It’s not easy to collect Amiibo—it’s a pain in the ass, really. But maybe things are changing, as Best Buy announced some surprisingly reasonable policies for their exclusive, Dark Pit.
Here’s what’s different:
- No online pre-orders
- Local pick-up only
- One per customer
- Sold on a first-come, first-served basis
Basically, there’s zero bullshit. You don’t have to smash F5 on your browser, hoping a website won’t crash before your order goes through, and no worrying about people scooping ‘em all up, as they purchase Amiibo for their friends and family. And it means you won’t pre-order an Amiibo, find out Best Buy took too many pre-orders, and yours is suddenly cancelled. Ugh.
Just get in line, and buy Dark Pit. Hopefully, this carries over to the rest of Amiibo, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Nintendo has claimed the popularity of Amiibo have caught them by surprise, and not long ago apologized for how frustrating it’s been for customers simply looking to buy their favorite.
We appreciate the enthusiasm that our fans continue to show toward amiibo. Sales for the product have exceeded our expectations. We understand how frustrating it can be at times if consumers are unable to find certain figures, and we apologize for that.
We’re trying to meet the demands of our fans and consumers by increasing the amount of amiibo we manufacture and ship to retail. We may continue to see consumer demand outpace supply levels for certain characters at times, but we will do our best to prevent that from happening.
That said, while allocation of Amiibo is up to Nintendo, what happens when a retailer decides to sell them is up to the individual company. That’s what Nintendo president Reggie Files-Aime told Kotaku editor Stephen Totilo in an interview at E3, when asked about the Amiibo response:
“We’re focused on the everyday consumer, and we want that consumer to be completely satisifed. In the end, though, the retailer manages how they execute a pre-sale or how they make the product available. We certainly give suggestions and guidance. The retailer is making that call. And, again, to separate, when there’s a supply issue, that’s Nintendo’s fault. But in terms of managing a pre-sale process, that’s something that each individual retailer controls.”
It’s unclear whether Nintendo helped influence Best Buy’s new policy, but it’s a welcome one.
Dark Pit goes on sale on July 31.
You can reach the author of this post at patrick.klepek@kotaku.com or on Twitter at @patrickklepek.