Nintendo fans are used to the company’s collectibles going in and out of stock quickly. When it comes to amiibo, the NFC-enabled, game-enhancing figures that are compatible with a swath of Nintendo games, many disgruntled customers who are unable to find the ones they want are resorting to making — and selling — customized, unofficial card-based versions themselves.
Instructions on how to create your own amiibo are easy to find online; our sister site The Verge has written before about the simplicity of the process. All it takes is some homebrew software that allows users to write the specific amiibo data to an NFC tag, which can be bought for cheap.
There’s no mistaking that this process is equivalent to piracy. But with Nintendo both locking certain content inside the figures and selling them in limited quantities, it’s not surprising that many fans have taken amiibo production into their own hands.
A recent video from Anthony Daniels, a YouTuber based in China, illustrates how it’s easier to pick up fake amiibo cards in the country than it is to acquire Nintendo’s official figures.
“Console gaming is only just starting to come to China after the console ban was lifted in 2015,” he explained to Polygon. “Nintendo right now doesn't have a console on the market here[, so] everyone gets their Nintendo products via import.”
Taobao, an online auction site similar to eBay, is chockfull of these homemade amiibo cards. As Daniels notes in the video, they sell for high prices and closely approximate the look of real Nintendo products. Sellers often don’t label these cards as unofficial, due to how convincing they look.
Yet scalpers also take advantage of amiibo’s scarcity by jacking up the prices of both real and fake ones. This isn’t limited to China, either: A cursory search of eBay turns up several high-priced sets of fanmade amiibo, almost all of them designed to work for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Breath of the Wild is a popular target for unofficial amiibo makers, due to the kinds of exclusive content its figures unlock for the game.
“A game all about item and loot and having the best gear, the best gear is locked behind an amiibo,” Daniels explained in the video. “Someone tell the marketing department that you did your job correctly. I want those amiibo.”
Both those unwilling to pay for the different Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda amiibo figures in order to get all the content and those unable to find them in stores thus have the amiibo cards to turn to. Sold regularly in full sets, all 18 compatible amiibo list for as much as $60 on eBay.
After uploading his video, Daniels polled the Breath of the Wild Reddit community on whether they see the amiibo black market as a boon or a problem for collectors. The overwhelming majority of users expressed support for the card-based amiibo format, which — even at lofty prices — is still cheaper and easier to find than real amiibo figures.
“Honestly, I would have preferred it if Amiibos were always cards,” one user wrote. “They'd be easier (and cheaper) for Nintendo to make and they'd probably be cheaper as well.”
“I’d happily pay Nintendo for the cards,” wrote another user. “That way I could be happy that Nintendo didn't lock content behind a figure I can't find in any stores.”
There are actual amiibo cards, although they’re limited to the Animal Crossing and Mario Sports series. For fans of games like Super Smash Bros. and Breath of the Wild, the figures are the only official way to go.
We’ve reached out to Nintendo about the fake amiibo card market and whether the company is considering exploring that avenue for the collectible line and will update accordingly. Until that happens, it appears that fans will continue to see amiibo hacking as a fun craft activity.
“I made my own in the end, was simple enough and a fun project,” a Redditor wrote.
