Nintendo’s first round of amiibo figures available for preorder, immediately top Amazon charts

When we first saw Nintendo’s amiibo figures up close at E3, we noted how much we liked the designs and how we’d undoubtedly end up purchasing ~~a ton~~ all of them. But we didn’t have a release date! The figurines, which will fit in the same Toys to Life category as the uber-popular Skylanders and Disney Infinity IPs, were a hit at the show.

Well, we still don’t have a release date outside of “later this year” but at least now we can preorder the figures. During its Direct presentation the other day, Nintendo announced the opening of amiibo preorders, beginning now at many major retailers. The first collection includes 12 characters and will be compatible with Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS — though the 3DS NFC reader won’t be available until 2015. The company also plans to allow the characters to interface in some way with Mario Kart 8 and Captain Toad (releasing this holiday season).

Each will cost $12.99, with more potentially releasing later in the holiday season and into 2015. These could include Princess Zelda and Pit, which were visible in prototype form at E3 this past Summer. Images of the packaging are available below in the gallery. Fun fact: the figures have already shot up to the top of Amazon’s best sellers list.

The first set of amiibo figures are listed below, with links to Amazon (if you’re interested in helping support SideQuesting’s eternal hosting costs).