Nintendo has been releasing Amiibo to the public since 2014. While this toys to life initiative has been slowing down over the years, over 200 of these in the form of both figures and cards have hit store shelves around the world. A lot of these are readily available today thanks to re-releases and due to the craze dying down over the years. But, there is still one amiibo out there that remains elusive and is perhaps the rarest ever released. Of course, I’m talking about the Qbby amiibo. Let’s get into it.
Release & Background
For the final Hako Boy, or BoxBoy!, game on the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo released Sayonara Hako Boy (Bye-Bye BoxBoy!) on February 2, 2017 in Japan, and later in Europe, Australia and North America in March and April 2017 respectively. I first pre-ordered my Qbby amiibo set on December 6, 2016 from Amazon Japan. Nintendo did a full reveal of the set in a “Topic” post for the game in Japan on January 18, 2017. This was both done via text and pictures in the article and a preview video that Nintendo posted on their YouTube channel.
The amiibo was only available through a special package called the Hako Boy! Hakozume Box, or “BoxBoy! Box Filled Box.” This Japan exclusive set retailed for ¥3,200 (roughly $28.21 USD) and contained a physical 3DS cart with all three 3DS games, a physical CD soundtrack with 34 tracks and the Qbby amiibo. In terms of functionality of the Qbby amiibo, the figure unlocked a Qucy costume and a special Game Boy green filter for the game.
Why is it rare?
There are a few reasons as to why this is considered one of the rarest, if not the rarest, amiibo ever released.
1. Japan Exclusive…?
The most obvious, but definitely a factor, the Qbby amiibo was only ever released in Japan via the bundle that I detailed previously…or was it?
It is interesting to note that, while, yes, Qbby was only officially released in Japan, Nintendo fans in Australia and New Zealand had a chance to order this Japanese version through the Nintendo AU/NZ eBay store. This curious decision makes me wonder and ties in with my next point…
2. Poor Sales?
While we may never know exactly how well the Box Boy series sold on the 3DS digitally, we do have some data on how the physical bundle sold in Japan. The launch week sales in late January/early February 2017, as reported by Media Create (via Perfectly Nintendo), show that the game moved 7,582 units. According to Famitsu, the sell-through rate of the game was somewhere between 20-40%, which is not very high. After launch, the game didn’t crack the top 20 in weekly sales, so it is very unlikely that the physical version sold many more units afterward.
Again, just to reiterate, as of the time writing, Nintendo has not published any details about the sales of the series over time. With that said, we may never know how many copies of the games sold. That leads me to my next point…
3. Not a Strong IP
The Box Boy series saw some success on the Nintendo 3DS as is evident by the release of so many titles in such quick succession. At the same time, the series kind of came and went without much fanfare. Four titles later, five if you count the special mobile app collaboration with Uniqlo, the series has remained dormant despite critical praise. It’s a shame, but perhaps Nintendo felt that there stretched the concept as much as they could. I disagree with that sentiment, but that could certainly be one of the reasons.
Photo Gallery
The design of the Qbby amiibo isn’t going to blow you away aesthetically. Given the simplistic design of the character in general, it doesn’t really have to. This amiibo brings Qbby into 3D for the first time and has him simply placed on a stand looking forward. Even with that said, it’s a nice looking figure.
As I mentioned previously, I just picked this set up by chance and had it pre-ordered well before it actually released in February 2017. At the time, like many other Nintendo fans, I was excited about the release of the Switch, which was just a month away. While I did play the game a bit, I just never opened up the amiibo, and it has just remained boxed and sitting on my self ever since. From here, let’s take a closer look at the Qbby amiibo itself.
Conclusion
Although I don’t think this Box Boy amiibo is necessarily the best ever created, its limited availability and fringe IP status make it interesting to say so in the least. I don’t collect things with an expectation of it becoming rare and you shouldn’t either. It’s impossible to know what items are going to pop off down the line in terms of rarity, but this special set is one of those and I’m happy to share this with you.
But let’s turn things over to you. What are some of your favorite amiibo? Do you have this Box Boy amiibo? What are some of your favorites? What would you like to see Nintendo make? Be sure to sound off in the comments down below. We’d love to hear from you!
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