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 Wii U's innovative GamePad.
But here's the problem: according to reports, none of the games available at launch will make any kind of use of the NFC chip.
You may recall the leaked Raymen Legends trailer which apparently showed the NFC chip being put to good use; however, we've since heard rumours that the video was a largely a proof of concept and the final game will not feature such functionality.
It's hardly a crushing blow, if we're honest - NFC is exciting, but there's plenty of time for developers to really explore what they can do with it. In the meantime, we have lots of lovely launch games to keep us busy.
[source qrcodepress.com]
Comments 20
So no toy scanning like in Rayman Legends leak trailer? Dang, I was actually kinda hoping to get DLC in games via collecting toys..
That sucks about the trailer not being final That wouldv'e been cool. But I can wait for NFC. That's fine.
So just like the 3DS, the Wii U is not fully complete at launch. With no 2 Gamepad support, no NFC support. Watch as Nintendo says "Miiverse will be released late January on Wii U"
Skylanders Giants?
Meh. Take your time Nintendo. I'm sure it will be worth the wait.
I kinda get the feeling that NFC, in general, is an answer waiting for a question (or a solution waiting for a problem).
Wait, but where was it confirmed that Rayman Legends is a launch title? I saw it listed as one in an article on this site, but I couldn't find a single source confirming this...
Side note, I see this being a blessing (and horrible, horrible curse) for the Pokemon series. Take an already hugely popular collection game, mass produce HUNDREDS of little figurines for it... instant money from all the addicted children. Or rather, from their parents. I see this as being great maybe for trading card games, but figurines can cost more... honestly, I'm a little worried Pokemon WILL take advantage of this. Though I suppose it would naturally make sense for Pokemon Rumble...
Oh geez, this will end poorly for so many wallets.
Yeah, count me in to the "meh" crowd. It's a cool feature but after initial launch I'm sure we'll be inundated with companies cashing in on the Skylanders trend once int install-base increases. And just because there are no launch games that take advantage of this tech does NOT make the launch incomplete or a failure. Remember... to utilize this tech, a publisher needs to not only publish a game, but also enter into the arena of fabrication, manufacturing (or subcontract) and distribution of the toys themselves (something that Nintendo will not do - Nintendo takes care of the prodution, packaging and distribution of the games only under their licensing agreement with 3rd parties). This is something that a 3rd party publisher would be foolish to do right out of the gate with a new console (except Activision with Skylanders because the IP and their supply chain is already established). The only people I'd expect might do this would be Nintendo. But as I commented on the "No Pokemon for 3DS yet" discussion, Nintendo obviously feel that they have enough on the docket for the WiiU launch. Their product strategy looks out at least one year at a time (and more in concept) and surely, there are more of these things planned for the future when the excitement of launch and the launch games dies down. Gotta give your console some "legs" to run on.
And I agree, ShadJV - it's a blessing/curse. I'm just glad my son is just 2 right now so he won't get hooked on that stuff for a couple years... unless the bug bites daddy before then. Yikes!!!!
"It's hardly a crushing blow, if we're honest - NFC is exciting, but there's plenty of time for developers to really explore what they can do with it. In the meantime, we have lots of lovely launch games to keep us busy." - Agreed Damien. There is plenty of time for that to come and go ;D
@Klyo I think you should reread the article. It says no games use NFC yet. It does not mean that NFC isn't working on the Wii U.
This is more of an aspect of early developers not using it than it not being there. My guess is that Skylanders will use it and that's not exactly far off in the distance either.
What, I can't take my GamePad to McDonalds to pay for my 'M' Burger?
I think I could go, oh about forever, and never use NFC in a game. But to comment on a few comments above -
Skylanders Giants will be on the WiiU but use it's own portal, not the Gamepad NFC, and my understanding is that it isn't exactly NFC in the portal anyway.
Pokemon already has figurines out that are roughly the same size, shape and cost as the Skylanders ones. We own about 2 dozen of them. Of course 24 isn't 650, and I don't want to do that $ math. Best guess for Pokemon NFCs is Pokepark 3. The 1st game was only Pikachu and the 2nd had 4 playable characters I think. So I expect Pokepark 3 to be the Skylanders clone with about 6 main characters and maybe a dozen extra.
I'ld really rather see the NFC work with cards than figures. Anybody know how small those chips can get and how in/expensive?
@Klyo: By that logic, no game system is ready at launch because no game ever takes full advantage of a system at launch
I don't care for NFC, it just seems like a way for developers to rip people off to me.
Long as I can play as Ezio,and the Rabbids in Legends I don't care.
NFC,is a giant rip-off,as Skylanders have proved.
Who else read the title of this article as "KFC-Ready Games At Wii Launch"?
Yeah, what was your first clue that I'm American? xD
I hope this means that Skylanders: Giants will let you use it as another option for a Portal, the one coming in the Starter Pack is wired which is a bummer...
@Zaphod_Beeblebrox Zphod Beeblebrox AND an answer waiting for a question. You must have really liked those books. Probably my favorite series of all time.
Anyways, I think that comment hits the nail on the head. They will be able to do things with NFC that no one has even thought of yet. I am super surprised the iPhone 5 doesnt have NFC. I am android fan, but NFC is going to play a big role in the future of technology...imo.
Hmm i was expecting Skylander's Giants to use the NFC, it would be a smart thing tbh!
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