Splatoon Amiibo = $10 Pay Wall for Content???

[Nico Nico Sleep]

I see a majority in the thread stating that the content is merely a "side gift" which is funny. It doesn't change the fact that there's costumes, minigames, and stages all locked behind a cheap pay-wall. It's limited day-1 DLC that people are over-looking because of the all famous phrase "It's okay when Nintendo does it."

I love Nintendo and bought a Wii U day 1 but I seriously dislike the way they're handling the amiibo situation. It'd be a lot better if the content was still accessible via normal play of the game, but was easily accessed through the purchase and use of the amiibo. They're neat collectibles, but a portion of the time, the figure quality is terrible, even for $12 or so.

 

[Nico Nico Sleep]

Here I am paying for Xbox Live Gold, just to play online, and Nintendo comes and releases a neat lil figurine that gives your bonus modes, costumes and a collectible for very cheap.

It's not that bad for how much you are getting.

No one even mentioned the tactics used by other corporations yet you drag them in as if they had something to do with the discussion. This is about Nintendo's habit to lock content behind a pay-wall and a mediocre figure for $12. A limited mediocre figure that won't get restocked for some time.

 

[ThatsSo]

I think it's really important to keep in mind that the Amiibos aren't really blocking "New" content. The Amiibo let you play levels you've already played with weapons you can already use online. Besides that it's just cosmetics and mini-games.
I've always felt like it was so wrong to refer to the Amiibo as DLC, they're just suppose to be a small bonus. If any game actually released DLC that was just "Replay old levels with weapons you previously couldn't", everyone would be outraged and screaming "That's not really DLC!".

It' also worth keeping in mind both the facts that you're getting a figure that you can show off or sell. I don't mean anyone in this thread, but occasionally I hear people throw around the term "Physical DLC" as if that's somehow worse than digital DLC, when it isn't.

 

[Astral]

I've always felt like it was so wrong to refer to the Amiibo as DLC, they're just suppose to be a small bonus. If any game actually released DLC that was just "Replay old levels with weapons you previously couldn't", everyone would be outraged and screaming "That's not really DLC!".

We do also have to remember that since you have to pay for the amiibo which also give bonus equipment, it could be possible we are looking at a Pay to Win situation

 

[ThatsSo]

We do also have to remember that since you have to pay for the amiibo which also give bonus equipment, it could be possible we are looking at a Pay to Win situation

Equipment with abilities you can get through normal game play. And it's looking like abilities wont even mean much unless you stack on several

 

[KilleenMachine]

We do also have to remember that since you have to pay for the amiibo which also give bonus equipment, it could be possible we are looking at a Pay to Win situation

Is tf2 pay to win? The abilities aren't unique.

 

[Nico Nico Sleep]

Is tf2 pay to win? The abilities aren't unique.

Weapons in TF2 can be acquired through normal means and clothing provides absolutely nothing except cosmetic approval from other players. TF2 and Splatoon are alike, but not THAT alike.

 

[ThatsSo]

I don't understand how you use the phrase

"It's okay when Nintendo does it."

Which is 100% relative to other companies, but then when someone wants to actually compare Nintendo to another company you say

No one even mentioned the tactics used by other corporations yet you drag them in as if they had something to do with the discussion. This is about Nintendo's habit to lock content behind a pay-wall

I think it's plenty relevant that Nintendo sells an optional bonus for just a bit more than other companies charge you a month to play online, especially when most games require online play to access some of their content (More of which than any Amiibos block)

And for that matter, how is it even a habit? It's a stretch to refer to Splatoon Amiibo's as "Locked Content", and Splatoon's Amiibos give more than any other game so far:
Amiibos give:
Mario Party - Daily bonus
Ace Combat - New Skins
Kirby - Daily Bonus
Smash Bros - Levelable CPU
Hyrule Warrios - Daily Bonus
Mario kart - New Skins

The only ones that are even kind of content are S.T.E.A.M. (New Characters) and Captain Toad (Special challengeson maps you've already played). Plus, S.T.E.A.M.'s Amiibos also work for Smash.

This hardly a habit of "Locked content behind a pay wall"

 

[Astral]

Is tf2 pay to win? The abilities aren't unique.

Well as far as we know the gear from the amiibo won't be getting any type of amiibo limited equipment, however that can change.

 

[Litagano Motscoud]

I don't mind. The base game seems fine enough.

I think people are right when they point out the double-standard with this, though. If this had been some other company, people would be furious right now.

For the record, I wouldn't care if another company did this either.

 

[Just A. Hunch]

It is a small non-critical bonus as an incentive to buy an official nintendo figurine. It's like getting mad that adult meals at McDonald's don't come with toys.

 

[Kiri]

it could be possible we are looking at a Pay to Win situation

Except that it totally isn't

Anyway, like I said, Amiibos are kind of weird.
They ARE physical DLC in a sense, but with the benefits of A) Getting a neat figure and B) Having uses for multiple games, like an indefinite content bundle.

Amiibo-unlocked content ranges from worthless (Rupees in HW, Character models in Xenoblade, 1UPs in Captain Toad, Arguably the Amiibo fighters in Smash) to neat but inconsequential (skins in MK8, Ace Combat, and Splatoon along with Splatoon's challenges) to somewhat significant (The Spinner weapon in HW is locked behind either Link Amiibo, locking off an entire moveset, while Codename STEAM has the Fire Emblem characters, and I hear the Mario Party 10 content is significant too).

