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The launch of Nintendo’s Amiibo toy range could be the driving force in turning around the fortunes of the Wii U, according to Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime.
In an interview with Polygon, Reggie discussed the potential for Nintendo’s new toys-to-life range. “I think Amiibo can have a significant impact on driving the install base for Wii U on the sales of figures themselves,” he said. “I think this could be a significant business opportunity.”
Fils-Aime was also asked why it took Nintendo two years to bring its NFC toys to market, being beaten to the punch by Skylanders and Disney Infinity along the way. “One, we wanted to be thoughtful in our approach,” he responded. “In our view, going down this path you have to have differentiation.
“Second, we wanted to make sure that we would launch the concept with a big franchise, and certainly Smash (Bros.) fits that bill. Smash is really perfect. All the various characters, the gameplay that Mr. Sakurai has created is fantastic. So for us it was really making sure we had the right approach and the right method to launch it.”
Reggie goes on to reveal Nintendo’s plans for the future of Amiibo.
“We will continue to make new figures available through the balance of holiday 2014 and then we’re going to continuously launch new figures throughout 2015,” he said. “For us, we’re not putting a numerical limit on how many varied figures we can launch. Our potential catalog of figures in the space is quite broad.”
The first line of Amiibo figures will launch alongside Smash Bros. for Wii U this holiday, with 3DS figures coming early next year.
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