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The Aluminum Strip Under the Amiibo...

I have a strong feeling that Amiibo reads will be easily spoofable with an NFC capable phone so it might not matter that much in the end to protect sales. This sort of thing can also introduce a reverse problem of digital tampering (ie using your phone to insert bad data onto the Amiibo in stores). I don't know how far they thought ahead with this but that's another reason you'd want you'd want to prevent in package scanning.
 
I think it's fair if a toy company doesn't cater to a small subset of audience who likes to collect mint in box when they're making a toy that is meant to be played (or looks cool when put on Wii U). Aren't collectors are usually the ones who make an effort? I collected toys for years, joined communities etc and this seems to be the case.
 
Actually that's a good point. Forget the collector's issue. Most collecters buy two anyways. But why would you not want a scanning platform in the store?

I'm sure they can add a few demo units to the demo displays in stores. That isn't a big deal.

Amiibo aren't being used like the other figure games, it's not like you need to unlock mario, and need the figure in order to get a preview of what he looks like in game.
 
I can't really blame Nintendo for stopping people from buying Amiibos, scanning them, then returning them unopened for a refund.

I understand toy collectors who wish to display mint packaging. But at the end of the day, if you wish to play with at toy it must be unpacked. Grabbing Amiibos and using them is how they are played with. It is what it is.
 
Actually that's a good point. Forget the collector's issue. Most collecters buy two anyways. But why would you not want a scanning platform in the store?

The Skylanders store demos that I've seen have a couple figures out of the packaging (secured with a wire) that you can scan. Surely Nintendo could do the same.

I don't know if Skylanders/Disney Infinity let you customize the figurines with a name once scanned, but I'd assume that's the biggest worry here. Imagine scanning in your freshly purchased Luigi to see it named KuntDestroyer360 already. Or course you can erase data, but yeah. Once the New 3DS releases that would be a real issue.
 
This actually sucks from a marketting perspective too.

Stores usually have a demo spot for Skylanders and Disney infinity where you can scan the toys (still in their packages) and see them come to life on screen before purchase. Its a smart idea.

They could do the exact same thing except have the demo versions out of the packaging- pretty simple solution.
 
These people will soon be complaining they can't play their console with out removing it from the box.
I don't know about theses aiimbo things but I'm sure unopened ones will be worth more money.
 
But why would you not want a scanning platform in the store?

Why would they need it? They're not like Skylanders.

*scans for Smash Bros* Wow, a personalized character that I can spend hours training and leveling up, which definitely won't occur in the 5 minutes I'll spend at this kiosk!

*scans for Mario Kart 8* Wow, some new costumes to show off in online races, which I can't play at the store anyway!

The demo units they have at stores now work just fine. Simulate swiping the amiibo with a touchscreen, show off the character and their history, and what games they can be used in.
 
If they wanted to be like the competition, they could has put QR codes in the bottom of the package and had a QR code reader to put them on.
 
As one of those obnoxious collectors, this does make me sad. But I understand completely why Nintendo did what they did. It makes sense to me, and I can't fault them for it. If I could think of a realistic proper alternative to the aluminum strip, I would be pissed. But I can't. So I must accept it.
 
But to play with almost every toy you have to take it out the package first…

No quiet. Nintendo is evil! How dare they not allow me to use my item and keep it in the box?! While we are at it I want every comic book page to be wrapped individually so I can still read it yet keep it in its original package.
 
For the record, has anyone actually made an android app for NFC devices that spoofs Skylanders yet? If so, they have a legit reason to avoid this.
 
You are vastly over estimating the amount of effort a minimum wage retail worker will put in to making sure that they are completely unopened during returns. If the box looks intact, they will take it, especially if the customer throws a fit. They aren't going to check for a removable piece of foil.

It would require removal of a portion of the plastic blister. Likely just the bottom with a tearaway strip of plastic.

Anyway it shouldn't be too hard to take a razor or xacto knife and cut away the plastic to remove the aluminum strip if you wanted to.
 
Keep the amiibo in a back room.
Problem solved.
And if people want to see what they look like before purchase have all of them inside a display case in the store where no one can scan them.

I don't see why it would be so difficult

You've never worked at a retailer then. I do. No way we'd make room for that and we don't exactly have a small back room. During holiday season you can't even walk back there.
 