For the most part, Amiibo content isn't too big of a deal, which depending on the person can either be good because you're not missing out or bad because it's not worth spending money on. In the case of more significant content it can be really annoying because on one hand you're getting cool content, but on the other hand the content is overpriced and can be straight up unobtainable due to Amiibo rarity. Also the whole "why wasn't this just in the game to start with" thing.

Amiibo are certainly a bumpy road that aren't really figured out yet, and I wish Nintendo would stop releasing so many so quick so they could have the time to figure out how to make them, yknow, actually worth something other than a display piece (if even that, considering the build quality variance).

I like Amiibo, but I wish they were better handled. But anyway, in the case of Splatoon in specific they're super ignorable. The content you miss out on by not having them is about the equivalent to missing out on a time trial mode. Like if you like it good for you, but it's nothing worth being upset about over missing out on.

TL;DR idc about Amiibo paywalls all I want is to be able to get a Varia Suit outfit for my squids by tapping my weirdly bent Samus on my controller.

 

[Flakk]

Never been a fan of amiibos they just a scam a cheap toy with a nfc figure that is content that could of been in game or cheap dlc.

As someone who likes figurines the ability to cheaply get decent figurines of things like Captain Falcon/Ness/Shulk is a godsend. The figurines are not perfect (Hello captain falcon's cheap plastic gun) but there would be no other way these figurines would have happened other than amiibo unless it was a £100 figurine that has to be imported from japan lol.

The challenge packs reek of DLC but i'm getting the inkling girl one because i want a figurine of one. I can't imagine the gear being anything special though unless something really is going wrong.

 

[DonkaFjord]

Its been mentioned in other threads how Amiibos are a constant struggle for Nintendo to balance between locking too much away and people without Amiibos complaining that there is a paywall and people who buy Amiibos complaining there isn't enough content to justify their purchase. What is nice is that Amiibo are compatible with multiple games and will be compatible with future games as well and you also get a figurine/plush/card/whatever of a character you most likely like. Maybe people would be more okay with Amiibo if they had a hub game that had an expanded use for each of them but besides unlocking content all they can do is store a little tiny bit of save data so its inevitable people will liken them to on disc DLC.

If the Amiibo content wasn't in the game at all I don't think we'd notice other than complaining that the single player story only has one weapon to choose from and I think Nintendo has mostly been keeping the Amiibo content as interesting but not necessary for the game- there are things like Mario Party but that mode was pretty unpolished looking (probably purposefully so it didn't feel like you were missing much) which made it feel like a lose-lose. I liked its implementation in Project Steam where it let you use familiar characters in a whole different universe and if felt like it was unlocking something special and worthwhile, but many would argue that was locking away large amount of content (Plus those Amiibo are some of the hardest to find.)

You have to remember that the rewards for completing the challenge areas are only cosmetic and don't effect multiplayer, which I think is the most important thing. If you want to consider it a paywall, fine, but compared to how much content is already in the game, I see it as fair. Besides, Nintendo has already confirmed they're working on a manufacturing amiibo cards that are more cost friendly. As for what games and when, who knows.

As far as we know the gear is actually a little different with a different sub and special but same stats and different look. Not sure about the clothes but I assume it is similar.

 

[DakiHero]

Sort off topic but are the Amiibo costumes gender specific? Like can we get Squid school boys or Samurai squid girls?

 

[RayneTheSkunk]

None of the clothes in the game is gender specific.

Now while it might not be vital to the game, there is still the fact that there is certain clothing locked off that you can only get with a 12 dollar purchase.
Its just skins yeah, so its not much, but some people might really want them. Personally I don't think its a big deal, but I can understand the fustration. The bigger problem is the limited availability. Not many other games have rare dlc that you can't buy because all the dlc was taken up.

As for the quality. Have you compared the Mario Party amiibos to smash amiibos? The Mario Party amiibos are a great step beyond any of the smash amiibos (except fox for some reason). I don't think there will be too many dubious quality issues. For 12 dollars these are really nice figurines, considering anything else would be getting into 70 dollars and beyond.

The third problem is weather you even want the figure. If you're buying them for the figures its just "yeah sure whatever just give me the collectable". Though if you're the person who wants your nice schoolgirl outfit or whatever, but you don't even like figures. What should be maybe a 1.30 dlc becomes 12 dollars because its attached to a figure.

They're both a great, but very problematic model.

 

[lightdasher]

I get the costumes being an amiibo thing, but putting 60 levels behind $39 worth of toys is just... Bad, imo
Sure, the Splatoon amiibo may get other uses, but I still think it's bad.

It's literally just "play this level but with THIS weapon" it's nothing new.

Also, to OP try to remember the whole point of amiibo is that they're not used on just one game

 

[<π.]

I have no issues with the amiibos unlocking more content.

 

[DDB]

Even if they didn't grant extra content, they're still REALLY nice figures.

 

[GuySafari]

I'm a sucker for cod dlc so I don't mind
also I like the amiibo figures too