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Nintendo Reveals Mario NFC Figurine For Wii U And 3DS

mario_nfc_figurine

Nintendo showcased a Mario NFC figurine during its investor’s meeting today. The company is making character figurines that are code-named Nintendo Figurine Platform (NFP), which contain built-in NFC functionality and will be compatible with both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, which is getting its own NFC reader/writer that will launch next year.

“To establish new and growing areas through the active utilization of character IP, it is important for Nintendo to take risks ourselves and come up with interesting ways to use our character IP,” said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. “In other words, other than using character IP in Nintendo’s video game software, we need to start a new business that will someday become one of our core activities.

“We have decided to release character figurines with built-in NFC functionality that are compatible with video games starting from this year-end sales season. We are calling the figurines by their development codename, NFP, which comes from “NFC Featured Platform” and “Nintendo Figurine Platform.

“Nintendo has been developing an NFC reader/writer for the Nintendo 3DS family, as you can see on this slide, and we are planning to launch it in the first half of the next calendar year. This will make Nintendo 3DS compatible with the NFC reader/writer via infrared communication, and as a result, you will be able to read and write NFC data with the Nintendo 3DS device in the palm of your hand.

“That is to say, NFP is going to be compatible with Wii U software from this year-end, and compatible with both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS software from next year.”

100 thoughts on “Nintendo Reveals Mario NFC Figurine For Wii U And 3DS”

  1. Uhh hello! i cant wate two colect them al because i love figurs because they r fun two colect because i lvoe them!

    1. pink0crystal0midbus

      It’s to help them make money. Because no one is buying the Wii U they have to suck money out of people like Disney and Activision are doing with Disney Infinity and Skylanders.

      It’s both genius and well…. evil. People have given them no choice… if everyone just bought the console Nintendo wouldn’t have to stoop to this level.

      1. But if Nintendo hadn’t left Wii U in the dark with pack of advertisements and answers of Wii U’s existence and potential, they wouldn’t have fucked themselves over plus 3rd parties acting so goddamn premature stomping and lying about the Wii U just because its built differently and they hate working hard to make their games great in quality and optimizations anymore.

        So I say its both Nintendo and the lazy/selfish/lying 3rd Parties at fault for putting Wii U in such low dirt position that confused fans have given up hope on the platform and still wonder WTF is happening and what’s true. Its always something so fucking silly that makes both sides bitch at each other instead of having patience to working together for a better compromise.

      2. But if Nintendo hadn’t left Wii U in the dark with pack of advertisements and answers of Wii U’s existence and potential, they wouldn’t have fucked themselves over plus 3rd parties acting so goddamn premature stomping and lying about the Wii U just because its built differently and they hate working hard to make their games great in quality and optimizations anymore.

        So I say its both Nintendo and the lazy/selfish/lying 3rd Parties at fault for putting Wii U in such low dirt position that confused fans have given up hope on the platform and still wonder WTF is happening and what’s true. Its always something so fucking silly that makes both sides bitch at each other instead of having patience to work together for a better compromise.

  2. Would have been better if they made an actual full Pokemon adventure game or RPG with NFC figures. Or even a NFC Pokemon card battle game for Wii U.

    I guess we’ll have to wait and see what this is all about at E3. It better be good, Nintendo! =p

    1. Yah … Pokemon is another company though … i think they’re closely tied with Big N but a little distant

      Still, they should have a lot of these things and hopefully they’re also useful somehow … more info is needed.

      1. The Pokemon Company, as far as I can remember, is basically comprised of Nintendo, Creatures Inc, and Game Freak. Both Creatures Inc. and GameFreak are wholly owned by Nintendo.

        Nintendo owns all rights to Pokemon. The Pokemon Company, a subsidiary, is mainly for marketing and licensing – I think. Nintendo just markets “The Pokemon Company” as something separate. I’ll have to look into it again, but I’m pretty sure.

