Don’t say ‘Skylanders but with Mario’
The jury is still out on the success of Amiibo. Although certain figures have pretty much sold out, we don’t know if that’s because they were “incredibly popular” or just “made scarce by design”.
Regardless, it’s clear that the internet likes talking about Amiibo, and we know for sure that Nintendo is going to follow through with at least 3 more waves of figures. Chances are that Nintendo will eventually try capitalize on that hefty Amiibo investment (Amiibestment) with a game that hinges on Amiibo interaction as a central part of the experience. Smash Bros. only uses them in a couple of modes. In other games, they only work to unlock unessential items. Nintendo would be wise to do more than that with their experimental new money making game in 2015.
What do you think they should do? A game that requires you to buy Amiibo in order to play might turn off a lot of people, but at the same time, Nintendo has to make the figures an integral part of the design in order to give them value. Maybe a sequel to Nintendo Land that has Minecraft-style world building elements, allowing you to create your own unique attractions/structures with parts provided by playable Amiibo characters? Maybe a Pokemon-style collect-a-thon except with an all-star Nintendo cast, where scanning an Amiibo adds them to your party? The only thing I’m pretty sure that Nintendo wont do is a straight up clone of Skylanders. Beyond that, the possibilities are endless.
Let your imagination run wild, children!
