Ninendo Has a Major Amiibo Problem On Its Hands, And a New Move Proves It

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Nintendo is facing challenges with its Amiibo line, and a recent decision suggests the company is aware of these issues. Launched in 2014, Amiibo figures have become a surprisingly successful source of revenue for Nintendo. Over the past decade, they’ve released many different Amiibo based on popular franchises like *Super Smash Bros.*, *Animal Crossing*, *The Legend of Zelda*, and *Metroid*, among others.

Although many other ‘toys-to-life’ products lost popularity years ago, Amiibo figures have remained consistently popular with Nintendo fans. However, demand seems to be decreasing recently, and Nintendo is now adjusting its strategy as a result.

Steep Amiibo Discounts Indicate Nintendo Is Struggling to Move Figures

Big discounts on Amiibo figures started showing up at stores like GameStop, Amazon, and Best Buy earlier this week. While sales on Amiibo aren’t unusual, the size of these discounts was surprising. Many figures, including some released as recently as 2025, were marked down by 50% to 60%. This level of sale is rare for Amiibo, particularly for newer releases like the Donkey Kong & Pauline figure that just became available.

These sales might seem like stores just trying to get rid of extra products, but these types of discounts usually require the manufacturer’s permission. This suggests Nintendo probably approved these deals, and may have even initiated them.

This suggests Amiibo sales dropped significantly throughout 2025, leading Nintendo to cut costs. That’s good news for collectors, who can now expand their Amiibo collections more affordably. However, Nintendo might reduce its focus on Amiibo in the future if sales continue to struggle.

Price Increases Seem to Have Killed Amiibo Interest

Amiibo figures probably aren’t selling well because of tariffs. Earlier this year, the U.S. imposed tariffs on goods from other countries, and Nintendo announced price increases on many of its products, including accessories. While most fans focused on the higher prices for Nintendo Switch consoles (and the possibility of Switch 2 being more expensive), Amiibo figures also became more costly.

More recent Amiibo figures, such as those from the *Street Fighter 6* line, now cost $40 each – a $10 increase from the previous price of $30. While the quality of Amiibo has improved, many customers are unhappy with the higher cost. When Amiibo first launched in 2014, figures were priced under $15, and even that felt expensive at the time.

As a big Amiibo collector, I’m really frustrated with the new pricing. It’s not just a one-time thing with this latest figure being $40 – Nintendo has already announced more Amiibo based on games like *Super Mario Galaxy*, *Kirby Air Riders*, and even *Metroid Prime 4: Beyond*. The *Metroid* and *Mario* figures are going to be $30 to $40 each, but the *Kirby* ones are the worst – they’re going to cost a crazy $50 apiece! It’s getting really expensive to collect them all.

I think the new Amiibo figures look great, but there’s no way I’d pay this much for just one. I already have a lot of Amiibo, and I’m happy with my collection if the prices keep going up. I suspect many other collectors feel the same way, which makes me wonder what the future holds for Amiibo at Nintendo.

Tariffs or Not, Amiibo Prices Need to Come Down

I doubt Nintendo is losing money on Amiibo, even though manufacturing them isn’t cheap and recent tariffs have definitely cut into their profits. However, it looks like they’ll need to lower prices soon, or people will stop buying them.

Nintendo is facing a challenge with its Amiibo figures. While dedicated fans will likely always buy them, that group alone may not be enough to sustain the line long-term. Unless Nintendo lowers the price, most customers will probably only buy Amiibo when they’re heavily discounted, like during this week’s sales which seem aimed at clearing out existing stock. This could ultimately threaten the future of Amiibo as a successful product line.

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2025-09-26 16:40