select games, but those games will also send data back to the figurine with that character's new and improved stats.
The older models of the Nintendo 3DS will also support amiibo figurines with the help of a peripheral device named the "NFC Reader / Writer''. This feature was launched in 2015.
Launch
In North America, amiibo released on the same day as Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on November 21, with the second wave released in December.
In Europe, amiibo were released before the first game that uses it, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on November 28. The second wave was released in December.
In Japan, amiibo were released with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on December 6. It includes all 18 figures in the first wave.
amiibo Figures & Cards
Games that use amiibo
Pricing and Availability
Nintendo's suggested price of an amiibo is:
- $12.99 (NA),
- CDN $13.99 (CA)
- ￥1,200 (JP)
- £10.99 (UK)
- A$17.95 (AU)
- €14,99 (EU)
The price can vary depending upon the retailer, for example, Toys "R" Us regularly charges $13.99 for figures, however, Best Buy customers can purchase figures for $10.39 by signing up for the Gamers Unlocked program. Some amiibo were released as retailer exclusives, and others had limited runs. Numerous sources report that limited run amiibo will see restocking later this year, after Wave 3's production run has been completed.
Sales
While there are not precise numbers available yet, there has been good news in terms of sales of amiibo. In a press release for the November NPD, Nintendo revealed that sales of amiibo were almost matching Super Smash Bros. for Wii U sales at around 700k.
Nintendo of France made comments that amiibo were very on track to meet the projection of 200k for France at the beginning of December. Media Create revealed that the Japanese launch week sales were around 100k with Link being the best seller.
With the December NPD press release, Nintendo revealed that amiibo sales in the US doubled the sales of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, putting the sales at roughly 2.6 million for the States.
As of January, Nintendo revealed that 5.7 million have been sold worldwide.[1]
E3 Demos
Gallery
External links
Trivia
- Before the official release of "amiibo", they were codenamed NFP (Nintendo Figurine Platform or NFC Featured Platform).