Ever since the first wave of Nintendo's Amiibo toys hit the shelves in the pre-Christmas rush of November 2014, collectors of these much sought-after wireless toys that interact with Nintendo 3DS and Wii U have been hunting down every single character to complete their collections.
Although speculations and leaked photos already hit the Internet last month, it has now been confirmed that a gold Mario Amiibo will officially be launched as an exclusive product for Walmart.
The exclusivity news comes to no surprise since in the past, Nintendo already granted exclusive rights of other Amiibo characters to other games in their lineup such as Rosalina and Luma for Target, Shulk for GameStop, Meta Knight for Best Buy, and Lucario for Toys R Us.
As the flag bearer for their most popular franchise, Mario is sure to be a bona fide hit among Amiibo collectors - the gold as well a rumored silver editions of the little plumber may even have a chance to toppling Link as the most popular Amiibo character in stores.
The image of the golden Mario Amiibo was first leaked as a promotional poster on a display for Walmart.
Although images of both gold and silver painted Marios have been circulating due to a pair of Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) certificates posted on the company's own website, Nintendo has declined to comment on the release dates of the new toys, or even if they will be limited edition runs.
According to reports, the new line of Super Mario Amiibos is scheduled to be released on March 20. Aside from Mario himself, characters will include his brother, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Toad, and Yoshi.
Other characters which are rumored to be released in the Spring are Wario, Robin, Lucina, Charizard, and Pac-Man.
In the meantime, Amiibo collectors can expect to start getting their hands on the golden rescultped Mario Amiibo at WalMart when it ships alongside Mario Party 10 for Wii U.
