Amiibo have become more of a collector's item in the mind of consumers rather than a way to unlock new gameplay experiences, and Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima is well aware of this fact.
"What we’re seeing instead is that the amiibo are being picked up more as a collection item at this point, rather than, say, as an interactive item with software," Kimishima told TIME. "And so we haven’t really established them as an enhancement for all of our software at this point."
As such, Nintendo will look to find new ways of incorporating amiibo that more effectively enhance one's gameplay experience. While Kimishima recognizes it will be a challenge, the Nintendo exec believes it's one worth facing.
"I think again that challenge is, how can we connect that IP to our software in general, and using the amiibo to further enhance the play activity will allow us to get more people looking at, they see the amiibo, they tie it back to the game experience, and then we’re creating a stronger connection with general knowledge of our IP and that fun experience they have," he said.
Despite the gameplay limitations of amiibo, Nintendo's line of NFC-enabled figurines have proven to be incredibly popular, with lifetime sales in the U.S. alone now at 9 million.
What are your thoughts on amiibo? Would you like to see Nintendo incorporate more gameplay-enhancing elements or are you happy to simply display them as a collector's item? Let us know in the comments.
Subject: Nintendo CEO Acknowledges Amiibo Shortcomings in Enhancing Gameplay 
