I have a small collection of amiibo. In fact, I probably own about 20 of them in all. Suffice to say, even in recent games, many times I have the means to unlock part or all of the amiibo-locked content that Nintendo develops for its games. Here's the thing I feel like nobody is discussing though: Putting a figurine against my controller to unlock something does not feel fun. It makes me feel like an exploited chump for owning the figurine.
When amiibo were announced as having storage to hold data, I, probably like many of you, thought that Nintendo intended on using them for interesting applications: i.e. trading data with friends, some sort of amiibo-only adventure game, and maybe even some sort of AR types of experiences. But at this point, Nintendo is simply using them as pay-walls for locked content. That doesn't feel like it's in the spirit of fairness to anyone.... not even owners of the figurines. Every time I hold a figurine over my controller to unlock something, the thought isn't "Wow this is cool." It's more "Wow, you got me Nintendo." They aren't even using their own medium in a fun way. In other words, they aren't doing anything to take advantage of amiibo's unique attributes. They're simply used as a physical form of DLC.
And with the recent thread about the unlocks in Metroid: Samus Returns, a hard mode and gallery that are locked behind amiibo, - things that came standard in Metroid Zero Mission, I have to say, it's truly becoming ridiculous.
If you want to charge me to unlock portions of a videogame that used to be included in the base package, then FINE. I understand the rising costs of development. Make it DLC. But DLC locked behind amiibo just feels unenjoyable even when you own the figurine. Unlocking something with amiibo provides literally no satisfaction. It feels like a chore to even hold the figuring up to the right part of the controller for the amount of time required for the read/write process to occur.
And the fact that you need so many damn figures to access all of the content is just exploitative. It would be one thing if all the Metroid or Zelda amiibo unlocked the same stuff in their respective franchises. But no, you need multiple Zelda amiibo, multiple Metroid amiibo, etc, for each game.
If you like collecting amiibo, FINE. This thread isn't against the figures themselves. Collect them and by all means, enjoy. But if you actually enjoy holding the figure up to a controller to unlock something that should have been there in the first place, I must ask: Why? How is this better than straight DLC or an in-game unlock.
It's the worst form of a content-paywall in the industry. It's worse than generic DLC, and it's worse than randomized loot-crates. I'd go so far as to say that even if amiibo were free and available to everyone, it would still feel like a bad way to lock content. Holding up a figurine to a controller completely breaks the flow of a gaming session. It takes too long and is not at all fun or interesting. It's a lazy implementation. And the totally cost prohibitive aspect of collecting amiibo makes it even worse. Amiibo are not used in any way that's interesting or enjoyable and they're a total blemish (albeit a small one) on nearly every recent title which incorporates them.
When amiibo were announced as having storage to hold data, I, probably like many of you, thought that Nintendo intended on using them for interesting applications: i.e. trading data with friends, some sort of amiibo-only adventure game, and maybe even some sort of AR types of experiences. But at this point, Nintendo is simply using them as pay-walls for locked content. That doesn't feel like it's in the spirit of fairness to anyone.... not even owners of the figurines. Every time I hold a figurine over my controller to unlock something, the thought isn't "Wow this is cool." It's more "Wow, you got me Nintendo." They aren't even using their own medium in a fun way. In other words, they aren't doing anything to take advantage of amiibo's unique attributes. They're simply used as a physical form of DLC.
And with the recent thread about the unlocks in Metroid: Samus Returns, a hard mode and gallery that are locked behind amiibo, - things that came standard in Metroid Zero Mission, I have to say, it's truly becoming ridiculous.
If you want to charge me to unlock portions of a videogame that used to be included in the base package, then FINE. I understand the rising costs of development. Make it DLC. But DLC locked behind amiibo just feels unenjoyable even when you own the figurine. Unlocking something with amiibo provides literally no satisfaction. It feels like a chore to even hold the figuring up to the right part of the controller for the amount of time required for the read/write process to occur.
And the fact that you need so many damn figures to access all of the content is just exploitative. It would be one thing if all the Metroid or Zelda amiibo unlocked the same stuff in their respective franchises. But no, you need multiple Zelda amiibo, multiple Metroid amiibo, etc, for each game.
If you like collecting amiibo, FINE. This thread isn't against the figures themselves. Collect them and by all means, enjoy. But if you actually enjoy holding the figure up to a controller to unlock something that should have been there in the first place, I must ask: Why? How is this better than straight DLC or an in-game unlock.
It's the worst form of a content-paywall in the industry. It's worse than generic DLC, and it's worse than randomized loot-crates. I'd go so far as to say that even if amiibo were free and available to everyone, it would still feel like a bad way to lock content. Holding up a figurine to a controller completely breaks the flow of a gaming session. It takes too long and is not at all fun or interesting. It's a lazy implementation. And the totally cost prohibitive aspect of collecting amiibo makes it even worse. Amiibo are not used in any way that's interesting or enjoyable and they're a total blemish (albeit a small one) on nearly every recent title which incorporates them.
