amiibo (NFC)

[Ronnie]

The DLC will come when they finally release the £1 Smash Bros cards they've been talking about

[Glen-i]

Exactly.

 

So you have the feasible stuff as cheap DLC. Amiibo owners will unlock the stuff for free in multiple games, as well as having all the unique features.

 

Win-Win for everyone.

 

Do you honestly believe people wouldn't whine about that though?

You'd be amazed how much people can complain when they have to pay for something.

 

Let's be honest, if they sold the content for a couple pounds without the figurines then everyone would be screaming bloody murder. Does anyone disagree with that?

 

Basically, what he said.

 

The DLC will come when they finally release the £1 Smash Bros cards they've been talking about

 

I'm not so confident about that...

 

And who's "they"?

I've heard no official info of this.

[Daft]

Difference is that one amiibo works across multiple titles.

 

Let's take the Mario amiibo

 

You have:

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS - Read/Write - Figure Player (Not feasible as downloadable content)

Mario Party 10 - Read/Write - amiibo Party character (Not feasible as downloadable content) + Special daily item (Not feasible as downloadable content)

Hyrule Warriors - Read - Random weapon, item or rupees each day (Not feasible as downloadable content)

Mario Kart 8 - Read - amiibo Costume (Could be DLC in theory)

Captain Toad Treasure Tracker - 1-up a day (Not feasible as downloadable content)

amiibo Touch & Play - Read - Gives access to a special trial of a game (Not feasible as downloadable content)

Yoshi's Woolly World - Read - amiibo Costume (Could be DLC in theory)

Super Mario Maker - Read - amiibo Costume (Not feasible as DLC considering you can get it without the amiibo)

One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X - Read - amiibo Costume (Could be DLC in theory)

Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy + - Read - Special amiibo Planes (Could be DLC in theory)

Style Savvy 3 - Read - amiibo Costume (Could be DLC in theory) + Special daily item (Not feasible as downloadable content)

Chibi Robo Zip Lash - Read - Special Chibi Robo Figurine Pose (Not entirely feasible as DLC but could be)

Hyrule Warriors Legends - Read - Random weapon, item or rupees each day (Not feasible as downloadable content)

 

So for one £10.99 amiibo, you have 13 games compatible with it, with more to come, and most of which are not feasible as DLC.

 

That doesn't really change the fact that they're micro-transactions. If you can justify them then great.

 

I don't really understand what you mean by 'not feasible as downloadable content'. Witcher 3 had (I think) seven weeks of two bits small DLC released. Rocket League just had a free stadium released as well as paid aesthetic items. I don't really understand what's different; how come the DLC is feasible for those games and not the ones you listed.

[Ronnie]

I hope Nintendo never go down the pay money for aesthetic items in a game route.

[Cube]

I hope Nintendo never go down the pay money for aesthetic items in a game route.

 

But paid aesthetic items are one type of DLC which isn't really a problem.

 

And a large part of Amiibo is paid aesthetic items.

[Ronnie]

Let's see Rocket League release paid DLC that gives you aesthetic items and other perks in a dozen unrelated games.

[Serebii]

That doesn't really change the fact that they're micro-transactions. If you can justify them then great.

 

I don't really understand what you mean by 'not feasible as downloadable content'. Witcher 3 had (I think) seven weeks of two bits small DLC released. Rocket League just had a free stadium released as well as paid aesthetic items. I don't really understand what's different; how come the DLC is feasible for those games and not the ones you listed.

I don't think you understand DLC or microtransactions if you think the features I listed can be DLC...

[Cube]

Let's see Rocket League release paid DLC that gives you aesthetic items and other perks in a dozen unrelated games.

 

Which is why I said Amiibo still have an advantage if Nintendo also offered the content as paid DLC.

[Daft]

I don't think you understand DLC or microtransactions if you think the features I listed can be DLC...

 

I literally said I don't understand, which means could you ******* explain it, not give me some useless passive aggressive remark.

 

Soz for the swears mods. Ban away. I got this kind of curt response for Serebii literally the last time I was on these boards. I'm done.

 

Let's see Rocket League release paid DLC that gives you aesthetic items and other perks in a dozen unrelated games.

 

Yeah, if you're really invested in the eco system I can see that making sense. I guess the sheer quantity of Amiibos starts to become a factor, though. What you get in breadth across titles diminishes for each Amiibo that you don't have too, no?

 

Maybe this isn't a problem practically. I just feel like I'd have a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. That's the same nagging feeling that made me buy that stupid Destiny Taken King Collectors Edition – I'm definitely not saying I'm above these things – but that's an £80 pop compared to the, let's say conservatively 30 Amiibo figures at £10 each....£300 needed to get all that content. Even if it is across 10 or so games.

 

I don't really have any answers. I'm just asking what you guys think.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Daft
There was a swear word. I removed it. I didn't want to. I just thought it best.

[Glen-i]

I don't really have any answers. I'm just asking what you guys think.

 

I know this probably won't help, but I literally bought all 3 of my amiibos for the figurines themselves.

I knew full well that Greninja would have very little unique usage, but it didn't stop me, because I really like Greninja.

 

So my philosophy is that if you're buying amiibos purely for the content, you're buying them for the wrong reasons.

[Daft]

As someone who has 30+ DC Collectibles (I'm lying, it's like more than forty and that includes my Swamp Thing, Lex Luthor and Darkseid 15" Deluxe figures), I get that. I guess it's a bit convoluted by the DLC. Would be nice if they unlocked the DLC for everyone after a year independently for each game (as opposed to the figure, so the figure retains its value for providing DLC). But then if the DLC isn't that big a deal, sounds like I'm over thinking it.

 

DLC doesn't bother me so much as the fragmentation of DLC. Crap like retailer exclusives and the like.

