Tag: Nfc
News Nintendo Is Interested In Bringing amiibo Support To Smartphones
"We might have an opportunity to use that"
Nintendo could extend the reach of its amiibo range by making the NFC toys compatible with smartphones, Shigeru Miyamoto has hinted. Speaking to IGN after appearing on stage at the recent Apple conference - where he announced Super Mario Run - Miyamoto said: There's nothing we can announce today but It's...
News Capcom Announces a New 3DS Game That Uses Japanese Travel Cards
Another use for the NFC scanner
The New 3DS has some neat tricks hidden within its small shell, one of which is the NFC scanner under the touch screen - it's primarily used for scanning amiibo figures and cards. In Japan the feature is also used with top-up pay cards, such as those utilised on public transport. This functionality kicked in way back...
News 3DS Software Is Getting Patched To Work With The New NFC Reader/Writer Accessory
Amiibo at the ready
Nintendo is launching its NFC Reader/Writer accessory for the non-New models of the 3DS family this Thursday in Japan, and as a result many NFC-compatible games are getting updated so that they support the amiibo-granting dongle. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M., Fire Emblem If (or Fates, if you prefer), Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy...
News Discontinued amiibo Figures Could Be Released In Card Form, Says Miyamoto
"We're looking at how we can use the amiibo functionality in the future"
Nintendo's take on the "toys to life" concept, amiibo, has been a resounding success, with the company almost unable to keep up with the incredible demand for these interactive lumps of NFC-enabled plastic. However, there's been a lot of confusion regarding which figures are...
News Nintendo Shows Off NFC eShop Payments for New Nintendo 3DS in Japan
The amiibo menu is also live, despite the lack of compatible games
Since summer this year gamers in Japan have been able to use a variety of NFC (near field communication) cards to buy content on the Wii U eShop; this includes commonly used cards such as the SUICA brand, which are often kept topped up by consumers for use on local transports...
News Nintendo Patent Hints at Pokémon Standalone Console With NFC Support
Super Effective at emptying bank accounts?
Nintendo is a company, due to its focus on creativity in recent generations, that registers plenty of patents for potential products. While they may not all become a reality, they give a fascinating insight into current priorities and concepts that are doing the rounds within the big N's Kyoto HQ. An...
News UK And Australian Pricing For Nintendo's Amiibo Figure Range Is Confirmed
Same line up as North America, unsurprisingly
Nintendo UK has confirmed that its Amiibo range of "interactive figures" will retail for £10.99 each. The full range of 12 figures — the same roster that was announced for North America — has been added to Nintendo's online UK store, and the pricing has been replicated over at leading independent...
Video Japanese Wii U Owner Gives a Handy Demonstration of SUICA NFC Payments on eShop
We'll excuse the dodgy music overlap...
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...
News 72 Million Kids Are Dying To Get Their Grubby Hands On Smart Toys Like Amiibo
New research bodes well for Nintendo's new "Toys to Life" range
Nintendo may find that the commercial success of its upcoming Amiibo NFC toy range could exceed even the most outlandish of expectations, if new research conducted by Entertainment, media and technology market research firm Interpret is correct. The company recently commissioned a...
Parent Trap Amiibo Charts A Fresh Course In The Toys To Life Sector
Wallets are going to suffer this Christmas
Seen one toy-video-game craze and you’ve seen them all, right? Counter to first impressions Skylanders, Disney Infinity and Angry Birds Telepods each offer a distinct experience. Nintendo’s amiibo characters offer another new way to combine toys and video-games, but how different is it to these other...
E3 2014 Nintendo Reveals Amiibo NFC Concept, Confirmed For Mario Kart 8
Toys 'r' Us
As expected, Nintendo has confirmed its NFC figurine platform for the Wii U, and has even given it a funky new name: Amiibo. During Nintendo's E3 Digital Event, Amiibo was shown in the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros., where a Mario figure was deployed to assist in battle. Other confirmed figures for the game are Kirby, Yoshi,...
News The Wii U Version Of Super Smash Bros. Will Utilise The NFC Nintendo Figurine Platform
From the mouth of Nintendo of France's managing director Stephan Bole
Update: Nintendo UK has issued us with the following statement: On 8th May 2014, Mr Iwata announced the decision for Nintendo to release character figurines with built-in NFC functionality that are compatible with video games starting from this year-end sales season. There...