    2. Pokemon company choice nintendo doesn’t own them fully, If i recall a pokemon fighting game maybe in the works. Also I recall gamefreak not being to happy with two on gamecube

      1. Pokemon Company is owned by Nintendo, isn’t it? Pretty sure it is. Also: See my reply to Ted.

        As for the fighting game, that’s nonsense. Those type of games are never as big as the full adventure or RPG’s. They already tried a Pokemon Rumble U with NFC which failed terribly.

        1. they own half I I recall, I wouldn’t mind seeing a RPG, but its mostly up to game freak. We also repeat will never see a pokemon MMO. Pokemon fighting game has potential its never happen out side of smash bros, we don’t know how gamers react to it.

          1. Who owns the other half? And Game Freak is a subsidiary (owned by) Nintendo. Nintendo has the authority to tell them what to make and for what system, they just don’t usually.

            1. I don’t fully understand the terms my self, I just saying I’ve heard from a couple of friends that nintendo owns half, I up for a pokemon RPG on the wii u any day not against, though a MMO is a stupid idea

              1. The wiki can help guys…hold on.

                It says here that Nintendo is the main owner of the pokemon because they branched out…thus making the pokemon company, however gamefreak and creatures INC. are companies that Nintendo also owns the copyrights along with them. Here, I could be wrong but here…this will help you guys I think. I don’t know if I am right on that saying anyways but you guys can figure it out.

                http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pok%C3%A9mon_Company

                “THE POKEMON COMPANY:

                The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン Kabushiki-gaisha Pokemon?) is a corporation responsible for marketing and licensing the Pokémon franchise and is affiliated with Nintendo.[1] It began operating in 1998 and adopted the moniker “Pokémon Ltd.” in 2000. The company is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi Rokuchome, Minato, Tokyo.[2] The company has separate divisions that handle operations in different parts of the world, with The Pokémon Company International supporting the US and UK as of 2009. The company manages the Pokémon properties and releases.

                HISTORY:

                Company operations began in 1998 with the opening of Pokémon Center in Tokyo, before the actual trademark of “Pokémon, Ltd.” was established in 2000. Since then, Nintendo has been marketing this branch as “The Pokémon Company”. The US branch (Pokémon USA, Inc) opened in 2001 to handle licensing overseas. Nintendo Australia does all licensing and marketing of Pokémon products in Australia and New Zealand, as The Pokémon Company does not have an Australian branch.[3] The company is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi Rokuchome, Minato, Tokyo.[4]

                Since 2001, nearly all licensed Pokémon products have “©Pokémon” in the copyright acknowledgments with the usual three of “©Nintendo”, “©Game Freak” and “©Creatures Inc.”. The video games, Pokémon Trading Card Game and licensed toys are still being made by third and second party companies such as Takara Tomy.

                In 2009, Pokémon USA and Pokémon UK merged to become The Pokémon Company International, which handles non-Asian Pokémon operations under the administration of Kenji Okubo. Australian operations are to still be under control of Nintendo Australia, which is headed by Managing Director, Yuji Bando.[5] The company’s United States offices are in Bellevue, Washington.[6]”

            2. Nintendo owns over 51% of each company, so they basically own everything related to pokemon. It is wholly exclusive under nintendo and big n basically dictates what, where, and how it’s released. Doesn’t matter if Microsoft owned the other 49 or whatever percent, nintendo would still have final say. That was the whole issue with rare where nintendo owned 49%, so rare wanted to sell the existing 51% instead of another 2-5% and become minority owners with really little to no say in company operations.

  3. “It is important for Nintendo to take risks ourselves and come up with interesting ways to use our character IP,” said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.”

    Oh? Then do a damn fucking Starfox game, that’s a risk, people said its a risk and that’s why they wont make a new one. And if this Nintendo NFC Action Figures things turns out to be what I think it COULD be, then Nintendo actually might have made a good decision and will get a shit ton of money.

      1. True, it will sell to all of us on here. By no means a system seller. If wii u picks up, starfox would still only do 3-4 mil at most

  4. well at least they’re not taking the Skylanders approach

    and these figures are compatible with an existing game that you have.

