To add to the momentum of its 3D Printed Products store, Amazon is now letting customers customize and print figurines of popular characters from video games, the online retailer announced on Wednesday.
Amazon's 3D Printed Products store is now showcasing 35 characters from Smite, Primal Carnage and Infinity Blade. The store offers over 30,000 ways to customize Smite characters, 12,500 poses for Primal Carnage figurines and more than 12 million ways to tailor Infinity Blade models.
The cost to 3D-print a video game character starts at $30 for the smaller models and between $50 and $90 for larger figurines.
To customize one of the characters, the 3D Printed Products store includes tools stored in a widget and 360-degree previews to ensure that the customizations are just right before signaling the start of the manufacturing process.
Amazon launched its 3D Printed Products store in July 2014. The store's selection of 3D printable products has expanded by about 150 percent and it's just getting started, according to Steve Johnson, Director for the Amazon Marketplace.
"3D Printed Products on Amazon is still in its early days, and we are eager to offer customers the freedom to be designers and create one-of-a-kind items," said Johnson.
Amazon isn't content with running the 3D print shop on its own, and its strategy seems to entail building the field so that other players will come. The e-commerce site is calling on brands, designers and manufacturers to rally around the 3D Printed Products store, and is also turning to the video game community to help cultivate this field of 3D printed dreams.
"There is a lot of passion and excitement in the culture of gaming, as well as 3D printing, and by combining these two worlds and allowing customers to design and personalize their favorite video game characters we can bring enthusiasts even closer to the games they love," said Johnson.
The initial list of video game models may not send the print shop's sales through the roof, but it could spark a demand for more endeared franchises. When fans demand their favorite studios share intellectual property with Amazon, the 3D Printed Products store may really take off.