Talking Point For Better Or For Worse, The Wii U GamePad Is Here To Stay
Don't expect a Microsoft-style U-turn from Nintendo
The brief lifespan of Microsoft's Xbox One has been overshadowed by a series of embarrassing turnarounds. First, the company was forced to bow to popular opinion and alter its policy on having an "always on" internet connection, then it quickly changed its stance on indie self-publishing. More...
News Satoru Iwata Announces 'Nintendo Figurine Platform' to Utilise NFC for Wii U and 3DS
Like Skylanders and Disney Infinity, but with Nintendo characters
Update: The translated English investor briefing has now been posted, confirming the details outlined below. The provisional names for this range — or 'platform' — of figurines are 'NFC Featured Platform' and 'Nintendo Figurine Platform'. Original Article: With the continuing...
Talking Point NFC And The GamePad Can Succeed If Nintendo Gives Players Control
Lessons to be learned from successes such as Minecraft and Disney Infinity
This year is vitally important for Nintendo, just like 2013 and 2012, admittedly. 2013 was a strange year in that notable successes and triumphs were overshadowed by missed targets and Nintendo's own disappointment. It was a year of contradictions — 3DS was the top-selling...
News Satoru Iwata Outlines Retail Download Strategies and a Future of NFC
"Nintendo platforms’ digital business still has room to grow"
If you're a traditionalist that doesn't like the idea of retail downloads, DLC and additional paid extras for games, look away now. As Nintendo seeks to maximise revenues and hit its 100 billion Yen operating profit target, it's going to offer us more games content to buy for both...
News Details and Figurines Continue to Evolve for Pokémon Rumble U
NFC toy sales are super effective!
Pokémon Rumble U — actually translated as Pokémon Scramble U in Japan — arrives on the Wii U eShop in Nintendo's homeland on 24th April. The Pokémon Company and Nintendo will no doubt be hoping that as well as the game itself performing well, it'll get a lot of interest and sales of the accompanying NFC...
News Pokémon Rumble U Trailer Shows NFC in Action
Details of first set of figurines included
Announced in Coro Coro magazine in February, Pokémon Scramble U, commonly being called Pokémon Rumble U in the West, arrives as a download-only Wii U title on 24th April for 1800 Yen, which at the time of writing equates to just over $18/€14/£12; it continues on from Pokémon Rumble on WiiWare and...
News Pokémon Scramble U Set To Be The First Wii U Title To Use The NFC Feature
We can hear our wallets crying
The latest edition of CoroCoro magazine has released some new information on upcoming Pokémon title for the Wii U, Pokémon Scramble U. The game will be released in Japan on the 24th April, and it'll be the first title to utilize the console's NFC (Near Field Communication) feature. NFC allows the player to place...
News Miyamoto: Harnessing NFC On Wii U Is Our Priority Right Now
Nintendo's Senior Managing Director also talks dual GamePad support
Super Mario creator and Nintendo Senior Managing Director Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed a little more about his company's plans for the Wii U console, and NFC features quite heavily. Speaking with Polygon, Miyamoto stressed that NFC is going to happen in a big way on the Wii U:...
News Ubisoft "Can't Disclose" Information About Rayman Legends NFC Connectivity
Skylanders-style figures were "something we were thinking about", says publisher
Remember that leaked Rayman Legends trailer which appeared to indicate that the game would boast some kind of NFC connectivity with action figures? It turned out to be a case of Ubisoft "thinking out loud" rather than an indication of what the final game will contain,...
News Don't Expect Any NFC-Ready Games At Wii U Launch
None of the day-one titles feature any support for new wireless tech
If you follow the world of cell phones then you'll have heard of NFC (or "Near Field Communication"). It's a big thing in the mobile world right now (despite the fact that Apple has left it out of the new iPhone 5) and Nintendo has been forward-thinking enough to include it in the...
News Wii U Controller Gets Intriguing New Wireless Technology
Near Field Communication is go
Satoru Iwata revealed to investors that the Wii U controller will feature Near Field Communication (NFC) functions. The wireless technology is commonly used in non-contact transactions such as swiping travel cards and making credit or debit card payments. It's Iwata's description of the technology's applications,...