Nintendo has now shipped 10.5m Amiibos

Whatever you think the future holds for the increasingly busy toys-to-life category, Amiibo continues to be a big success for Nintendo.

The platform holder has revealed that it has now shipped 10.5m of the NFC-enabled figures worldwide. Furthermore, 7m of those – around 66 per cent – have been sent to the North American market.

4.8m were shipped in the quarter ending March. The release of Super Smash Bros last year has been a big driver for the range, many new figures of which were designed specifically for the game.

Amiibo’s success comes despite being later to the toys-to-life market that two of its key rivals – Activision’s Skylanders and Disney Infinity. A fourth toys-to-life contender will arrive later this year in the form of LEGO Dimensions.

Nintendo earlier this week apologised to fans for the ongoing struggles many have had trying to source Amiibos, and promised to improve its communication regarding restocks and figure reissues.

The company yesterday reported its first annual profit for four years, primarily on the back of strong software sales. Both Wii U and 3DS missed their annual sales targets.