Like it or not, the Toys-to-Life category is here to stay. Between the financial titan that is Skylanders and the license to print money that is Disney: Infinity – particularly with the new Marvel license and the inevitable Star Wars tie-ins, these collectible cross-media figures aren’t going anywhere.
Nintendo knows its audience, and the cross-section between Nintendo and the above franchises is almost completely congruent – and this is something Nintendo paid attention to. Their response is an incredibly clever and well-thought out line of Nintendo-branded Toys-To-Life products called Amiibo. Amiibo are small figures, styled after the collectible figures in the Super Smash Bros. games, that can interface with major Nintendo releases both past and present, as well as the Skylanders and Disney: Infinity line. The figures may provide a bonus such as a secondary character to fight by your side in the upcoming Super Smash Bros., or providing an exclusive Nintendo character in Disney: Infinity, and so on. Each title will have a different functionality with each Amiibo, and as the Amiibo are used, they will gain levels and distinct abilities that progress as you choose, becoming more effective in their respective roles in each title.
The real key to Nintendo’s strategy, the master-stroke is that the Amiibo will work with both the Wii U and the 3DS – via an adapter that will release alongside the figures – and they will function with third-party titles such as select Skylander’s games, and Disney: Infinity, as well as the major Nintendo line-up titles like Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. Wii U, Mario Party 10, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and Yoshi’s Wooly World.
The biggest concern with the Toys-To-Life category is that it’s a sunk cost and that cost really only translates to one game, or one line of games. Given the potential cash-output – as much as $500-$600 for a full line of some of the products – it’s a hard sell. If, by chance, Activision crashes Skylanders into the ground as they are wont to do with cash-cow franchises, what happens to the collection? The Nintendo Amiibo addresses this by providing an impact to first- AND third-party games, and plays no favorites.
Couple that with the fact that you’ve got everyone’s favorite Nintendo characters, and you’ve got a real winner. I promised myself I wouldn’t be swept up in this new gaming fad, but there’s just no way I’ll be able to resist Link. Or Samus. Or Sheik, if they decide to expland the product line – which is inevitable. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of Nintendo counting all of our money.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odUjMhc6YgU&list=PL2JiZAV5BmDVb1fcG806HoyBYNMzED0uy&feature=share&index=1[/youtube]
The Nintendo Amiibo lines launches this fall for use with the Wii U and 3DS systems.