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Why is Gaf so obsessed with amibo's?

Monty Mole said:
Pretty much my stance but didn't have the balls to say/troll ;)

It does baffle me why anyone would want to collect toy figures like this, but then I'm assuming many of those doing it are young/teen-GAF. I'm 33 - I think I'd be sent to a mental asylum if I was collecting amibos!
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I don't know why you would think that. Lots of gaffers are way past 30 years old and still collect Amiibos. There's nothing "crazy" about that.

I'm a Nintendo fan but I don't see the point in those, but if people like them, then more power to them I guess.
 
ViciousDS said:
Why does this sound like what Apple owners do lol. VR could exist for 5+ years but as soon as apple does it, the normal user will obsess over it.
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I think its a good analogy... But since I'm an Apple user I have a frowny face now >;(
 
Amir0x said:
No Amen, if you're a Nintendo fan and dismiss Amiibos you have to hand in your Nintendo fancard. I had to do the same thing with my own apparently, they sent a letter in the mail. Was kind of depressing.
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I understand why some people could be put off and/or not interested in Amiibo's but at the same time these figures are well crafted for what they are. Fox, Mega Man, and Toon Link are so far the best looking ones to me. Granted for some like Samus you could spend the extra money and get a much more robust figure like this but some people like to have figures in miniature form where they can place multiple of these things on a desk for display with ease. Their small so one or two amiibo's won't clutter up your desk unless you wanna get more.
 
I was going to buy them all, or at least try to.
But then scalpers went crazy about it and decided to not care at all.
Can't wait for the card ones, as I will be able to buy/collect those without having to refresh a website every 2 sec to pre-order.
 
ElBoxyBrown said:
I understand why some people could be put off and/or not interested in Amiibo's but at the same time these figures are well crafted for what they are. Fox, Mega Man, and Toon Link are so far the best looking ones to me. Granted for some like Samus you could spend the extra money and get a much better figure but like this but some like it in miniature form where they can place multiple of these things on a desk for display with ease. Their small so one or two amiibo's won't clutter up your desk unless you wanna get more.
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I mean my problem is that given their actual functionality, it's not worth the price as a collectible itself. So since I don't like what their function is most of the time, it's really down to how it is as a collectible. If it was like six bucks maybe it'd be worth it, but many of the Amiibos look straight up cheap. I got three Amiibos as a gift from my fiancee and I ordered Ness Amiibo. But even the best looking ones just have a lame look and feel... cheapness.

For the price I guess you can only expect so much, but I guess that's my issue. It doesn't really function well as a collectible toy (falls short, I'd rather spend somewhat more on a higher quality statue) and its actual special console functionality has been beyond poorly inspired so far. I was really hoping Nintendo had a more special idea in mind frankly, because as I said they somehow made the games-as-toys concept worse than Disney and Activision. I never expected that.
 
BocoDragon said:
I think its a good analogy... But since I'm an Apple user I have a frowny face now >;(
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depends though. I more or less are talking about those that only live and die the apple cycle (or die by their phones XD). They are stuck in Macbook pro's only, apple products. The ones who use them as there only source of tech and electronic ecosystem.

Smart Watches have been around for years but know the only time my boss said anything about them or thought it was the coolest thing ever was when apple announced them.
 
Because they are gaming figurines. Figurines representing some characters from some very known and very old gaming franchises.
I think?
 
Amir0x said:
I mean my problem is that given their actual functionality, it's not worth the price as a collectible itself. So since I don't like what their function is most of the time, it's really down to how it is as a collectible. If it was like six bucks maybe it'd be worth it, but many of the Amiibos look straight up cheap. I got three Amiibos as a gift from my fiancee and I ordered Ness Amiibo. But even the best looking ones just have a lame look and feel... cheapness.

For the price I guess you can only expect so much, but I guess that's my issue. It doesn't really function well as a collectible toy (falls short, I'd rather spend somewhat more on a higher quality statue) and its actual special console functionality has been beyond poorly inspired so far. I was really hoping Nintendo had a more special idea in mind frankly, because as I said they somehow made the games-as-toys concept worse than Disney and Activision. I never expected that.
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What amiibo's did you get?
 
