With a simple tweet and completely out of left field, Nintendo today announced that the upcoming Link Amiibo figure will be compatible with the recently released Hyrule Warriors Wii U game.
The surprise announcement makes perfect strategic sense given the early popularity of the Link Amiibo figure. He was the most popular Amiibo when online retailer Amazon.com began taking pre-orders a few weeks ago. Nintendo surely has pre-sale data from numerous retailers and wants to use the character’s popularity to help increase sales of Hyrule Warriors.
Like Mario Kart 8, the thought is that Nintendo will activate Amiibo functionality in Hyrule Warriors via a DLC patch sometime in the future. Nintendo is promising more information about the Link Amiibo Hyrule Warriors compatibility in the future, but details are nil beyond that promise. The functionality could be unlocked this holiday season, the likely time frame, or anytime in 2015.
Link is part of the first wave of Amiibo figures that will arrive on store shelves November 21 alongside their companion game, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. A second wave of Amiibo figures that includes Zelda will be available in early December. With Zelda also a playable character in Hyrule Warriors, don’t rule out her Amiibo getting the same treatment as Link via a future announcement.
#amiibo figure Link will be compatible with #HyruleWarriors. Stay tuned for more info. pic.twitter.com/7mPQkfppuq
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 21, 2014
