The launch of the Animal Crossing Sanrio Amiibo cards was a mess

Eager Animal Crossing players hoping to obtain exclusive Sanrio Amiibo cards from the Target store were left empty-handed. Things seemed to be working fine when the sale started as scheduled, but errors and out-of-stock alerts affected the entire promotion.

Animal Crossing Sanrio cards are listed as in-store pick-up only, which means that you would have to order online and go to a Target store to redeem them. The sale started at 6am PT, and the errors started almost as soon as the sale was opened. Some stores had limited stock, but even after half an hour, stores showing checkout errors still listed the cards as in stock. As the day went on, many started to list it as sold out.

Fans on social media and the Animal Crossing subreddit were not satisfied. Many have reported their experiences with instant sales, while at least one has suggested calling local Target to put a packet of letters aside and simply go to the store – avoiding in-store withdrawal altogether. The product itself obtained an average rating of 1.6 stars at the time of publication.

Sanrio cards have been launched in Japan and Europe since 2017, as a link to Animal Crossing: New Leaf. This is the first time that the card set is available in the United States, and they unlock villagers and items with the theme of popular Sanrio characters in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

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