Is anyone really surprised by the success of Nintendo's Amiibo figures? They're tiny statues of everyone's favorite Nintendo characters that work with the games they're inspired by - what's not to love? Even the controversy over Nintendo's original prototypes quickly faded into nothing; people just wanted to get their hands on the little guys.
As it stands, the Wii U is the only place to go if you're looking to get a lot out of your Amiibo (sorry, 3DS owners). Between Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 8 and the upcoming Mario Party 10, there's plenty for your Amiibo to do - and according to Nintendo, that's only the beginning.
That's going to change this summer: Nintendo has announced via earnings call that the Amiibo will now unlock short, playable sections of the games that inspired them.
Basically, a free app for the Wii U console will be released this summer: once the app is installed, players can simply tap the Amiibo to the GamePad controller and play a short section of classic NES and SNES titles.
"With this app, once you tap your amiibo on the NFC area of the GamePad, you will be able to play highlighted scenes of one certain title for NES or Super NES. You cannot play the entire game due to a time limit, but another tap of the amiibo will enable you to try another highlighted scene in the game. We hope that when you tap your amiibo, the quickly changing game scenes will pleasantly surprise you and make you feel as though you have just exchanged a game cartridge."
It's a nice little feature that should add a little bit of extra value to the figures. It's understandable that Nintendo isn't letting players unlock an entire game with Amiibo (otherwise, they'd probably be a bit more expensive), but let's hope that the Amiibos unlock one of several portions of a game - playing the same level over and over again would get old quickly.
For 3DS owners, things are looking up: Nintendo has promised that more Amiibo support for its handheld is on the way. More games will be compatible with the figures, and an add-on peripheral for the original 3DS and 3DS XL is coming this summer. As it stands, only a few games (mostly Super Smash Bros.) currently supports Amiibos, but Nintendo seems confident that the 3DS-compatible library will fill out soon.
The Amiibo figures are already a big hit for Nintendo, and as the functionality continues to expand, the little figures are only going to get more and more popular. At this rate, maybe other publishers will jump on the Amiibo bandwagon...
Is it too much to ask for a Master Chief Amiibo?
