Nintendo - Nickel-and-Diming You Once More - Skyward Sword

[phart010 | 1,708]

Cant you just program your phone to act like an Amiibo? Cheaper that way if you just want the feature and don’t really care for amiibos 

[Gloves | 11,800]

4 minutes ago, phart010 said:

Cant you just program your phone to act like an Amiibo? Cheaper that way if you just want the feature and don’t really care for amiibos 

You can, yes. They use NFC technology - it's common for people to get NFC cards printed for like a buck a piece.

[chuppy44 | 56]

Hasn't this been the purpose of amiibos since day one?

People should be more upset that it's been 10 years since Skyward Sword came out and there hasn't been a proper original Zelda game in that entire time, only remakes and a few dynasty warriors and elder scrolls clones (hate both of those genres).

[Reed Rothchild | 9,551]

3 hours ago, chuppy44 said:

Hasn't this been the purpose of amiibos since day one?

People should be more upset that it's been 10 years since Skyward Sword came out and there hasn't been a proper original Zelda game in that entire time, only remakes and a few dynasty warriors and elder scrolls clones (hate both of those genres).

Link Between Worlds, Cadence of Hyrule

[Tanooki | 4,940]

8 hours ago, avatar! said:

Nope. For "only" 42% of the cost of the game you get... fast travel. Yay.
I know people collect the little dolls and that's fine. Nothing wrong with that! But, to effectively hide something so commonplace behind a $25 "microtransaction" - wow, that's super cheap.

 

Yeah, I'll say as much as this, more of my problem isn't that it's on an amiibo, but they're charging DOUBLE for that amiibo pretty much as I think $15 is standard.  If it were $15 then cool, it's just another like any other, and the feature doesn't change or help the game, it's fluff for the impatient.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Joke's on Nintendo. I was going to buy multiple overpriced Amiibo anyways! Take that... me?

Edited May 21, 2021 by DoctorEncore

[asmikace | 68]

Glad I never care for Skyward Sword.

[phart010 | 1,708]

11 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Link Between Worlds, Cadence of Hyrule

You forgot to mention Triforce Heroes

[avatar! | 1,820]

On 5/19/2021 at 7:21 PM, RegularGuyGamer said:

Jokes on you, no ones going to even be able to buy the amiibo or the Joycons at retail anyway. 

Indeed! Nintendo - supporting the livelihood of scalpers for heaven knows how long...

[bowser | 598]

7 hours ago, avatar! said:

Indeed! Nintendo - supporting the livelihood of scalpers for heaven knows how long...

I disagree... It's the people who are supporting scalpers. Nintendo makes enough stock these days for their products since the SNES classic.

It's bad business to flood the market with enough stock to cover the scalpers AND the general public.

But I believe they did that for Super Mario 3D All Stars and the Game & Watch. Now there are STILL unsold units sitting at retail as of this moment.

With this experience I think Nintendo is going to go back to producing enough stock only to cover the expected market demand and scalpers will again take over.

Edited May 23, 2021 by bowser

[Tanooki | 4,940]

Ugh that f'ing argument it is nintendo's fault.  Seriously?   Basic economics says otherwise.  There's supply, and there's demand.  Nintendo has no idea how much they need to supply, but they do know how much an oversupply could end up being, and that results in wasted inventory, loss of money, loss of money again with taxation yearly too.  It's a balancing game, and they do pump out more and more as the demand stays, but right now, we're in preorder of all things.

This is just straight up manipulation from douchebags and their sad assed enablers who allow it to continue.  It's no different than someone keeping a rack of booze in the house where an alcoholic is around, and getting pissed when the drunk shits the bed and is reeking of vomit passed out in it.  Sure the drunk could control themselves, but the enabler is making it too hard to resist by grabbing the supplies and dangling it in their face essentially.

That is what's going on with that screen capture of ebay.  You have idiot game addicts who want something, the enablers getting the stock and dangling it at them, and then the drunk unable to control themselves going in for the dive to get their snout full to feel better despite the fact the drunk could go to liquor barn (or the gamer could try any store) and get their own.  A case of the idiot addict taking the shortest path despite the cost.

Slash the enabler, not the addict.  Help the addict, and squash the enabler.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,551]

11 hours ago, avatar! said:

Indeed! Nintendo - supporting the livelihood of scalpers for heaven knows how long...

So flood the market or cultivate the brand?

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-05-06-nintendo-reports-record-full-year-profits-as-switch-nears-85m-units-sold

Of course it's easy for me to say that because I couldn't care less about dumb Amiibos are slightly different controllers.  But if I was large stockholder I'd be telling them to stay the course...

[bowser | 598]

1 hour ago, Reed Rothchild said:

So flood the market or cultivate the brand?

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-05-06-nintendo-reports-record-full-year-profits-as-switch-nears-85m-units-sold.

Of course it's easy for me to say that because I couldn't care less about dumb Amiibos are slightly different controllers.  But if I was large stockholder I'd be telling them to stay the course...

