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Nintendo unveils NFC character figurines, compatible 3DS device
Nintendo is developing figurines with built-in tech to communicate with both the Wii U and 3DS, along with a new device to make them compatible with the handheld. The NFC (near-fields communication) reader and writer is due in the first half of 2015, and uses infra-red to communicate with the 3DS. On the Wii U side, the GamePad has built-in NFC functionality that eShop game Pokemon Rumble U used last year with its own line of Skylanders-like accessories. The character figurines, which Nintendo is calling NFP (NFC Featured Platform or Nintendo Figurine Platform), are set to launch towards the end of this year. Nintendo will showcase them and games they're compatible with at next month's E3 conference in Los Angeles. "In other words, the figurines, which consumers buy and collect, are going to work with multiple software titles to be released in the future," said Nintendo President Saturo Iwata in the company's financial results briefing today, "and we are aiming to develop more software titles compatible with the figurines. Nintendo has a lot of well-known character IP that has originated in video games, and we have been regularly releasing titles from game franchises that make use of this character IP. This is why I believe a brand-new type of platform will be born when the character IP becomes compatible with NFP." A day after Nintendo posted a $229 million loss for the fiscal year, Iwata said the company needed to take risks to establish new ways of using character IP. He described NFP as the first step for a new operation that will become one of Nintendo's "core activities." [Image: Nintendo]
Nintendo plans new NFC figures and games in a bid to rescue the Wii U
We hope you liked Skylanders, because Nintendo is apparently setting up its own range of toys to accidentally tread under foot. At the company's financial briefing this morning, it outlined a Mario figure that could be used across multiple titles, somehow tying into game saves too. It's not the first for Nintendo's console: Pokemon Scramble connected NFC toys to the Wii U last year. Interestingly, Nintendo had apparently declined exclusivity on Activision's lucrative Skylanders series. These physical characters and games, grouped together as NFP (which apparently stands for both NFC Featured Platform and Nintendo Figurine Platform), will debut at this year's E3, alongside a new IR reader for 3DSes that will make the toys compatible across both the handheld and the Wii. With 3DS sales currently totaling 43 million, and the Wii U struggling to top six million, it's probably a wise business decision.
Mojo Mobility shows off wireless charging on Intel MIDs
Despite overwhelming evidence showing that MIDs just aren't the next big thing, Intel refuses to give up on the idea. To that end, Mojo Mobility has seemingly drank the Kool-Aid as well, showing off a new wireless charging system on those very devices at Computex. The Near Field Power solution can be integrated into mobile devices much like the Palm Pre, and the Mojo pad enables current to be transferred easily as soon as the device is laid to rest on said mat. Heck, it's even smart enough to turn itself off once the device reaches a full charge. Unfortunately, pricing for the Mojo system is still undisclosed, but we're told that several OEMs are already looking into baking it into their next-gen products.
