http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120127/04.html
Iwata wrote:
Already by now, the Wii U is known for its new controller with a screen, among other features. For this controller, please be advised that we have decided to install a NFC function.
As many of you know, NFC is the acronym for Near Field Communication, which is a set of standards to establish radio communication in close proximity. The NFC I’m referring to here is the noncontact NFC standard that is compatible with FeliCa and MIFARE, and is expected to be widely used around the world in the near future.
By installing this functionality, it will become possible to create cards and figurines that can electronically read and write data via noncontact NFC and to expand the new play format in the video game world. Adoption of this functionality will enable various other possibilities such as using it as a means of making micropayments.
Iwata wrote:
As the final topic of today, I’d like to spend a little time talking about the new network service from Nintendo, which has something to do with the subject of micropayments using NFC that I have just mentioned.
As those of you who have enjoyed playing “Mario Kart 7” that we launched late last year should know, its online competition mode includes the system called “Communities.” Each player can create his or her own online “Community” and decide the rules and conditions of the races to be conducted there, and anyone who enters the designated “Community number,” can join to enjoy the matches there. With that system, the company is offering a new kind of network service, which is different from the network services Nintendo has been offering under the name of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
For “Mario Kart 7,” we have already started using as the name of this new network service ... “Nintendo Network” Service.
The Nintendo Network service is our network platform which will cover the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U.
Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers.
For example, competitions and communication among users, as well as the sales of digital content, will be covered within the Nintendo Network.
So Nintendo Network is more than a re-branding of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, it's a complete network platform that will offer full services (like Xbox Live and PSN).
Iwata wrote:
For the digital sales of the content, we are also considering the future possibility of digital distribution of packaged software, which is often referred to as “software download sales.” This concept was built into the design of the Nintendo 3DS, and we already have the necessary infrastructure. We will prepare the same infrastructure for the Wii U. However, we have not decided the concrete timing of when we will start it. The decision must be made by taking into consideration such factors as the relationship with the wholesalers and retailers, and the best way to be embraced by consumers, as well as the environment surrounding the market and consumers, such as the required memory capacity on consumers’ SD memory cards. However, as an option for the future, the significance of this business field will increase.
Also for the Wii U, we are planning to introduce a personal account system compatible with Nintendo Network. With this, for example, the ease of using a video game system when the hardware is shared by multiple family members, which has been a challenge we needed to tackle, shall be improved, and we will also be able to construct and offer the system by combining a variety of different services and content.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS CONFIRMED!
Very exciting message going online... 
