Reggie Fils-Aimes Interview Producing New Amiibo

Collecting Amiibo is a rewarding but frustrating experience for Nintendo fans. With the figures in short supply and scalpers scooping up Amiibo pre-orders and in-game stock, buying one at the MSRP is nearly impossible for many gamers.

Nintendo initially planned to release Amiibo cards to make up for the sold-out stock of less-popular characters, but fans reacted poorly to the idea of a card instead of an actual figure. A recent interview with Reggie Fils Amie, President of Nintendo of America, confirms that Nintendo has heard the outcry for more Amiibo.

The interview was held by the Wall Street Journal, focusing specifically on Amiibo and the new Amiibo and Skylanders crossover figures announced during Nintendo's E3 2015 presentation. When asked about the shortage of existing Amiibo characters, Reggie had this to say:

"We are producing Amiibo as quickly as we can and getting them out into the marketplace as quickly as we can. ...There’s a huge amount of demand and that demand is even more concentrated in the Americas. It is a manufacturing process that takes some time and we had to scale up our supply chain, and it’s still scaling up to try and meet that demand."

Reggie also pointed out that the two-thirds of the demand for Amiibo comes from the United States, Canada, and Latin America, indicating that Japan is less enthused about the collectible game-interacting figures. Furthermore, in just the last 30 days, Nintendo has sold over 1 million Amiibo in the United States alone.

Nintendo Producing Amiibo As Fast As Possible

Fans of Amiibo may be pleased to know that Nintendo is taking the demand seriously, and it's just taking some time to churn out the number of figures needed to meet demand. However, it's still concerning that Nintendo continues to release store exclusives, which have resulted in such overwhelming demand in the past that Gamestop's website and in-store preordering system crashed. While this is great for retail stores like Target and Gamestop, it leaves many gamers unable to acquire the Amiibo they want, and with no choice but to turn to overpriced listings on eBay.

With any luck, the days of Amiibo scarcity will soon be but a memory, and dedicated fans will be able to complete their sets. Nintendo would also be able to improve their profits drastically over the holiday shopping season if they can increase their output prior to winter, so it's a win-win for both sides.

Source: Wall Street Journal