You ask why they are keeping them scarce and then admit that you wouldn't be buying the common ones anyway because they're common.
When these first came out, I made the incorrect assumption that these would be like their supposed competition, the Skylanders and Infinity toys. The perception at the time was that they'd be compatible with the upcoming SSB game and then potentially more titles down the line. Of course when SSB came out, that functionality wasn't really there and it's hard to say what else they'll do with these things other than being semi functional novelties. That might have been their plan all along though.
More to that point, because I assumed that they would be like Skylanders and Infinity, I also assumed that every store would have ample stock of the whole line of figures, not just their most visible characters. I can't speak for Skylanders as I've never had an interest in that line but as far as Infinity goes, every store I've been in has had most all of the entire lineup available for purchase. If a figure wasn't present at that store I just assumed that it was popular and they were out of stock on it because I would go to another store down the street and they'd have a whole row of that figure I didn't see in the previous store.
As for the common/not common thing...even if they DID release their product like their competition I would still go for the B and C level characters first because up till now I've been inundated with merchandise for Mario, Link and the like whereas getting anything Fire Emblem or Animal Crossing seems like a chore since Nintendo treats Mario like DC treats Batman as in everything else is secondary to their sacred cash cow. I always jumped on a new Fire Emblem or Animal Crossing release not because it could be rare at some point but because it WASN'T another Mario or Zelda game.
They also got you to pre-order because you don't want to miss out on future releases. If you were as "disenfranchised" as you say you are, then you wouldn't be checking all over town for rare toys.
I don't see where I said anything about "checking all over town" as you implied. I live in a huge suburban area that has just about every major store you can think of on one street (in some cases there's actually two locations). When I think of checking all over town, that to me implies driving to several locations of the same business in different areas along the interstate. That's not to say I haven't done that in the past but by and large I usually don't have to because of the cluster of stores all in one spot and the chances of them having what I want is pretty good.
As for pre-ordering, I had every intention of picking up the entire line at some point but again I incorrectly assumed they would be widespread and readily available. I assumed wrong and it bit me in the ass once the frenzy set in so I missed out on picking up Marth, Villager, and Wii Fit Trainer as well as Pit and probably Lucario and Rosalina. I decided to go ahead and pre-order because I didn't want to have to fight with the scalpers/flippers over something that SHOULD be readily available for sale and replenishment.
As for being disenfranchised, maybe that's the wrong word? Perhaps disheartened might be more appropriate? Help me out here without the dismissive tone if possible. I am a fan of Nintendo but I'm not pleased that they continue to use this tactic over and over again as I don't see what purpose it really serves other than a minor boost on their quarterly return (and the reasoning may just be as simple as that).
I'm sure they see as clearly as we do the craze and hype and its effects. It's happened before (wii), and there were scalpers then. Once the craze starts dying down, I'm sure we'll see more of the more uncommon toys.
I'm hesitant to compare the Wii craze to this because in my mind, Nintendo had every intention of selling as many Wii units as it could and I have to imagine the hype over those actually did far exceed their ability to manufacture the units so there was a genuine shortage of systems. The difference with these is retailers have tried to replenish their sold thru stock and finding that they cannot.
However, if they start making them into cards like I read before, that's where I'm going to feel the most upset. The novelty of having SSB statues is what I enjoy most, and that will be gone if they went with cards.
The simplest and smartest thing to do is green light another production run. These things are put on display right next to the Infinity and Skylanders so there's the obvious marketing angle that these are not only novelties but interactive toys for video games. Sure the cards could function the same but they lack the novelty appeal of the figurines. Surely Nintendo has the empirical data by now that tells them how many they need to manufacture and still turn a profit.