"They're not tutorials, but let me explain exactly how they are tutorials".
You're playing through small chunks of existing stages with specifically set up challenges for specific mechanics with the difficulty of the missions increasing with each mission. That is exactly how the tutorials for different mechanics in other team based online games work.
No, they're literally the same stages you play in the main campaign just using the roller/charger/et cetera. Tutorials are designed specifically to teach you how to use the weapon, and seeing as how these were built with the Splattershot in mind, they're clearly not tutorials for these weapons.
The MK8 costumes, for example, are just small cosmetic bonuses that don't effect gameplay, but have a unique aesthetic based on the actual character I scanned in. Rather than feeling cheated out of content that actually has universal relevance to every player (gear and weapons with status effects), you get content based on the Amiibos you happened to be collecting and using in other games anyway, so it feels personalised, and those who didn't care enough about Rosalina as a character to get her super hard to find Amiibo at launcg, for example, won't be missing out if they can't use the Mii costume in MK8. This content is smart because it doesn't effect gameplay and helps personalise your experience with the game based on the characters you like most. Splatoon doesn't do that. It's just locking generic content behind a pay wall. I mean, I wouldn't even have minded if they felt like adding gear to the game as DLC, and just made it packs or something. But the content the Amiibos do offer is not worth by any stretch.
A unique character-based aesthetic is nice to have, but I don't see it as a make-or-break deal. Although if you wanna talk about the unlock reflecting the amiibo you scanned in, how about that amiibo appearing in-game and talking directly to you? Because that's what happens in Splatoon.
A) They're unique content that you can't get in any other way, that's significant enough for me to raise an eyebrow, especially since one is available in the game.
B) That's completely different because that mode is designed around using Amiibos as peripherals. Naturally, you can't unlock the mode without an Amiibo, because the mode has no use without the constant implementation of Amiibos and their ability to save little bits of data on the fly. Splatoon just requires you to scan in the Amiibo once to unlock the missions, then you play the missions to unlock the stuff, and then you never touch the Amiibo again.
A) So, like most of the other amiibo-exclusive content?
B) It's not designed around using amiibo. It has an amiibo skin and makes you tap them every five seconds, sure, but everything you do in that game could easily be done without amiibo. You could have profiles for the stands, press a button to roll, etc.
No they aren't, not in the slightest.
Smash allows you to train up a personal "Figure Player". It's like a pet that you watch grow and learn from you. It's really playing with the fact that you are using an Amiibo of a specific character, and you try to help that character grow, and can take it to your friends house to play and pit it against their Amiibos or have it fight alongside you.
Similarly, Splatoon plays with the whole amiibo aspect by having it show up in the game and talk to you, complete with retail packaging.
Nothing is locked away from you here.
Except, you know, the whole train-a-fighter mode.
It was built to help sell Amiibos, and did it without making players who don't want them feel left out, as you can still play as the characters anyway. It's not a side challenge, especially since you never have to even fight against your Amiibo if you really don't want to.
A side challenge is something that's not required to "beat" the game, and with Smash, you don't have to touch amiibo to complete the single player modes (in fact, they can't even be used there).
Mario Kart unlocks cosmetic bonuses that personalise your Mii around the characters you like most and probably already own.
And Splatoon unlocks cosmetic gear (if I'm not mistaken, any gear can have any effect, but I'm not sure about this) that personalize your Inkling.
Mario Kart's Amiibo functionality was not designed to sell Amiibos, it merely gives them extra value, evident by the fact there isn't even a Mario Kart Amiibo line.
All amiibo functionality is meant to sell amiibos. Nintendo is a company with the goal of making money (like every other non-non-profit company), and the more value an amiibo has, the more people will want to buy it.
Wooly World allows you to use any variant of Yoshi Amiibos to have a partner Yoshi that mimics your movements and can generally help you out as you play through the main game. Once again, much like the Smash Bros functionality, you are interacting and "playing with" your figure.
And Splatoon allows you to use an Inkling amiibo to use a different weapon that alters your playstyle as you play through a variation of the main game.