The only qualm I have is that the characters such as Mario already have like a thousand different statues/figurines. I have no interest in having yet another one of those in my room. Sometimes I wonder how many people have like a hundred Links standing in a row. Not saying it is a bad thing, but personally I do not see the appeal of that.

What I think is cool though is that there are characters represented such as Shulk. Probably the only figurines you'll get off those.

But the lesser known characters are not all that well known and I doubt that those are the reason for good sales/obsession outside of gaf. Weren't those characters really limited in production? I think most people with a WiiU just like having some of the trademark characters with Smash, which is why sales are well. Also I think the idea of the fairly big chance that they sell out soon pushes a lot of (collecting) people over the edge to buy it straight ahead (which helps the craze).

Gaf is often difficult to compare with the general market though. Just look at platinum games or the WiiU username for example.

(I have no specific salesfigures or anything, so please correct me if you know I'm wrong. I know that they do well, however).
 
It's the promise. Amiibos are full of promise. Awesome games using the NFC feature like never before. The value that is only gonna skyrocket later and the pleasure of showing off your ultra rare collectible to someone in the distant future who might care for it even a bit.

All in the far a way future so the promise is even bigger!

and their cute!

plus the thing he said:
impact said:
because GAF likes Nintendo and collecting pointless shit. Combine those two and you've got a hit!
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I bought Samus and Fox to battle the miniature Dalek on my office desk.

They are reasonably priced toys from franchises that got no attention for a long time. Also unlocking certain things like Marth and Ike in STEAM should help too.
 
Coolwhip said:
Lots of people of GAF collect gaming toys.

... which is kinda sad if you ask me. If you're an adult. But eh.
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Everybody has a hobby. I used to be really judgmental towards My Little Pony fans but now I get it. If that's their thing then it's just fine. Collecting Nintendo figures shouldn't be considered as dumb or childish, no matter how old you are.
 
I don't see myself buying any of these but some people really seem to hate them with their soul... I mean, do you have a "badass" Kratos or Master Chief figurine? This is the same. Actually, this are a little more useful.

kubus said:
My house is mine and I'll decorate it with things I like. I will never understand why people decorate their house to impress guests.
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Well said.
 
Nintendo is at the forefront of old-school collectable gaming merchandise, ahead of Capcom, Sega and SNK, and they put a lot of it out, so people go nuts for it.

As for Amiibos, they're well made, for one thing. Are in short supply, for another, causing endless debate about sources, batches and pricing. And they're practical, because they enhance your gaming experience.
 
Because it sounds like "Amigo" when you say it out loud.

"Amigo, Amigo"

"I need more Amigos"

"Are my Amigios at Walmart yet?"

See? It's fun.
 
Lots of judging in this thread :/... wow.

I love amiibo because they give me an opportunity to collect decent quality figurines of characters from series that will never receive an officially licensed toyline, such as Shulk from Xenoblade. I also like to decorate my shelves with gaming memorabilia and amiibo are just perfect. I actually haven't used their in-game functionality yet, I'm really collecting them to display and... to collect :).

Also, not sure why "GAF" specifically is being addressed here, I'm pretty sure that there are thousands of people outside GAF buying amiibo as well. They're popular and selling well, so of course they are also popular and well discussed on GAF.

GlamFM said:
I never understood the appeal of any collectible. In the end it´s just trash messing up your house.
Even the functionality of Amiibos wont get me to buy plastic dolls.

I will also never understand why people think gaming plastic crap is worth putting on display on a shelve for your guests to see.
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My house is mine and I'll decorate it with things I like. I will never understand why people decorate their house to impress guests.
 
I never understood the appeal of any collectible. In the end it´s just trash messing up your house.
Even the functionality of Amiibos wont get me to buy plastic dolls.

I will also never understand why people think gaming plastic crap is worth putting on display on a shelve for your guests to see.
 
The hunt and the rarity of certain amiibo figures really set off the obsession. It came to the point of "if I don't buy this now, I may miss out on it forever." Make things that are readily available and you can leisurely buy it at any point. Make it rare and you've got an eagerness to buy them.
 
Because they are collectibles that hold a lot of nostalgia and endearment for a lot of people, specially those that grew up with Nintendo games.
 
