The new Amiibo that’s designed to be left in the box

This Amiibo can stay usable proudly standing while still inside its box.

The eternal question for the modern Nintendo collector: Do you leave that hard-to-find Amiibo in the box to maximize its long-term value, or do you take it out so you can actually scan it to unlock new features in select Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games? Thankfully, players don't have to make that decision with Yacht Club Games' new Shovel Knight Amiibo. It was purposely designed to be usable even while it's still in its packaging.

Shortly after the US launch of the Shovel Knight Amiibo last week (and the early December launch in Europe), sites like Siliconera and YouTubers like Nintendaan quickly discovered the NFC readers in the Wii U and New Nintendo 3DS can scan the figure even while it's still in its packaging. That makes it different from every other Amiibo released so far, all of which include a small piece of protective material to prevent the base from being scanned from inside the box.

Some assumed Shovel Knight's lack of a protective covering was an oversight or a cost-saving measure implemented for the new Amiibo, which is the first to be produced by a third-party outside of Nintendo itself. But Yacht Club games recently told Polygon that the design is actually an intentional decision.

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