Splatoon is just locking generic (i.e. it isn't very specifically associated with the characters the figure represents), significant and should be complimentary content behind an unjustified pay wall.
It is associated with the character in that you're putting it on the main character. It would be odd to put an Inkling hat on your Inkling, after all. I wouldn't say that slightly tweaked story levels, a bit of extra gear (like the Mii outfits you pay for in Smash via DLC, and which amiibo also give you, which I feel is worth pointing out), and a couple of shallow mini games are a necessity.
It's clearly designed to make players feel like they are missing out on substantial content if they don't fork out half the game's worth of money for these figures (and not even all regions have access to the 3-pack either - plus, in Europe, the only way to get the Squid Amiibo is to fork out extra to have it bundled with the game - unfair for those who would like to utilise the eShop discount provided by the Global Testfire Demo).
If people feel like they're missing out on something (which could happen for the other games), they'll want to buy the figures, which is good for Nintendo.
I don't feel like we should hold amiibo availability (or lack thereof) against the game.
Of course you could, but the difference is those games all justify it.
Smash and Mario Party have Amiibo functionality that just serves no purpose without the Amiibos. They both encourage you to bring your Amiibos out of your home and into other peoples homes to use your own personalised character in some way. Training a Figure Player in Smash serves no purpose in Smash if there is no Figure to go along with it, or if I can't conveniently bring it around. The internet workaround you mention is a compromise - it makes the feature worse. And regardless of whether or not you like Amiibo Party compared to other Mario Party games, the exact way the mode is designed doesn't work without them (it seems you're thinking less about the read/write functionality and more about the boards, which aren't the main mechanic).
I've stated how Amiibo Party would work just fine without amiibo above, so I won't repeat myself. I don't see how using the Internet would make the feature worse. A bit inconvenient perhaps, but you wouldn't need to carry around the figures.
You could wear a Yoshi suit in Mario Kart without an Amiibo, but it'd likely be paid DLC like the Mii Fighter costumes in Smash anyway.
What makes you say that?
But since the main advertised features of the Yoshi Amiibo are in other games, throwing small little, cosmetic bonuses into other games is fine, since it only matters to people who like Yoshi, and people who like Yoshi would probably buy a figure of him anyway for those other games where he has a bigger use. So it feels more like you are getting a bonus based on the characters you like, since you would naturally buy figures of them anyway.
Similarly, the Splatoon amiibo functionality only applies to people who like Splatoon (and most likely the Inklings as a result). I don't know what Splatoon fan wouldn't want to get an Inkling amiibo unless they just disliked the figures or something to that effect.
All of the other Amiibo uses up to Splatoon follow those similar two patterns, and furthermore, they don't intrude the main game. They are either isolated experiences designed with the read/write functionality in mind, or they are naturally integrated, personalised bonuses that don't intrude or side track you from the main experience, merely enhance it based on the personal preferences you have regarding famous Nintendo characters.
Splatoon's amiibo functionality is an isolated experience. It doesn't have any read/write stuff going on, but it adds tons of content that doesn't really interfere with the main game aside from the gear that should act similarly to the other items in the game. You can play through the enitre game and have an absolute blast without touching the amiibo support, but if you do, you get a nice little treat for your efforts.
Splatoon just takes these new characters and attaches generic, but significant unlocks to them, and you will only use them once in their main game.
Splatoon takes these new characters, puts your figures right into the game, and instead of putting an Inkling hat on your Inkling's head, it gives you fresh new twists on existing missions, simple little minigames to kill some time on, and stylish new gear that helps you express your personality and trick out your Inkling. You're encouraged to use them multiple times due to the number of missions they unlock, plus the added challenge of finding the best and fastest way to clear each challenge with these new weapons. And if you think that a game that brings your figures to life, gives you sixty missions to play with new rules, gives you new gear to trick out your Inkling with, and has the cherry on top that are the little minigames has the worst amiibo support, then I highly disagree. That honor goes to Xenoblade 3D for me (by the look of things anyway; haven't played that game myself).[/quote]
today and am super excited.
