Rather than being confined to one game like the Skylanders or Disney Infinity add-ons, the figurine will be compatible with a range of titles - giving publishers an interesting way to sell add-on content, perhaps. The NFC reader will be used with figurines, and will be capable of both reading and writing data, so that you can customise characters to your own tastes. For 3DS, there's a reader that uses infra red communication, while the Wii U will use the Game Pad's in-built NFC abilities.
Skylanders wii nfc reader pc series#
The briefing text is available in Japanese, but various Twitter users have translated details, including reliable analyst David Gibson.Īccording to these reports, a new series of games and figures codenamed Nintendo Figurine Platform is in the works.
The new hardware was announced today during an investor briefing. Wii U no longer making a loss on hardware sales. NFC 3DS add-on announced, will be shown at E3 2014.įirst smart device app announced - Mario TV. But if you're looking for a more minimalist toys-to-life experience, it can be had on the Nintendo Switch.Nintendo said it wasn't showing new hardware at E3 2014, but it's actually bringing a new NFC reader for 3DS, as part of a suite of cross-compatible 3DS and Wii U games. It's still probably not the future of the Skylanders franchise, though.There are far too many figures and portals left over from previous games to expect Activision to nix the conceit of the series on other platforms. By making the figures a little less necessary, Skylanders on Switch now comes close to mirroring Nintendo's toy-optional approach to the genre. Still, for Skylanders Imaginators, the change feels like a massive improvement, and a lot like the Amiibo system it's piggybacking off. The portal-free approach doesn't work for all toys-to-life games, either - LEGO Dimensions features several puzzles that require players to move toys to different portions of its connected figure base, a gameplay element that wouldn't work with the Nintendo Switch's single NFC touchpoint. For Skylanders (and other toys-to-life) fans, collecting is part of the fun, and the developer isn't offering any toy-free options at this time. Technically, the game could get away without the physical toys, although that's not the point.
If you can scan your figures once and play the game without them, does Skylanders even need a toy component? This is perfect for players who want to take the game on the go without toting a bunch of toys, but it calls the entire concept of the series into question. Scanning a toy more than once turns it into an "Instant Skylander" that can be summoned from the game's menu at any time. Changing characters in Skylanders typically meant placing a figure on the portal and leaving it there - but after you scan a character into the Nintendo Switch version of the game, you don't even need the figure anymore. While it's certainly easier to play Skylanders without the cumbersome portal accessory, its absence fundamentally changes the game into a more traditional experience.
Skylanders wii nfc reader pc portable#
Finding another way to scan in the Skylanders toys was also necessary to serve players who use the Switch in portable mode. The Switch is the first console to standardize NFC communication in every controller configuration. Neither the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 have built-in NFC readers, and only one of the Wii U's controllers (the included GamePad) supported the feature. Not because the technology didn't exist, but because it wasn't available on most platforms. Easy.Īlthough this is a simple, straightforward change that seems like a long overdue evolution of the toys-to-life experience, it wasn't really something that could be done until now. No more setting up a USB peripheral every time you want to play the game or making sure it's in reach of the couch. Rather than placing characters on a wired base to transmit figurine data into the game, players merely need to tap their Skylander toys against the thumbstick on the right-hand Joy-Con. Instead, the game piggybacks off the NFC technology Nintendo built into the console's controllers. If you buy Skylanders Imaginators on the Nintendo Switch, it won't come with the series' iconic "Portal of Power" peripheral. On the Nintendo Switch, however, the game that started it all is taking the Amiibo approach. In fact, with the exception of Nintendo, all of these brands followed Skylanders' tethered-portal model. When Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure introduced this model in 2011, it sparked a new genre in gaming - bringing about the rise and fall of Disney Infinity, the nostalgic brand licensing of LEGO Dimensions and even inspired Nintendo to launch its own line of NFC gaming collectibles. The paradigm for toys-to-life games is well-established: one part kid-friendly video game, one part expensive, collectible figurines - and a tethered NFC "portal" that ties them together.
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