Suica

After a fairly lengthy period in the works, Nintendo implemented NFC SUICA card payments on the Wii U eShop in Japan, launching the service on 22nd July. The basic idea is that a typical swipe card used for public transport in the country, as an example, can also be utilised for applying funds to an eShop account.

It's certainly a positive move as a large number of commuters have cards like these as part of daily life, often keeping them topped up with funds. It adds convenience for those that don't want to store or input credit card details for purchases, and is certainly a quicker process than using individual fund cards available in stores; the SUICA promotion also includes a reward scheme for money spent on the system.

We may be yet to hear of a similar implementation of the GamePad's NFC (near field communication) scanner in the West, but the video below does give a nice demonstration of how the system works in Japan. It's not the slickest demonstration, but is informative nevertheless.

[source gonintendo.com]