[Rummy]

Caveat:Typed this damn post about an 2 hours ago, then didn't hit the button.

 

Wasn't there a thing at some point that said Amiibo could only hold writeable data for one game at a time? I can see this as a solution to that if there isn't an official one, at least.

 

But I can also see this totally addressing some of the gaps in both the market and implementation of the system, and I can't say I wholly disagree with all of its potential uses given the lack of alternative for such as Shiekah mentioned above re: content.

 

I wonder how legal it is. Is it even possible to steal NFC codes?

 

Why not? I'd imagine it falls under the same intellectual property issues that the whole internet/digital piracy comes into to. If I use NFC to copy a song from your phone to mine - where's the real difference?

[Ronnie]

I honestly think if you asked 100 people why they bought their amiibo, the vast majority would say for the figurines themselves, and that the in-game content is a nice little bonus on top.

[Sheikah]

I honestly think if you asked 100 people why they bought their amiibo, the vast majority would say for the figurines themselves, and that the in-game content is a nice little bonus on top.

 

That pretty much sums up why it doesn't really make much sense not to sell the DLC separately as well (or, preferably, not paywall day 1 content off at all).

 

Games like LittleBigPlanet have shown how you can buy outfits for something like less than a pound if that's all you want, with no additional purchase required. It's fine if you want to buy amiibo anyway but if you don't, you're worse off.

 

I keep hearing how amiibo are great value and are giving you all these things. In many cases though they're not actually giving you anything, just unlocking the content you already have on the disc you paid for.

 

Well, it's not exactly a big issue because I doubt something like this device will cripple amiibo sales. But really, given the small Wii U userbase, I very much think they could afford to sell the DLC for peanuts on their store (or preferably make it free after a month) without really affecting their amiibo sales.

[Ashley]

Personally I'd be fine if they sold a small 'all DLC content' kind of NFC chip that sells for much less and gives you it all without the need for plastic tat that I have no interest in. And I don't even care if they'd have to release new ones every year/quarter/whatever.

[Londragon]

Caveat:Typed this damn post about an 2 hours ago, then didn't hit the button.

 

Wasn't there a thing at some point that said Amiibo could only hold writeable data for one game at a time?

 

I'm pretty positive that it's an ongoing thing that'll never be resolved due to the size of the data chip implemented in the Amiibos.

[Serebii]

I'm pretty positive that it's an ongoing thing that'll never be resolved due to the size of the data chip implemented in the Amiibos.

Affordable NFC chips are all such small capacity, yeah. Many people don't seem to understand it and just trash Nintendo for it. The technology just isn't there yet..

[Rummy]

You do realise that Nintendo made the choice to use it though, right? You're making out like it's something completely out of their hands...

 

I'm pretty positive that it's an ongoing thing that'll never be resolved due to the size of the data chip implemented in the Amiibos.

 

And is there any sort of facility on/via the WiiU/NFC games to back the data up to re-write later, at least? Like if I wiped my Smash amiibo to play something else amiibo writeable? I'd hazard a guess there is as I recall Smash appear to be re-writing to my amiibo after a corrupt read/write from a save on the console maybe, but I don't know if that's something across the board or if it'll count the same if I actively change the use of my amiibo to another game.

[Cube]

Affordable NFC chips are all such small capacity, yeah. Many people don't seem to understand it and just trash Nintendo for it. The technology just isn't there yet..

 

They could add better backup/restore options. They could easily automatically store the backup data on the console.

 

This would mean that when you take it elsewhere, it would simply use the data from the last read/write game it was used in. To switch, simply scan it into another read/write game.

[Serebii]

You do realise that Nintendo made the choice to use it though, right? You're making out like it's something completely out of their hands...

 

 

 

And is there any sort of facility on/via the WiiU/NFC games to back the data up to re-write later, at least? Like if I wiped my Smash amiibo to play something else amiibo writeable? I'd hazard a guess there is as I recall Smash appear to be re-writing to my amiibo after a corrupt read/write from a save on the console maybe, but I don't know if that's something across the board or if it'll count the same if I actively change the use of my amiibo to another game.

The choice would be either this, or an unaffordable consumer NFC chip that would increase the price.

[Rummy]

That's a nice false dichotomy there. Myself, and Cube just now, already presented further options to support the choice. At the end of the day though - Nintendo make the choices on their tech; pros and cons should be considered and they should be held accountable, the consumer shouldn't be blamed for 'not understanding'.

[Serebii]

That's a nice false dichotomy there. Myself, and Cube just now, already presented further options to support the choice. At the end of the day though - Nintendo make the choices on their tech; pros and cons should be considered and they should be held accountable, the consumer shouldn't be blamed for 'not understanding'.

Backup has nothing to do with them making the choice of going for an affordable NFC chip. Pros and cons were considered.

 

I do agree they should include backup software, but blaming Nintendo for the limits of NFC technology is ridiculous.

[Rummy]

Who's blaming them for the limits of NFC technology here, exactly? I'm blaming them for their choices in technology and lack of compensation for it otherwise.

[Serebii]

Who's blaming them for the limits of NFC technology here, exactly? I'm blaming them for their choices in technology and lack of compensation for it otherwise.

You are...

 

They have little choice if they want to use NFC. It's that simple. Yes, backup will probably be useful down the road but this is barely even an issue right now.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Serebii

[Ronnie]

I keep hearing how amiibo are great value and are giving you all these things. In many cases though they're not actually giving you anything, just unlocking the content you already have on the disc you paid for.

 

Come back to us when Arkham Knight DLC unlocks skins in Rocket League, Uncharted 4, Journey and extra features in another dozen unrelated games. Then complain about the poor value of amiibo.