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WiiU

Bending Regional Amiibo Buying Habits to Predict the Future

by Neal Ronaghan - February 4, 2016, 11:26 am EST
Total comments: 2

We try to divine what Amiibo portend about America, Europe, and Japan.

Nintendo is getting into the routine of showing investors what Amiibo are selling best in each region these days. With the figurines out in stores for more than a year, there is enough of a sample size and variety to look at each region and draw (asinine?) conclusions about what characters and series that region likes the most. Who knows: maybe the sales of certain Amiibo in regions are a predictor of future games and series.

United States

  1. Link – The defending champ has yet to be dethroned. Link has been the best-selling American Amiibo since day one. The Future: All Zelda, all the time. Expect many more remakes in the future.
  2. Bowser – The king surged from eighth to second on the list. What does this mean? Maybe it’s time for Super Bowser Bros.
  3. Toon Link – The Wind Waker iteration of Link is hanging strong. Maybe they’ll add him into Hyrule Warriors as late DLC. Wait what? That’s happening in March? Awesome!
  4. Mewtwo – Despite only being out for a short time comparatively, Mewtwo is a top dog in America. Maybe it’s time to release the original Pokémon games on Virtual Console. Wait what? That’s happening in February? Awesome!
  5. Sonic – This is Sonic. See Sonic run. Run Sonic run! Future prognosis? Well, releasing bad games with Sonic on Wii U and 3DS didn’t work. Maybe Sega can try releasing some good ones? Hell, I’d settle for mediocre.
  6. Pikachu – This is an easy one. Let me clear my throat for this one. *ahem ahem* NINTENDO OF AMERICA. YOU SHOULD TOTALLY LOCALIZE DETECTIVE PIKACHU LIKE RIGHT NOW. PLEASE.
  7. Mario (Classic) – Mario’s on the list? Wow. Maybe Nintendo should make some games with this guy in it. He seems underutilized.
  8. Pac-Man – Somewhere, Bandai Namco is fist-pumping that the Pac-Man Amiibo is beating Mega Man. Now, all Bandai Namco has to do is release a Pac-Man Legacy Collection to capitalize on all of the great game that Pac-Man has been in.
  9. Mega Man – If I were a betting man, I’d say the Mega Man Amiibo cracks the top five the next time we see this list. Between the allure of a Gold Mega Man Amiibo and the figure has a novel use in Mega Man Legacy Collection, the Blue Bomber is poised to blow up (or, I guess, explode into a bunch of dots). Also, like Mega Man 11, Capcom. Do it. Give it to Yacht Club Games. Call it a day. It’ll be out before Mighty No. 9.
  10. Ganondorf – The king surged onto the list. What does this mean? Maybe it’s time for Grand Theft Triforce: Gerudo Valley Stories

Europe

  1. Mario (Classic) – Good old 8-bit Mario dethrones the champ in Europe. You think you can mess, Link? Well guess what – Zelda Maker ain’t happening. Mario for President!
  2. Link – Europe loves Zelda, too. Look forward to this fall’s release of The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes 3D.
  3. Inkling Squid – I’m hoping the Splatoon Amiibo didn’t crack America’s list because they were hard to find. If not, then I’m ashamed of my country. Because of this, Europe will probably get Splatune before us.
  4. Green Yarn Yoshi – This is what happens when Yarn Yoshi has a four-month head start in Europe.
  5. Mario (Super Mario)
  6. Mario (Smash Bros.) – Half of Europe’s top six is Mario. Bor-ring! Know what that means? Next 2D Mario game will feature four brand new playable characters: Mario, Classic 8-bit Mario, Fighter Mario, and Modern 8-bit Mario.
  7. Pikachu – This is an easy one. Let me clear my throat for this one. *ahem ahem* NINTENDO OF EUROPE. YOU SHOULD TOTALLY LOCALIZE DETECTIVE PIKACHU LIKE RIGHT NOW. PLEASE.
  8. Inkling Boy
  9. Toad
  10. Inkling Girl

Japan

  1. Inkling Girl
  2. Inkling Squid
  3. Inkling Boy
  4. Mario (Super Mario)
  5. Mario (Classic)
  6. Mario (Modern) – Psst! Hey Japan. It’s real cool you guys like Splatoon and Mario so much, but maybe you can open your hearts to some more series? I’ve heard about this cult classic called Metroid. It’s kind of a deep cut so you might not have heard about it.
  7. Isabelle (Winter Outfit) - Oh look! Isabelle is selling well in Japan. What a shock! Just remember: we’re probably going to see an adventure where you play as Isabelle before we get a new adventure where you play as Samus. *sigh*
  8. Kirby - My current pick for the star of Nintendo’s second mobile game.
  9. Green Yarn Yoshi
  10. Digby – Maybe the conclusion from all of this is that Japan, as a broad game-playing country, only likes like 4 things at once. Right now, it’s all Splatoon, Mario, and Animal Crossing, with a hint of Kirby and Yoshi. There’s your Nintendo future. Hell, that’s your Nintendo present.

Talkback

EnnerFebruary 04, 2016

Nice work.


It is interesting to see which characters resonate with particular regions. While I really enjoy Zelda games, that has not quite translated to unbridled love for the series. Seeing Link and other Zelda amiibo so high on the sales list puts in to perspective how many other people love the series and wish for its success.


Looking at the Zelda, Sheik, and Link amiibo I have, maybe I love the series more than I think.

MythtendoFebruary 04, 2016

For the record, I live in the US and these are the Amiibo i've bought

Mario (Smash Bros. series)
Classic 8-Bit Mario
Green Yarn Yoshi (from the Yoshi's Wooly World bundle)
Inkling Boy/Inkling Girl/Squid (bought the 3-pack)
Isabelle/Digby (bought the Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival bundle)

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