Star Fox amiibo

Nintendo has been moving down a path which would require amiibo for a good amount of content behind its games. Of course, the problem is that some amiibo have been hard to get a hold of, making this content available for just a select few people.

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. fans should know what I'm talking about. I can imagine it's tough enough snagging just one Fire Emblem character let alone all four.

However, Nintendo's creative think-tank Shigeru Miyamoto will have none of that with Star Fox Zero. Those with a Fox amiibo can try to tap their figure when they fire up the game, but they won't find much of a reward, explains Miyamoto in an interview with Kotaku.

"In terms of being able to unlock content, I don't really want to go down that path. For this game, I think of it more as, for people who have the Amiibo, they're going to get a little something extra and that's how I'm planning on it with this game. So rather than actual abilities or things like that changing in the game, it would be like getting a different skin for the Arwing or something like that."

However, Miyamoto does not want to deny people who bought the Fox amiibo for Super Smash Bros.

"So, I don't really want to talk about Nintendo in general today, but in terms of what I'm doing with Star Fox, I'm really not thinking about there being locked content or there being a mode that you won't be able to play if you don't have one. Since we already have the existing Smash Bros. Amiibos I basically want to put in something so if you already have those Amiibos, I imagine people will try and tap them on Star Fox anyway, and I want to make sure there is something that gives them a nice charge when they do that."

I'm still struggling to see how amiibo can be so successful and yet so complicated to get right. I've only bought a Mega Man amiibo so far, and I have had zero reasons to actually use it. Maybe the Mega Man Legacy Collection might have something when it launches for the 3DS. However, other than being a huge Mega Man fan, I don't know why I bought it. Perhaps that's the only reason some people need.

Still, good for Shigeru Miyamoto. Locking content behind figures that are becoming harder and harder to find has not proven to be a popular strategy with gamers. Leave it to him to guarantee his entire game will be available to everybody.