You've never worked at a retailer then. I do. No way we'd make room for that and we don't exactly have a small back room. During holiday season you can't even walk back there.

It's really an untold horror of retail during the holidays. You hear complaints about customers, hours worked, and so on, but rarely is the stockroom brought up. It's completely packed. Boxes upon boxes haphazardly stacked one on top of another. "Clear areas" that are marked to be clear 24/7 are filled with overstock and returns.

It's a nightmare. Honestly I'd rather deal with shitty customers than sort through that disaster zone.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.
 
It's a normal security tag, it's to prevent people for stealing the things from stores. It's likely coincidental that it's able to double as an NFC blocker, and even then, I'm sure Nintendo doesn't want to deal with people buying the toys are returning them after use, since they will likely have single use activations down the road.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.
It's valid, but not sound. And trust me, I hate the foil coin under them more than a lot of people out there.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.

If you are not using them as toys to stick on a shelf or gaming aids to scan stuff into your game then just buy one and don't open it.
 
Prevents people from scanning through the plastic to get the goodies and return it.

Not to mention that 3DS will use the NFC stuff with Amiibo as well. And the N3DS has a NFC built in, this would lead to people just scanning Amiibos in stores without buying them. So they're thinking ahead of time.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.

I don't see how that makes it more valid. It's called speculation for a reason.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.

If you have no plan on using it, then how is this a valid complaint that you need to take it out the package to use it? What you said makes absolutely no sense.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.

If it's not a gaming aid, then being able to use it shouldn't matter.
Furthermore, as an investment, the presence of the strip should help show future buyers that the NFC device hasn't been used.
 
You can't have it be an "investment" and also want to use it for it's intended purpose. Unfortunately for the small percentage of people that fall in this niche they will have to be one or the other. I can't be a GI Joe "collector" and then complain that I don't get to use my figure's kung fu grip without taking him out of the package.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.

Har. Enjoy keeping 20 square feet of plastic and cardboard around as an "investment," maybe in 30 years you'll have made a couple hundred bucks.
 
Viewing collectibles as "investments" is a terrible waste of time and money. I say this as someone who spent years watching the buildup of and months helping to get rid of a lifetime's worth of speculative Star Wars memorabilia, including a vanful of exploding expired Episode I Pepsi products. Buy them, enjoy them, but don't bank on them.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.

Unless otherwise stated, toy companies will package toys as they intend to do. "Long-term investments", mint-in-box collecting is a subculture that spawns from collectors that value toys more than what it is. It's not the manufacturer's responsibility to cater to these people if they simply want people to buy and play with their toys.

I've seen people (not here) complaining about toy reissues which lowers the collectibility value which is insane. Complaining that more people can enjoy what you enjoy is just bad.
 
I would assume it's so people with New 3DSs can't just go around in stores scanning everything? And, in general, preventing any tampering to the NFC tag before someone gets a chance to buy it? Perfectly logical, really.

If collectors are worried about them being "mint" then they'll never use them anyway.
 
The Wii U also doesn't let you play a game still in its case with the plastic wrapping. How is this fair to collector's or people who don't want to open the game? Fucking bullshit Nintendo.
 
Some people in this thread need to realise that for some of us, these products are long-term investements. Not toys, not gaming aids. This complain is valid.

This post make no fucking sense.

If you claim you're not going to use them for toy or gaming purposes, they why do you want to take them out of the box to begin with? Then buy it, stick it on a shelf, and let it be.

Second of all, these are mass produced figures that have a relatively low cost as far as collectable shit goes. If you can honestly believe that these would be an "investment," then you should buy 2 since in the long run they'll be worth more than they are now so you'll still come out ahead. But you shouldn't need to because they're not toys or gaming aids, so wtf.

Third, I still can't believe you would consider these cheap, mass-produced toys as "investments." Feel free to quote this post when you're on the beaches of Aruba enjoying the vast riches from your Amiibo investment fund. There's nothing wrong with collecting, or even collecting to potently make a buck in the future, but if you do you have to realize that you can either play with your toy, or keep it in the box. You can't have both unless you buy 2.

Sorry if this post seems snarky, I just cannot comprehend why there is an outrage. Maybe I should take my brain out of it's package so I can use it and try to figure this out. Oh wait... I want to display it on my shelf though...
 
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