Nintendo promises they are doing everything in their power to keep up with Amiibo demand, even apologizing to fans in a lengthy Facebook post back in May.
That promise will be put to the test later this month, when wave five of the Super Smash Bros. Amiibo figures launch, which includes only Dark Pit and Palutena. While a release date for the figures has yet to be confirmed (July 31 looks to be the likely date), we now know at least one of the figures will be a retailer exclusive.
An online listing for Dark Pit on Best Buy lists the figure as "Only at Best Buy," following in the footsteps of other retailer exclusive figures like Shulk, Meta Knight and Lucario.
With only two figures making up wave five, might Palutena be a retailer exclusive as well? In the past, Gamestop, Toys "R" Us, Target and Walmart have all had an exclusive figure, so it wouldn't be unheard of for Palutena to appear only at one retailer. If she is exclusive, Nintendo is still keeping quiet about it.
Wave five may only feature two Amiibo, but wave six, coming in September, will feature more than 10 new figures. There's no word yet on which of those, if any, will be retailer exclusive, but considering how many there are, it seems safe to assume at least a couple to be only at one retailer or another. Wave six will consist of Bowser Jr., Olimar, Ganondorf, Zero Suit Samus and many more.
That's just for the Super Smash Bros. line. Amiibo figures for Nintendo's new Animal Crossing game will also be coming later this year, as will the yarn Yoshi Amiibo for Yoshi's Wooly World, to be released in North America on Oct. 16.
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told Kotaku last month the company's Amiibo business is booming, with more than one million of the interactive figures sold in the last month despite supply issues.
"We want every consumer to be satisfied," Fils-Aime said. "We want every Amiibo player out there to be a completionist and have every single one. We're working hard to get the supply into stores."
The true test will come later this month as Nintendo fans line up at Best Buys around the country in an attempt to complete their Amiibo collections. Let's hope there are enough Dark Pits to go around.
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