Amiibo, the little figurines that allow for extra game features on current Nintendo consoles, have a history of selling out. It appears Piranha Plant is another victim of high demand. NintendoSoup reports that Japanese retail sites, such as AmiAmi and Amazon Japan, have stopped allowing pre-orders for the Piranha Plant Amiibo. If you visit the AmiAmi web page, you'll find that pre-orders are closed. Meanwhile, the Amiibo is only being sold by third party sellers on Amazon Japan.
Interestingly, the King K. Rool and Ice Climbers Amiibo, both also due out in February, are still open for pre-order on Amazon Japan. Ice Climbers is still available at AmiAmi as well. It's tough to say why Piranha Plant appears to be in especially high demand. Could it be that Nintendo underestimated people's interest in a Piranha Plant Amiibo? It could be that with Piranha Plant's status of being a limited time free character, this has motivated everyone to get their orders in for the Amiibo. Maybe it's because Piranha Plant was the most shocking inclusion for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. No matter the reason, hopefully this doesn't mean trouble for those looking to buy an Amiibo of this character in the future.
Piranha Plant was announced as a playable fighter during the final Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct earlier this month. It will not be part of the base roster, but series creator Masahiro Sakurai did reveal that the plant will be available as free DLC for a limited time. If you purchase the game by January 31st, you'll be able to download the character. (After that date, it will instead be available to purchase.) However, Piranha Plant will not be ready at launch, with Sakurai saying it could be ready in a "couple of months." If we take couple to mean at minimum two, we might see Piranha Plant ready for battle in February to coincide with its Amiibo release.
As for why Piranha Plant was included to begin with, Sakurai told Game Informer that it's good to have a balance, mentioning R.O.B., Duck Hunt, and Mr. Game and Watch, characters that Sakurai says is "outside of people’s typical expectations." It is definitely true that players were not expecting Piranha Plant. Although some may have questioned Piranha Plant's inclusion, many are warming up to this odd choice. Super Smash Bros. as a series has always been about delivering fun battles, and what's more fun than seeing a common enemy getting a chance to shine in the spotlight?
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will launch on December 7th.