Link isn't working because of the period at the end.

[avatar! | 1,820]

4 hours ago, bowser said:

I disagree... It's the people who are supporting scalpers. Nintendo makes enough stock these days for their products since the SNES classic.

It's bad business to flood the market with enough stock to cover the scalpers AND the general public.

But I believe they did that for Super Mario 3D All Stars and the Game & Watch. Now there are STILL unsold units sitting at retail as of this moment.

With this experience I think Nintendo is going to go back to producing enough stock only to cover the expected market demand and scalpers will again take over.

It's true that scalpers scalp because there are people who are willing to pay those prices, BUT, if Nintendo met demand that would not happen. For years now, Nintendo has had shortages on their products including their dolls.

Nintendo Apologizes for Amiibo Shortages, Promises Better Communcication[sic]

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-apologizes-for-amiibo-shortages-promises-/1100-6427076/

Also, just because something does not sell out in a few months does not mean it has not been profitable, or very profitable. It's ridiculous to assume that every single copy of your game will always be sold out. That is not how business nor economics work!

[avatar! | 1,820]

4 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Nintendo has no idea how much they need to supply...

Slash the enabler, not the addict.  Help the addict, and squash the enabler.

You're saying that the number one video game company in the world that has had some 48 years worth of experience, can not estimate how much supply they'll need?? That's nonsense. Nintendo knows and can easily estimate how much supply to produce. The fact that they hold off supply (barring supply problems such as chip shortages) is of course a strategy. Or them simply being jerks. Maybe both. It draws attention to the product, and then increases demand, this is well known. Now, of course I agree that scalpers suck and I never support them, but you have people purchasing games for their kids etc. who simply don't want to let them down, and while it's easy to say "just tell the kids to wait" well, that's often easier said then done
And then of course there are people who suffer from FOMO - which is a real psychological disorder. Ultimately, I think the easiest way to "squash the enabler" as you say is for Nintendo to increase supply.

 

[bowser | 598]

3 hours ago, avatar! said:

It's true that scalpers scalp because there are people who are willing to pay those prices, BUT, if Nintendo met demand that would not happen. For years now, Nintendo has had shortages on their products including their dolls.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-apologizes-for-amiibo-shortages-promises-/1100-6427076/

That's an older article. I'm saying Nintendo has been better about their supply in the past few years ever since the SNES classic. They even reprinted their NES classic and there were multiple restocks of the Animal Crossing Switch. The Red & Blue Mario edition Switch also seems to have had decent stock. Tons of stock for Super Mario 3D All Stars and the Game & Watch.

Even if holding off supply was a strategy, that appears to be a thing of the past now.

[Tanooki | 4,940]

3 hours ago, avatar! said:

You're saying that the number one video game company in the world that has had some 48 years worth of experience, can not estimate how much supply they'll need?? That's nonsense. Nintendo knows and can easily estimate how much supply to produce. The fact that they hold off supply (barring supply problems such as chip shortages) is of course a strategy. Or them simply being jerks. Maybe both. It draws attention to the product, and then increases demand, this is well known. Now, of course I agree that scalpers suck and I never support them, but you have people purchasing games for their kids etc. who simply don't want to let them down, and while it's easy to say "just tell the kids to wait" well, that's often easier said then done
And then of course there are people who suffer from FOMO - which is a real psychological disorder. Ultimately, I think the easiest way to "squash the enabler" as you say is for Nintendo to increase supply.

 

Yes yes I am, and I mean it.  Sure they've done video games for over 40 years now, but that doesn't mean they have this magic crystal ball to understand just how much product they'll end up moving.  That's why it's smart to release stuff with a push up front for them, then as supply dries to kick more waves of product out to satisfy demand.  I mean they don't always win.  STEAM, Elite Beat Agents, and various other games have come out to much fanfare to then sit on shelves mostly unbought and within six months still aren't moving wit a $5-10 sticker slapped on them at big box stores and eventually if contracted such, shipped back to Nintendo as a loss.  Sure they could guess how much they need, but it's still gambling, and well, they're fairly chicken when it comes to gambling on how much to put out there and mostly have been since like forever.  Sometimes, let's be fair, mostly, it works for them, but then you have critical disasters like the WiiU which had 3 factory shut downs from manufacturing the things because no one bought them and sat on inventory.  Stuff like that they remember and cling to that fear.

Well I'll agree on the psychological disorder bits, the FOMO fools, the other ones who think it'll go up in price and panic and are the heart of the Fry(Futurama) meme of 'take my money' garbage too.  Sure Nintendo can increase supply, they do too, just not all at once.  Just because the preorder sold out doesn't mean any more manufactured during and since won't hit the stores as well.  Once those start clearing more will be onthe way and they can get a better feel on how ramped up to sustain that or grow, or if it's an issue, shunt it lower if not cut off entirely.