I wanted to take a break from the reviews (even though there are quite a few in the works for the near future) to discuss a few things that I have noticed with Amiibo lately and discuss what I think it means for collectors too.  Some of this is my own opinion and speculation, but as always I try to write articles from an informed perspective and be fair to all sides.  If you disagree or want to add your perspective in the comments below, that is always welcome and appreciated.

If you’ve checked major retailers like Amazon and Walmart recently, you may have noticed some of the lowest Amiibo prices ever seen.  Currently, Mabel, Tom Nook, and Chibi-Robo on its own without Zip Lash are going for $6 or less.  These prices truly are unprecedented and it has got me thinking about several different aspects of Amiibo collecting.  The obvious conclusion is that if you like these Amiibos, that is a fantastic price and you should pick them up.  Tom Nook and Mabel are very common Amiibos and easily found in Target and Toys R Us so that makes their low prices not too surprising.  I own both of them and like the figures quite a bit.  You can check my review of Mabel here and Tom Nook here.  Chibi-Robo is a little more surprising because the standalone figure is an Amazon exclusive which usually means a figure is harder to get.  Though Zip Lash has had mixed reviews and Chibi-Robo is not a popular Nintendo character.  The biggest reason I haven’t bought him is that I didn’t really enjoy Chibi-Robo Park Patrol on DS and haven’t played Zip Lash yet and am leaning towards skipping it.  So perhaps this is why Chibi is so cheap.

So while cheaper Amiibo sounds great for collectors, I think it is actually more complicated than that.  One reason is that these characters are not as popular as the previous releases and so retailers are most likely trying to get rid of them.  Many diehard Amiibo collectors on Reddit and even major websites like IGN have talked about not wanting to collect the Animal Crossing Amiibos.  While I like some of the Animal Crossing ones, I am not a big fan of the series and am skipping many of them, because I just want characters I really liked in Animal Crossing: New Leaf.  The fact that the newest Amiibo are available for such a low price and are not a hit with diehard collectors is a bit concerning for Nintendo.  They need Amiibos to keep selling because their consoles are not doing all that great right now.  They also need to keep us from being burnt out or giving up on Amiibo altogether.  I have seen articles on major sites like Reddit and IGN where at least a small number of collectors have been saying just that.  A lack of functionality in games is one thing that Nintendo can do to get people more interested in Amiibo and bring back collectors with fading interest.  Releasing new Amiibo from games that are more popular will help too.

I feel slightly less enthusiastic about Amiibos lately, but for different reasons.  One is that Amiibo are becoming so easy to get that it has taken away the thrill of the chase.  It is true that some Amiibo were way too hard to get, but now the pendulum has swung too far the other way for my taste.  For example, I saw that Lucas could be preordered a day or two before release and so I did that online and didn’t bother going on Amiibo release day like I have done for almost all the previous waves.  Not caring about the Animal Crossing Amiibo was also a factor, but I can’t help but wonder, have we reached a saturation point with Amiibo?  The last couple of releases have almost all common Amiibo and it seems like there is no rush to go and get them on release date.  Many of the rare Amiibo are now sitting around in Toys R Us too.  Little Mac, Captain Falcon, and Villager are very easy to find near me and it makes these Amiibos seem less special than they used to be.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not down on Amiibo and I still plan on collecting them, but the way I view them is changing.  For one, I’m starting to open any common Amiibos to save space and because common Amiibos truly are common now and don’t have much value in box.  This is a huge change from when I started the site and had almost every Amiibo in box because it seemed like each one was becoming rare and more valuable over time.  Also, I find myself wanting some Amiibo to get excited about and some rarer Amiibo that not just anyone can get.  If I liked Mega Man, the Gold Mega Man would fit that.  But other than him, it has been too long since Nintendo released some hard to get Amiibo.  There are some pretty exciting Amiibo coming like Bayonetta and Cloud and Wolf Link so I think my interest will pick up in the coming months, but I also think Nintendo is approaching make-or-break time with Amiibo and they need to deliver something special to keep people excited about Amiibo.  I look forward to seeing what comes next and if it seems like my enthusiasm for Amiibo is fading, don’t worry.  I’ll still bring you as much Amiibo content as I can and still plan on buying many more in the future.  What do you think Amiibo need right now?  Is your interest in Amiibo as strong as it used to be?  Why or not?  Let us know in the comments!