Nintendo Joins the Party with Amiibo

Nintendo Joins the Party with Amiibo

Since the launch of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure in late 2011, adventure/platform/role-playing games that utilize figurines you can bring to life have only grown in popularity. Spawning multiple spin-off series such as Skylanders: Giants, Skylanders: Swap-Force and the up-coming Skylanders: Trap Team, players transport their characters via a "Portal of Power," which reads a built-in tag via NFC (Near Field Communication) to import customized player data directly from the figurine (i.e. abilities, combat level, etc.).

In the fall of 2013, Disney also jumped on the synchronized collectible figurine bandwagon and launched their own version of the software entitled Disney Infinity, allowing players to collect and control their favorite Disney and Pixar characters. Due to the game's success and rise in popularity, a second installment, Disney Infinity: Marvel Superheroes, is set to launch later this year.

Early this week, Nintendo has also revealed their version of the NFC software with Amiibo : character figured designed to connect and interact with compatible games. With the first wave set to release this holiday season alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, characters such as Mario, Pikachu, Link and Yoshi are set to make an appearance. Although late to the party, Nintendo has made quite the impressive showing with their attention to detail, multiple game functionality (Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party 10 are among the few) and compatibility with how each amiibo will react from game to game.

Check out the E3 launch trailer below for a more detailed look at how Amiibo functions with the Will U gamepad, console and respective games. *Beware the cheesy intro

-Archangel EZE