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Nintendo Acknowledges Amiibo Shortage, Promises Improvement

By Rebekah Valentine

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In a post to their official Facebook page today, Nintendo of America has acknowledged that the situation revolving around their popular amiibo figures has been…less than ideal.

The fan community has long complained about the amiibo shortage, which are desirable toys both as additions to gameplay on certain Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games, but also popular collectables. Many figurines are in high demand and are very difficult to obtain, while less-desirable figurines sit on store shelves long enough to be put on clearance. Scalpers, too, have hurt the economy, selling in-demand amiibos for five or six times their worth, and store-exclusives, short notice releases, and low supply have necessitated Twitter and reddit communities just for keeping track of amiibo availability for those who want them.

What seems to be most frustrating was that up til now, Nintendo refused to acknowledge that they had dropped a ball or two on amiibos. Finally though, they offered collectors and enthusiasts a ray of hope:

"We appreciate the enthusiasm that our fans continue to show toward amiibo. Sales for the product have exceeded our expectations. We understand how frustrating it can be at times if consumers are unable to find certain figures, and we apologize for that.We’re trying to meet the demands of our fans and consumers by increasing the amount of amiibo we manufacture and ship to retail. We may continue to see consumer demand outpace supply levels for certain characters at times, but we will do our best to prevent that from happening.As our library of amiibo continues to grow, some figures will be easier to find than others. We are constantly looking for the opportunity to reissue amiibo and are already making plans to bring back some currently out-of-stock amiibo figures. Stay tuned for details."

Though not a concrete promise, this demonstrates that Nintendo is aware of the shortage and is working to correct the problem, particularly on in-demand figures. We’ll have to look forward to seeing what they actually do. Perhaps the next wave of amiibo in the United States will be handled well enough that those who work day jobs or are in school will have a chance at snagging one. If not, those adorable yarn Yoshis may never be seen outside of eBay.

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