    Skylanders makes u buy the game and buy a half dozen figures just to complete the game so to me I think this is a good idea I hope it helps Nintendo show skylanders how NFC is really done :)

  5. It’s good that it’s coming to Wii U starting this year and 3DS next year to sell some units… More info will come soon but it’s great that figures can be used in more than one game and there are tons of characters and IPs to draw from. Combining them will be fun and hopefully gamers can be creative & share with each other. Hopefully it’s cards & figurines. In any case it’ll be uniquely Nintendo!!

    1. next year is after April 2015 … remember the year of luigi? … again, April … push your expectations back 4 more months

    1. We’ll find out more details at E3. But Nintendo is bringing something to the Wii U and 3DS along the lines of Disney Infinity and Skylanders.

  6. lol mario nfc reader lol, what a flop its going to be. i dont even care for the feature on my gamepad. this makes wii u just fail like a hd 3ds.

    1. Tell that to the creators of Skylanders and Disney Infinity… they earned a shit ton of money from this type of stuff..

      You really are losing ideas aren’t you..

    2. Also, saying the Wii U is a HD 3DS is actually a complement because you’re basically saying Nintendo will make a comeback with the Wii U and sales will reach 3DS levels of sales… I’m glad you feel that way now, glad to see you love the Wii U after all :)

    3. your gamepad? do you still have your wii u, i thought you hate everything about nintendo, nintendo lover confirmed!!!

      1. He’s a fucking hypocrite brokeback gorilla. Anything coming out of his mouth (other than “something else”) is beyond stupid fandork talk.

        I’m wondering if his snipped dick wasn’t the only thing that got fucked up when his gorilla mother spawned that creature…maybe his head perhaps?

    4. Still with the ass talk about something that hasn’t taken itself into full fruition yet.

      STFU and wait to see how this goes before talking dumb, inaccurate shit like Patcher.

    5. so, You are supporting your Wii U, you will buy games (or your parents will buy) but you won’t buy the NFC reader.
      ……………………………………………………………..
      You love your Wii U, you only make those comments and videos because you need atention, lol !!!

    6. Your point is invalid. Every single game that had experimented with NFC, such as Skylanders and Disney Infinity, has seen considerable success. You may not be interested in it, but many other people more open to change are willing to try this new and innovative method of gaming. This may be a big step for the gaming industry and it could very well enhance the user’s experience. A HD 3DS also sounds like a great idea. Imagine games like Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon and Fire Emblem in HD. The graphics would be amazing, and coupled with 3D capabilities it would truly make an immersive experience for the player.

  7. I don’t want more junk, just games. I really hope they don’t require figurines for you to have the true experience.

  8. does anyone find interesting, the first image is of mario bros u, second image is of 3d world, but what about the third??? new game to be announce at e3??

  9. Ooo, ooo! What if Smash Bros is NFC compatible, and instead of releasing DLC with new characters, they just release a new figure, and you can use that to put that figure into smash.

  10. pink0crystal0midbus

    If it is Nintendo’s take on Disney Infinity, count me the fuck in! That would be better than Mario Kart and Smash Bros!

    NFC characters in an open world game with a modge podge of Nintendo themed areas to explore and or build with Nintendo items… I mean, who would need Minecraft if they had a Nintendo version of Disney Infinitie’s “Toy Box?”

    For me, it would quite simply be “The Game to End All Games.” I’d never get bored of it and they could keep coming out with more characters and more content, etc, etc.

    I’m officially excited.

    1. You have BUY these figurines, it’s not like they are free. I’m sure you’re glad Nintendo is sucking up more money from you..

    2. Imagine an open world adventure game starring all of Nintendo universe. That would definitely compete Disney Infinity and as for Skylanders, fuck them, their overpriced POS figures and for disgracing Spyro.

