I remember when amiibo first came out, they were so hard to find. The demand was crazy and the price wasn’t unreasonable for what you got: a well-sculpted figure that had an NFC chip. It was Nintendo’s entry into the then-crowded toys to life genre but rather than build an entire game around the toys, Nintendo did what Nintendo does and did their own interpretation of the concept. They instead made their toys game-agnostic so that they could potentially work across multiple games. Plus, they weren’t central to the gaming experience. Where by now we’ve seen toys to life games shuttered and nothing but a distant memory (Skylanders, LEGO Dimensions, Disney Infinity), amiibo is still going strong with Nintendo continuing to release new figures and new themes.
When amiibo debuted, the price per figure was $12.99 with 3-packs logically priced at $35.99. That was about 11 years ago back in 2014. More recently, MSRP rose to $15.99 when the Legend of Zelda series came out in 2017. I still found that price to be reasonable given inflation and the rising cost of goods. You get neat in-game features depending on which amiibo you’re using on a particular game and the whole experience was meant to be just fun little bonuses or making your game settings portable and convenient.
But now, they have skyrocketed to a whopping $29.99 for the new Tears of the Kingdom amiibo of the four sages. That is nearly double the previous MSRP. The price hike is most likely due to the stupid tariff situation. This report at ComicBook.com details the original price of the new TotK amiibo going up from $19.99 to $29.99*. At $19.99 I could have accepted it as a natural rise in the cost of goods, but at $29.99 it’s laughable and an easy pass. Because what’s the value that you’re getting out of them? A 4-inch tall, non-poseable figure? Some random in-game items, a chance for a paraglider fabric and maybe a weapon? A portable save file for your settings? (This price hike only affects the new amiibo; the ones that are currently available are unaffected)
While those are nice-to-have, none of them are must-have and even if they were, would they justify the $29.99 price tag? Not really. You can get a whole set of Zelda NFC cards off of eBay for about the same price or less, or make your own for even cheaper. I’m not suggesting you go and buy such a set; it’s not something I would do personally but given a choice between the two in these uncertain economic times, if I had a meager budget I know which choice I would most likely make. Especially considering how much more expensive everything related to the Switch 2 is going to be now.
And it seems the general Nintendo fan feels the same. Newly release amiibo would sell out quickly and the unlucky ones would have to wait weeks and months before being to find them online or on store shelves at MSRP without resorting to scalper prices. But as I write this all of the new amiibo that were announced alongside the Switch 2 are still available for preorder. That $29.99 price might be past the tipping point of what fans are willing to pay.
This price hike may seem insignificant especially if you were not an amiibo collector before, but it serves as a microcosm of just how stupid the tariffs are and they’re impact. If nobody buys them at the higher price, they’ll hit a sale or a clearance price eventually making it more affordable to get. But Nintendo might look at the low sales figures and think that amiibo are not worth making anymore because people weren’t buying enough of them.
Job or no job the price of these things are ridiculous. It is unpredictable if the tariffs will be lifted. And if that happens it doesn’t necessarily mean the prices of these things will go down to normal level. Which, if that ComicBook.com article is to be believed would have been $19.99. I understand things can’t always stay cheap forever. A gallon of gas is longer under a buck, a comic book can’t be found for .75 cents, and a pack of gum is no longer a quarter. Prices rise for everything. amiibo would have eventually hit $29.99 and still seem affordable and reasonable, but we are not there yet. I like my amiibo collection, but I’m going to have to wait a while to get any new ones.
* The Street Fighter 6 amiibo is a whole other level of crazy stupid. That ComicBook.com report says that the original intended MSRP was $29.99 but now they are listed as $39.99. Is the extra ten bucks a Capcom tax that players have to pay? Thankfully, you can buy the Street Fighter 6 22-card amiibo set featuring all the Year 1 characters for the same cost as a single figure, $39.99.
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