去年命悬一线的任天堂今年有望恢复元气，救星就是这套手办

    任天堂公司已经连续三个财务年度宣告亏损，它的Wii U也被喻为自NES以来最失败的一款游戏机。但任天堂的Amiibo游戏手办，有望为该公司扭转颓势发挥关键作用。

    这些游戏手办内置近场通讯技术，能够解锁多款Wii U和3DS XL游戏的特殊游戏角色和技能，2014年11月一经上市就被抢购一空。仅在去年最后的两个月，任天堂就在全球范围内售出570多万个手办，单单是美国的销售量就达到350万个。

    从2012年发布至2015年1月，任天堂共售出920万台Wii U游戏机。不过相比索尼PlayStation 4（2100万）和微软Xbox One（1300万）的销量，Wii U这个季军显然差了不是一点半点。要知道，任天堂的上一款游戏机Wii在2006至2014年间创下了1.01亿台的销售数据，是上一代游戏机当之无愧的机皇。

    不过，根据NPD集团提供的数据，自从去年11月Amiibo手办发布以来，任天堂Wii U游戏机在美国的销量已经开始上涨，去年11月增加10个百分点，全年销量较2013年增加29%。这一势头在2015年得以持续，Wii U的销量在今年第一季度增长20%。

    韦德布什证券公司分析师迈克尔•帕彻认为，Amiibo手办的热卖每年可能会为任天堂带来2到3亿美元的收入。目前这些手办要比硬件本身更有收藏价值。不过帕彻也表示，随着越来越多的游戏开始包含近场通讯技术，这些手办的吸引力还会进一步上升。特别是很多年轻玩家原本就是迪士尼的“迪士尼无限”（Disney Infinity）和美国动视的Skylander等手办的爱好者。

    任天堂的北美销售与营销执行副总裁斯科特•莫菲特表示：“大家已经非常喜欢我们的角色了，他们也喜欢看到这些角色以不同的方式活灵活现地出现在不同的任天堂游戏中。父母们非常欣赏的一点是，Amiibo手办可以以不同的方式应用到多款游戏中，有很强的持续价值。”

    目前，任天堂已经推出了三批Amiibo手办，其中包括《超级玛丽》、《大金刚》和《刺猬索尼克》等游戏中的29个经典游戏角色。它们的零售价为13美元。由于Amiibo手办供不应求，有些玩家甚至愿意花数百美元购入这些手办进行收藏。

    任天堂也向开发者开放了这项技术。莫菲特认为，和动作控制、Off-TV play和3D视效一样，Amiibo手办也是另一个非常有创新性的开发工具。

    任天堂已经宣布下一代游戏机NX即将发布，EEDAR公司的视频游戏分析师凯尔•雷蒙认为，这相当于任天堂已经默认了Wii U持续表现疲软的事实，因此Wii U将无法享受像前任Wii一样长的销售寿命。不过今年年内，任天堂还将继续推出几批Amiibo手办，就目前来说，这个消息足以让玩家们兴奋一阵子了。（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

    审校：任文科

    Nintendo has reported operating losses for three consecutive fiscal years, and the Wii U is considered the least successful Nintendo console ever, going all the way back to the original NES. But Nintendo’s toys-to-life amiibo figures could be the key to revitalizing the company.

    The toy figurines, which contain near field communication (NFC) technology that unlocks special characters and abilities across multiple Wii U and new Nintendo 3DS XL games, have been selling out since launching in November 2014. Nintendo sold over 5.7 million amiibo worldwide in just two months last year. And the company has sold over 3.5 million of the video game figurines in the U.S. Alone.

    Nintendo has sold just over 9.2 million Wii Us globally since its launch in 2012 through January 2015, and the console still lags a distant third to Sony’s 21 million PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s 13 million Xbox One sales. Nintendo’s previous console, the Wii, sold over 101 million units between 2006 and 2014, which earned the company first place during that console cycle.

    But since releasing the amiibo figures last November, Nintendo has seen an uptick in Wii U console sales in the U.S., including a 10 percent rise in Wii U hardware sales last November and a 29 percent increase for 2014 as a whole, compared to 2013. That trend has continued into 2015 with a 20 percent increase through the first quarter, according to the NPD Group.

    Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes sales of amiibo toys could add $200 to $300 million in annual revenue to Nintendo’s bottom line. Right now, the toys are more collectible than a hardware driver. But Pachter says that as more games incorporate the technology, the appeal will grow, especially with the younger gamers who have driven sales of the similar toys toys-to-life franchises of Disney’s Disney Infinity and Activision’s Skylanders.

    “People already have an affinity for our characters, and they love seeing them come to life in different ways in different Nintendo games,” Scott Moffitt, EVP of Sales and Marketing for Nintendo of America, says. “And parents like that amiibo can be used in different ways across multiple games, so they get strong enduring value for their investment.”

    Nintendo has rolled out three waves of amiibo figures so far, a total of 29 characters from Mario to Donkey Kong to Sonic the Hedgehog. A shortage of amiibo figures has resulted in some fans paying hundreds of dollars for the hard-to-find collectibles, which retail for $13.

    Nintendo has also opened up this technology to developers. Moffitt sees amiibo figures as another creative option in the development toolbox, just like motion controls, off-TV play, or 3D visuals.

    Nintendo has already announced its next console, the Nintendo NX device, which EEDAR video game analyst Kyle Lemmon believes is a tacit admission that the Wii U continues to underperform and won’t have the long shelf life that the Wii had last generation. But Nintendo does have new waves of amiibo figures coming out throughout this year, and for now, that’s enough to keep fans excited about the company once again.