    1. WOW! “ThetrollU” on a Nintendo website which talks about the 3DS and Wii U.
      How original man

    2. Same said for Disney Infinity and yet, I don’t hear anyone calling that shit out. Of course, you wanna cheaply and blindly talk shit about Nintendo too.

      GTFO

  11. Wow… that actually sounds pretty cool :)

    So Nintendo is finally going to show people what the Wii U gamepad’s NFC Chip can do

    1. kinda they want to make a game but have the figures have more then one use, like extra content.

  12. So basically, they’re copying Activision’s Skylanders, of which they once thought wasn’t good enough for them. Remember the article about Nintendo rejecting partnership with Activision on Skylanders? Yea.
    Too ironic.
    Where is your oh-so-original Nintendo now?

    1. Good job at completely forgetting that it happened years ago. Yea. Too I ironic.
      Where is your oh-so-epic comeback now?

      1. He doesn’t have one because he is too busy getting his mommy to buy him the new $110 Skylanders game with a new portal that is basically the same as the older one but you can’t seem to buy the game separately.

        1. Funny how you assume that I’m into Skylanders even though I haven’t expressed any kind of personal opinion towards it.
          Also, *she.

          1. That wasn’t an error ;)
            I know your mommy is secretly a man. Again, have fun with your Skylanders toys because it appears you must show deep interest in the subject.

            1. Chozodian Emissary

              Hey now, even if she has a different opinion than ours, we can be civil. Plus if she is a lady, we should treat her like one.

      2. “Where is your oh-so-epic comeback now”… You do realize that I can’t give you a comeback before you even post your first reply to my comment, right?
        And I’m not sure how the fact that it happened years ago justifies Nintendo copying them after giving them a huge rejection. I don’t even understand how that’s supposed to be a contra argument to what I’ve said.

        1. BECAUSE after the release of the original Skylanders, Nintendo realized it had huge sales prospects, therefore deciding to take a dip into NFC based games to see the short and long term outcomes. Isn’t it obvious? Wii remote, Kinect and Playstation Move. Oculus Rift, Project Morpheus. Natural outcome in this industry

          1. Exactly, and what does that tell us? That Nintendo needs to stop thinking so damn high of themselves and consider some deals a little more instead of pulling a “We’ve never seen anything like this before” and giving other companies no chance to work with them, even if it would turn out profitable for them in the end. Sorry, but they’re just that arrogant. They need to realize that they’re not as big in the business anymore as they used to be 15-20 years ago.

    2. Skylanders isn’t really that original, games had toys that interact with the games WAY before Skylanders. Plus, Nintendo were smart because if they would have agreed to the deal, Activision would get most of the money from the toys and the Skylanders games.

      So really, this is an original concept because the toys interact with different games, Skylanders toys only interact with newer and more expensive Skylanders games.

      You see here’s the thing:

      Wii U NFC Figures –
      – You don’t need to buy a new gamepad for each new generation of game.
      – You can use the figures in a variety of games, even if they are a different genre.

      Skylanders –
      – You NEED to constantly buy new portals with newer figure that interact with the portal.
      – You CAN’T use them in any other game other than Skylanders.

      So yeah, Nintendo copies one design, people go ape shit. Sony and Microsoft copy several design, you guys don’t seem to mind… hypocrite much?

      1. What exactly makes you think that Activision would get most of the money? Do you have insight to the suggested deal? Were you present when Activision made the offer? I do not think so. Besides, seeing how immensly popular the Skylanders franchise is, Nintendo would have made huge profits with the collaboration. So no, it was not smart at all to not agree to the deal.
        Also, Activision is a company and companies seek to make money. Bringing out new games and portals regularly is maxing out the profit, and seeing that people keep buying it, why would they stop with it? It’s a smart way of making money and it’s not so uncommon for companies to do that, so what’s your point?
        And it’s cute how you think that this is the first time Nintendo is copying something/-one. Adorable.
        You shouldn’t assume too much though, you don’t know me and so, you don’t if I mind anything Sony or Microsoft do. Therefore, you’re not the one to know whether I’m a hypocrite or not.

