Hello everyone at Gaming Respawn, I will be talking about the Nintendo Amiibo craze, and whether or not Sony and Microsoft will make their own alternative sometime in the future. Plus my thoughts on Nintendo’s future.
What is the Nintendo Amiibo
Nintendo first released their Amiibo figurines, in November 2014 which works directly with the Wii U and 3DS. As of March 31, 2015 the Amiibo figurines have sold an outstanding 10.5 million units, which is an amazing feat especially when compared to the Wii U shipped numbers. The Wii U as of March 31, 2015 has shipped a disappointing 9.54 million units since its launch on November 18, 2012. The Wii U is the slowest selling console in Nintendo’s history, even lower than the previous low point, set by the GameCube. Wii U sales are looking catastrophic but maybe the Amiibo and Nintendo NX can help turn it’s future around.
Should Sony and Microsoft create their own Amiibo alternative, and will they?.
Should Sony?
Yes I believe Sony have what it takes to make their own alternative to the Amiibo sometime in the future, they have a long history in the games industry and with it, have a rich collection of classic gaming characters to choose from. Starting from old that first appeared on the PlayStation 1 such as, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Cloud from Final Fantasy 7. To more recent times of Nathan Drake, Sackboy and Kratos. I also think Sony would find a more useful way to incorporate the alternative to the Amiibo into the system and games, that is much more beneficial to the user such as extra content, more trophies, special bonuses or hidden game secrets. As well as the fact that they can easily make it compatible with the PS3, PS4, PS Vita and their Smartphones.
Should Microsoft?
No I don’t think Microsoft should even bother, Microsoft sadly don’t have the characters that can compare with Nintendo and Sony. Other than Master Chief and Marcus Felix of the Gears of War franchise nothing else really jumps out at me. Although those two characters would sell like hotcakes it’s not really worthwhile. Secondly Microsoft don’t need to, and tend to do things in their own little Microsoft way, they still haven’t made a traditional handheld gaming device. They could instead use the resources for making more first party studios and exclusives.
Will they?
Unfortunately I can’t see either company making their own Amiibo alternative, as Nintendo aren’t in direct competition at this current moment for Sony or Microsoft. Which is a shame because I’m sure there would be many people interested, if the fan demand was greater and well documented, I could see a chance but I don’t know whether it’s really going to be that profitable in the long run, or fade away and it’s not really bringing anything new to the table or innovating the same way Virtual Reality systems are. While VRs aren’t new, the technology is finally at a stage to bring it to life in meaningful ways to the gaming industry. Sony and Microsoft have put a lot of time, effort and resources into VR so they aren’t about to put it on hold for something on a much smaller scale.
What does Nintendo’s future look like?
Nintendo it seems are at a weird place right now, it’s kind of like they are a whole console generation behind Sony and Microsoft, they heavily lack 3rd party support, consoles sales are terribly low and they are working on a new system, the Nintendo NX. It’s incredibly hard to try to predict what will happen to Nintendo in the years to come. It’s clear they are sticking around but does the Nintendo NX mean they are going to drop support of the Wii U, or does it simply mean they are doing something new, by branching out and going a different approach. Nintendo’s hardware might not be the best at the moment , but they sure do have some great IPs and iconic characters. So whatever the future holds for Nintendo, we always know they can rely on their software side of business.
Would you like to see Sony or Microsoft bring out there own version of Amiibo? Lets of know in the comments section down below.