“Nintendo should make their own version of Skylanders!”
How many times have you heard that? With the ongoing success of Skylanders and now Disney Infinity, it was only a matter of time before more companies jumped on board with the collectible figurines + video game formula. We saw a small version of it appear on the Wii U eShop in the form of Pokémon Rumble, using the GamePad’s NFC technology.
Well, my friends… the time has come. We knew awhile ago that Nintendo had stated its plans to expand licensing of its characters and IPs, and now president and CEO Satoru Iwata has revealed an upcoming “Nintendo Figurine Platform” in the latest investor briefing. What we know so far is that, rather than using the collectibles for just one game at a time, the figurines will work with multiple games in multiple ways.
The figures will read and write data, allowing for character customization in a way we haven’t see with this technology yet. The products will be initially based for the Wii U, scanned in using the GamePad’s NFC sensor, though there is a planned NFC reader/writer 3DS portal that is in the works for release in the “first half of next year” (using the 3DS’s infra-red sensor).
We’ll likely see these figures released around the holiday season, perhaps in conjunction with Super Smash Bros.? Presumably, more details will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead—Nintendo has plans to explain and reveal more fully their plans at this year’s E3.