        1. And it’s cute how you think that this is the first time Sony and Microsoft are copying something/-one. *COUGH* Kinect Wiimote ripoff, PS4 touch pad Wii U game pad ripoff, *COUGH*

          1. I don’t even… Where exactly have I said that I think it’s the first time Sony/Microsoft copied someone. I literally just said in the comment you replied to that you can’t know what I think about what Microsoft and Sony do because I simply haven’t said anything about any of them.

            1. What I’m TRYING to say, is that everyone gets inspiration from each other. It’s business, it’s what you have to do to win. You make it sound that Nintendo’s the only one which does that, so I’m clarifying.

        2. From what I read, you’re basically damage controlling for your failed attempt of sounding smart ;)

      2. Exactly. EVERYBODY IS COPYING EACH OTHER OFF and why? Competition.

        Man these fucking fandork apes are stupid.

        1. It’s not about the copying itself, but more about the fact that they gave Activision a huge rejection, only to turn around just a few years later and to the same thing as them. I do realize that “copying” each other is what’s driving the business, but in my opinion, there is a difference between simply picking up someone else’s idea and picking up someone else’s idea that originally wasn’t good enough for you just a while ago.
          And using expressions like “fandork ape” isn’t going to support your argument, on the contrary, it’s just going to make me take you less seriously. Especially if I haven’t even expressed any kind of opinion towards any of the companies, which means that you don’t have any idea whatsoever which company/companies I even support.

          1. Chozodian Emissary

            So, you’re so riled up because Nintendo rejected a proposition that didn’t work in their favor to later on down the road use NFC technology in their own way? That’s business, if the deal isn’t in your favor you reject it. Now that it’s selling well, you adapt it into what IS in your favor.

            It seems like you’re harboring a grudge against Nintendo, what’s your beef with them?

  13. I wouldn’t mind seeing a skylanders/infinity type of game that is the main basis for the figurines, but give the figurines a function in the rest of the first party games offered on Nintendo systems. That would at least give them added value. As long as Nintendo doesn’t try selling these things for more money because they’ll be utilized in more games, I think they could have something big here.

    I’m crossing my fingers that Nintendo actually does something big this year at E3. Even if it’s presented through a Nintendo Direct, they need to bring the big guns. Most people believe it is already too late for Nintendo to save the Wii U, and they may be right, but I’m hoping Nintendo can remove their heads from their collective rear ends and make some magic happen!

  14. When I was reading I thought that nintendo was sticking a character model into the figures so that other games that don’t normally have the character can import it from the NFP and use it as a playable character.

  15. Huh, this should be interesting to say the least. This will likely be the first time I’ll spend money on the figurine thing, and if its successful I can easily see Microsoft or Sony jumping onto the bandwagon. Funny how Nintendo are now choosing to do this, after what the Skylanders team said about them turning down the idea, but seeing how Skylanders is doing still, I can see why they see it as a good idea now. I believe that the Skylanders team themselves said Nintendo could have got a ton of money from doing this, though I could be remembering wrong. Either way, as long as the figurines don’t cost too much, and they use the idea in one of any number of ways that will please fans, the figurines will sell well is my prediction.

  16. I think it’ll make them a lot of money. It does sound kind of evil, but that’s only because we KNOW it will make them a bunch of money. Nintendo owns some of the most beloved characters of all time, and now they’re using them. I’ve never bought into the figurine thing before, but dangit, a Mario statue I can use to play games just seems too cool for me to pass up. If I haven’t already sold my soul to Nintendo, well, here’s me signing it away.

  17. Yes! This is exactly what Nintendo has been needing (screw me). Haha, in order to survive this modern era of highly intelligent gamers, Nintendo needs to hold back content from the games you’re already paying full price for and then charge you to download it. Genius!!!

    And with NFC figurines added to incomplete games, which in total are more expensive than the console you’re playing them on, itself, Nintendo will be here stay for a long time and that’s all that matters. °~*

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