Disney Infinity chief takes a few shots at Nintendo over Amiibo shortages

Well, this one looks to be getting kind of nasty as Disney Infinity’s John Vignocchi has fired a few shots at Nintendo.

Among other consoles, Disney Infinity appears on the Wii U, which is Nintendo’s current console, so keep that in mind as you’re reading this. It’s more than a little interesting that a developer contracted under a third-party would get this testy with a platform holder. Though it just might point to the real level of confidence that Disney has towards Nintendo, who’s Wii U is kind of flopping around at retail at the moment and looks like it’s headed for replacement some time in late 2016 or 2017.

Anyway, on to the meat of the story, because it’s an interesting one. John Vignocchi is the executive producer of Disney Infinity, which will see a Star Wars-themed release this Fall and is very much a part of the toys-to-life genre. In an interview with Game Informer, Vignocchi basically joined a chorus of game fans in saying that he’s none too happy with Nintendo’s efforts to get their own figures into stores.

Nintendo has struggled with their Amiibo line and keeping at retail in plentiful supply almost since the beginning of the series last year, and doesn’t seem to be able to do much when it comes to keeping shipments even and in stock even now. They’ve recently promised that they’d do better, although it certainly seems like they aren’t doing everything that they can, as the new wave of characters seems just as piecemeal as the rest when it comes to actually finding the things on shelves.

As for Vignocchi, he inferred that he believes Nintendo is deliberately making it tough to find the figures, and that that tactic is a part of the company’s actual strategy when it comes to Amiibo. He went on to say that creating shortages and “the hunt” is “irresponsible and rude to your hardcore fans”. Kind of hit the nail on the head there.

Nintendo has, after all, basically said that they were doing as much when they stated that some figures will still be hard to find and will not heading back to ‘print’, even in the face of re-stockings of other characters. As a toy collector myself, I can definitely understand the drive to make customers hunt for your product. It creates a fervor and whips the fans into a frenzy to get every toy that can find, even the ones that they might not want… but only to a degree.

After the frenzy, comes a little of the old rage-quit. I’ve seen it many times in the toy world, where collectors will be gung-ho on a line at first, but then wane and fall off of collecting it completely as it gets harder and harder to find at the local shops. It’s a massive turn-off and Nintendo could very much be heading down that same path here. Whether or not the fanbase is strong enough to overcome the frustration of not finding the figures they want is the question. And will fans keep looking forward to waves containing figures form more niche games, with the thought in their collective head that they probably won’t be able to locate the figures they want, and might have to head to sources like eBay to complete their set? That’s kind of the long-term question.

As for Disney Infinity 3.0, Vignocchi says that you won’t have to worry about finding your favorite Star Wars characters out there, as “they’ll be stocking the shelves well”.

Source: Destructoid