I have a couple, and like it's been said here, it's allowed me to purchase things from series I normally wouldn't have. I'm not even a guy who collects figures of any kind, not even from limited editions of games. But to have Fire Emblem characters and Shulk sitting on my shelf by my games looks pretty good.

As for people collecting them all? Same reason anyone collects anything; just add the popularity of Nintendo to the mix.
 
Amir0x said:
Mario, Samus and Marth are what I got as a gift.

And then I personally am ordering Ness.

And that is the end of my Amiibo collecting days unless they release a Gold Ness or some other Earthbound-related Amiibo.
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I see why you would feel they are cheap when you look at Marth but Mario and Samus are ok, that's if you didn't get a tilted defect of her. I like small figures and I'm somewhat into the amiibo functionality now that I have the New 3DS so I get more use out of them than normal figures. I agree that outside of Smash it's basically DLC.
 
GlamFM said:
I never understood the appeal of any collectible. In the end it´s just trash messing up your house.
Even the functionality of Amiibos wont get me to buy plastic dolls.

I will also never understand why people think gaming plastic crap is worth putting on display on a shelve for your guests to see.
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A figure/statue/model display is for your own enjoyment, not your guests. For those that enjoy looking at them it's not messing up their house.
 
I'm not a collector nor do I care about figures in the general sense, but I want Amiibos because I'm a huge fan of Nintendo games. They look good for the price, are based on official artwork and they are a physical representation of something I like. It's a way to express yourself, just like how some people have a tattoo of the triforce. The Link Amiibo on my shelf represents my love for the Zelda franchise basically.

I think the Amiibo craze mostly comes from collectors, those who buy things just for the sake of collecting. With those people it's either get every figure or none at all, hence why you see nothing but frustration in those threads.
 
GlamFM said:
I never understood the appeal of any collectible. In the end it´s just trash messing up your house.
Even the functionality of Amiibos wont get me to buy plastic dolls.

I will also never understand why people think gaming plastic crap is worth putting on display on a shelve for your guests to see.
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I just had a vision of your entire house looking like this with you sat on the floor.

unoccupied
 
You may as well ask why GAF is obsessed with videogames. Hobbies are always kind of hard to explain to people when the person asking can't see the appeal.
 
I think there's levels of interest. I only collect the ones that I think look cool, and I have no interest in a gold Mario variant or Luigi standing slightly differently, for example.
 
Because they can't have them. I guarantee you, if Nintendo had supplied enough Amiibos to meet demand, you wouldn't see nearly as much discussion or obsession.
 
It's not just GAF. Amiibo sales figures point towards success. Not Skylanders success, but success nevertheless.

Collectors collect. I, personally, am not a collector. I bought a Yoshi amiibo, which is now decorating my desk at work. I'm a 27 y/o male who appreciates Yoshi's adorableness. The unlockables are just icing on the cake.
 
WadiumArcadium said:
I just had a vision of your entire house looking like this with you sat on the floor.

unoccupied
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I'm with him though. Nintendo has made something that locks away content (a weapon for Link in Hyrule Warriors, not sure if anything bigger is locked in other games) and locked it inside a plastic statue that you need to keep if you want to make sure you can always get said content back if need be.

I'd be absolutely fine with it if the content offered wasn't exclusive to plastic toys. If they were just plastic statues that people collected, served as memory cards, and had some sort of non-exclusive bonus included, then it'd be fine. I've spoken about this before, and my view hasn't changed. If the content was sold separately, that'd be fine. But don't tell someone that sees no point in plastic statues (or other collectables) that they have to buy one to unlock content now.

In an age where my PC gaming is entirely digital, the idea that Nintendo wants me to have more shit on my shelves couldn't be more backwards in my eyes.
 
I'm a fan of old pre-SNES Nintendo, less so later, but still.

And the only times I get a memento of Game and Watch, Duck Hunt and ROB are through this.

The rest are characters that are small and relatively inexpensive. I couldn't care less about its actual functionality.
 
Amiibos give rabid Nintendo fans something to buy and talk about in the midst of the frequent software droughts. It's kind of genius really.
 
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