One thing is very, very clear in Nintendo's latest earnings report: people can't get enough of Amiibo.
While Nintendo's hardware in the form of the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U both performed respectably (with Splatoon and Super Mario Maker helping out the Wii U considerably), it's the numbers associated with the company's interactive toys that continue to astound.
Nintendo reports 20.50 million Amiibo were sold between December 2014 and December 2015. Furthermore, Nintendo has sold 21.50 million Amiibo cards. The cards have only been available in America since September in the form of booster packs, where they launched alongside Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer on the Nintendo 3DS. Each booster pack contains six Amiibo cards, so it's a little unclear if Nintendo is counting packs sold or individual cards sold to customers.
Either way, those are some huge numbers. It's no surprise then that Nintendo is looking to build upon the success of the toys in the future. They say momentum for Amiibo hasn't slowed down and isn't showing signs of doing so anytime soon.
"Meanwhile, for Amiibo, we will continue to expand the product lineup in order to maintain momentum," states the earnings report in the Financial Forecast section of the document. "At the same time, we will aim to further expand sales by offering new gaming experiences with the use of Amiibo. In addition, the first application for smart devices, Miitomo, is scheduled for release."
So far, Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. line of Amiibo have proven to be the company's primary source of new Amiibo releases. That well is now running dry, however, as DLC for the game in the form of characters is now finished. Upcoming Amiibo for DLC characters like Roy, Ryu and more are on the way, but it remains to be seen what Nintendo will do once all of the Smash Bros. line-up has been recreated in toy form.
No doubt, Amiibo will have a large role to play in Nintendo's yet-to-be revealed NX console, so expect more Amiibo news this summer when Nintnedo blows the lid off its future plans.
