Cool idea to make everyone happy with card amiibo support

[Ama]

So, right now we know there will be some kind of amiibo support, and people who have the cards from the last game (cough cough me) really want to be able to summon villagers with them like last time. The only problem is, there are a lot of people that can't find the cards anywhere and the only option they have is to buy the cards online and pay way more than is necessary to get the villager they want. All villagers (except a sanrio and a few nintendo amiibo) have always been optainable the old fashioned way, and the cards are just there to expediate the process or get rare items.

Recently it was revealed that there will be ingame purchases, which could mean anything from dlc to leaf tickets. (I dont mind buying a dlc package to get extras in the game but a leaf ticket like system would make me super pissed.)

A cool idea I had is to allow the cards like before, but also have a digital card system and packs that could be bought online (for much less of course). This way no one loses out and nintendo doesn't have to reprint them. Know that nintendo will probably not reprint them because they actually did horribly with sales, especially on series 3 and 4. When could see a new set, but probably not a reprint. The other nice thing is that you aren't locked out of any content if you don't buy the cards, it just helps to get certain things you were really looking for. Allowing trading would also allow places like this to be a hub for trading with each other for in game bells and other items in exchange for cards.

I know everyone hates dlc and digital purchases, but the reality of the console business is that games are more expensive than ever to make, and they need revenue streams to keep updating the game and making it the best that it can be. I'm not against in game purchases as long as they are optional and I can get everything in the game without them.

What do you all think about selling packs of digital cards?

 

[tajikey]

Only if the characters are assigned a category (Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Ultra Rare, for example), and each pack guarantees a combination of the 4. There'd also need to be a marketplace where people could go to buy from and trade with others.

 

[Burumun]

Nope, do not want.

All of the problems with digital purchases apply (sharing, ownership, selling secondhand), of course, but also just because I like being able to physically collect the cards, honestly.

I also think the reason they sold badly has less to do with the concept, and more to do with pricing and timing.

The cards cost pennies to make, but sold for about $1 a card for most areas, which is already a bit extreme for most people, or double that if you live in Europe. Plus, the differing pack sizes sort of suck - if you get 6 cards a pack, you probably won't collect as many duplicates of the special characters, but if you're getting 3 a pack, you're going to collect a ton of duplicates, and it's going to take you forever to finish your collection.

As for timing, they came out with HHD, but why buy them unless you wanted the special characters, since you could unlock all the other characters by default, anyway? Sure, you could use them to load the villagers into the rooms, instead of having random ones, but overall, there definitely wasn't enough incentive to buy them just for HHD.
When the ACNL update released, they were finally worth it, but ACNL was still, what, two years old when the update came out? Sure, a few people who weren't hardcore fans came back to check it out... for like a week, maybe. The average person really isn't into ACNL enough to really need a good collection - how many casual players do you know who don't even place paths, let alone plan their towns anywhere near as thoroughly as the regulars here? They definitely weren't going to actually try and get their dreamies, and the diehards aren't big enough of a demographic to actually make them worth it. Honestly, I don't even think they really got popular with the fans here until the prices went down. I was in a German FB group where people would post their hauls from them buying out the local leftover stock, usually for about €3 a pack - so, y'know, actually comparable to what everyone else was paying.

Basically, if they released a reprint with New Horizons, and adjusted the pricing/pack size, at least here in Europe, they could probably be a lot more successful with them. But that's not taking into account the retailers, who I imagine would still be a little skeptical (which might not have also helped originally, TBH).

As for "updating the game and making it the best it can be"... eh, I'm not sure how much further they'll go with that. Looking at the New Leaf update and the new expansion pass for Pok?mon Sword and Shield, I could imagine getting an update again, but I don't think the future of the Animal Crossing series hangs on whether or not they sell us any digital extras. It's also not at all comparable to anything from Pocket Camp - microtransactions are a thing for otherwise free (or cheap) mobile games, not €60 "full" games. The €60 I spend on the game are what's going towards development of the game, they don't also need to add microtransactions to supplement that.

 

[SheepMareep]

I dont think digital cards are any different than the physical ones. They're both DLC regardless!

I think this would be a great option for people in areas where they dont sell amiibo cards or lack the transportation to get them. Especially if they are at a discounted price for not being physical items!

 

[Ably.Saucey]

I have a feeling that that could possibly be releasing them again when the new game comes out. just me though.

 

[Ama]

Most of what I mean on why dlc is important on retail games, is that adjusted for inflation, games should really cost $75-80. Compeditive pricing keeps the cost down, but even the big sellers do not make back as much profits as they used to because it costs more to make them.
I like dlc packs because I dont buy many games each year, and I dont mind spending extra to support the games.

If I had a preference, I would love to see a reprint and even a new series for new villagers. If nintendo thinks it wont be profitable, they wont do it though.

If these digital cards did exist, I would still just buy the physical cards because I can, but my hope is that it is a compromise for others that can't, to allow amiibo functionality to be the same as it was in NL.

 

[moo-kun]

I already posted about virtual Amiibo ages ago lol, it's inevitable (๑˃͈꒵˂͈๑)

 

[Corndoggy]

i personally would prefer to buy physical cards because then i could blu tack them to my wall for home decor (half the reason i have 4 amiibo figures is because they make cute decor in front of my switch), however if the only option is digital i might buy a pack.