Last Updated on May 10, 2021 by Danielle
Nintendo is trying to keep up with customer demand for Ambiibos.
Nintendo has sold nearly 10 million Amiibos in the past 3 months alone and demand for the toy has exceeded supply. Kotaku is reporting the company sold 20.50 million Amiibo figures.Now Nintendo is ramping up production to keep up with consumer demand, which has been greater than anticipated.
These Amiibo toys are designed based on some of Nintendo’s most beloved videogame characters, such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, and Yoshi to name a few. There are more than 60 different Amiibos to collect in all. These are more than just toys. They are painstakingly designed and painted to accurately resemble our favorite Nintendo characters. In fact, this is one of the most explosive growing segments of the videogame industry, generating over $4 billion in sales since inception of the concept.
Based on last year’s success, we expect them to be top Christmas gifts in 2021 for kids. These Amiibo toys, which were released last year, are part of the exploding Toys To Life category that has emerged with the introduction of the Skylanders games. These games have gone on to become the best ps4 kids games, best xbox one kids games, and best wii u kids games.
Placing your character on the Wii U gamepad or the Nintendo 3DS handheld, allows players to bring their favorite toys to life in the virtual worlds.
Nintendo has some competition in this Toys To Life category. Activision has the Skylanders franchise, Disney has Disney Infinity featuring The Incredibles, and Warner Bros. has Lego Dimensions.
Activision has been creating new characters for the Skylanders games every year to generate renewed interest. And, in fact, this year it formed a partnership with Nintendo to bring Amiibo toys to Skylanders games.
In the past, Activision has experienced instances where demand outstripped supply. However, since they have experience making plastic controllers (e.g. Guitar Hero games), they have handled demand rather well.
Because these are more than just toys and they come to life, Amiibos are cool toys for kids. The market is rapidly experiencing growth and there is plenty of demand, indicating just how popular Amiibos really are. In the U.S., Link is the top-selling Amiibo, in Europe it is Mario, and in Japan Splatoon characters comprise the top 3 best-sellers.
Nintendo’s president and COO of North America was surprised by how many Amiibo toys each of its customers are purchasing. When Nintendo launched Amiibos in April in the US, it cruised to one million in the first month alone.
Nintendo confirms that it is at a point where it has to double or triple its volume estimates based on the current demand. And Nintendo is committed to satisfying customers and meeting these demand challenges, even if they have to push the envelope of what is possible production-wise.
Nintendo has plans to release new Amiibo toys for the holidays, including one made of yarn (Yoshi), and another to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Super Mario Brothers game. Interestingly, Nintendo also will be expanding the tech to collectible cards. These cards, much like the Amiibo toys, can be tapped to the Wii U controller and 3DS to bring characters to life in the game.
Nintendo is dedicated to innovation in gameplay and delivering content that is both unique and compelling for gamers.
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