Yacht Club Games shared an interesting tidbit about the Shovel Knight amiibo you may not be expecting. It turns out Nintendo is not making the amiibo at all.
The first indie amiibo is also the second externally created amiibo, as Nintendo has taken a backseat in its production. Nintendo did license the amiibo, and they are also overseeing to ensure it fits their standards; AKA design, amiibo functionality, etc.
However, Yacht Club is in charge of the amiibo all the way. This means they are the company talking to the toy designers, manufacturers, and distribution channels. They also revealed that they were able to acquire the services of the Disney Infinity factory to make their unique amiibo.
Shovel Knight has been released to several platforms outside of Nintendo’s, but one thing it has not done is officially get released in Japan. This may be down to the difficulties associated with releasing a Western game in Japan, no less an indie. However, what this means is the Shovel Knight amiibo is also the first amiibo effectively, if not officially, region locked out of Japan. Of course, and this is the hope, that will change in the future.
Now, it is entirely possible that the other third party amiibo, namely, Donkey Kong and Bowser for Skylanders Supercharged, will see little to no demand in Japan, but this certainly is a weird situation, particularly for collectors. Is Nintendo willing to make more deals for third party amiibo effectively consigned to limited distribution? Do you think it’s OK for them to do so? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
