It's no secret that amiibo have proven to be incredibly lucrative for Nintendo, sucking in longtime fans who've got a weakness for cute toys and a penchant for collecting. As such, it should come as no surprise to you that the Big N has sold a boatload of its NFC figurines to folks in the United States.
In fact, the NPD Group has revealed (via GameSpot) that the house of Mario has now sold over 7 million amiibo just in the States. More impressive yet is just how many have been sold globally, with worldwide sales clocking in at a whopping 14.7 million as of June this year.
Love them or hate them, you can't deny the popularity and importance of amiibo to Nintendo's current business. The Wii U has struggled ever since it launched a few years ago, and thanks to the rise of smartphones, 3DS has failed to match the success of its predecessor, as the dedicated handheld market is clearly on its way out. If churning out plastic toys and charging a premium is what it takes to keep my favorite video game company afloat, then so be it.
Nintendo is expanding its amiibo efforts with the release of Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer by launching amiibo cards, which are undoubtedly easier to produce than the slew of intricately-detailed Smash Bros. figures we've seen released in waves over this past year.
Should these cards take off, you can bet Nintendo will double down on this form of amiibo and seek out other ways of selling you plastic merchandise at a high price. Who knows what other sorts of NFC-based creations the company might dream up in the future?
It's both exciting and terrifying at the very same time.
