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[Freezie KO]

Anyone talking about "age" as a reason this upsets them is making a bad argument.

That's not a reason to be upset. The reason to be upset is that Nintendo is withholding content behind costly trinkets. With digital distribution, these things have no reason to exist. Plastic does not intrinsically add value to video game. The dolls' connection to a video game is entirely arbitrary.

In terms of treating your consumers well, the hierarchy goes like this:

Good: Include content on disc.
Bad: DLC
Ugly: NFC

That said, age is a factor that directly correlates with the desire to own and play with dolls, so it's worth noting that NFC policy may alienate older gamers.

 

[MrSaturn99]

Hmm.

Depends on how they use it, I guess.

 

[Spiderduff]

That's not a reason to be upset. The reason to be upset is that Nintendo is withholding content behind costly trinkets. With digital distribution, these things have no reason to exist. Plastic does not intrinsically add value to video game. The dolls' connection to a video game is entirely arbitrary.

In terms of treating your consumers well, the hierarchy goes like this:

Good: Include content on disc.
Bad: DLC
Ugly: NFC

That said, age is a factor that directly correlates with the desire to own and play with dolls, so it's worth noting that NFC policy may alienate older gamers.

Says you. I can't wait. As long as it doesn’t take away from the core experience and just enhances it I am all for it.

 

[Dee Dee]

Likewise.

I mean I'd love the idea of it if I was a naive child, but unless it's an extra feature that exists outside of the main game itself, it's pure evil and corrupting a good, quality brand.

The main game would be two characters beating each other up, right? How could it hinder you from that? Are you honestly implying the system will make you buy extra figurines to play in the first place?

 

[Aostia]

That's not a reason to be upset. The reason to be upset is that Nintendo is withholding content behind costly trinkets. With digital distribution, these things have no reason to exist. Plastic does not intrinsically add value to video game. The dolls' connection to a video game is entirely arbitrary.

In terms of treating your consumers well, the hierarchy goes like this:

Good: Include content on disc.
Bad: DLC
Ugly: NFC

That said, age is a factor that directly correlates with the desire to own and play with dolls, so it's worth noting that NFC policy may alienate older gamers.

I wonder how ugly nfc will be in smash if they do what they said in the Q&A

 

[Yaari]

I hope the design for the actual figures is more realistic than what Disney Infinity has been doing, not really a fan of that.

 

[Tom_Cody]

Yup

Example would be a mario figure:

Used with smash bros: Save custom moveset, unlock trophy
Used with Miyamoto's NFP (non-mario) Game: Unlock mario as playable
Used with pokken fighters: Unlock a mario hat for pikachu
Used with Mario 3D world 2: Store powerups on the NFC figure so you can use them later when you need them
Used with hyrule warriors: *This NFC figure is not compatible with Hyrule Warriors*

Etc

You could have a link NFP figure give you 100 rupees in the next zelda if you use it
You can choose what games support what nfp figures

Who knows what they'll use them for. They're basically pretty looking memory cards with a bit of information that says 'i'm a mario shaped memory card.' The game looks at it and says 'Do I like mario shaped memory cards? Yes? Ok, let me do this mario thing then.' or 'Nope, I'm a zelda game, i don't want a mario NFP figure.'

One more thought, NFP figures could be used to bring Streetpass like functionality to the Wii U.

 

[Freezie KO]

Says you. I can't wait. As long as it doesn’t take away from the core experience and just enhances it I am all for it.

I don't have a C.S. Lewis quote, but I have one that's frequently attributed to P.T. Barnum.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

YES!!!!!!!!

 

[Vazra]

Gimme a Impa figure for smash.

 

[vinnygambini]

That's not a reason to be upset. The reason to be upset is that Nintendo is withholding content behind costly trinkets. With digital distribution, these things have no reason to exist. Plastic does not intrinsically add value to video game. The dolls' connection to a video game is entirely arbitrary.

In terms of treating your consumers well, the hierarchy goes like this:

Good: Include content on disc.
Bad: DLC
Ugly: NFC

That said, age is a factor that directly correlates with the desire to own and play with dolls, so it's worth noting that NFC policy may alienate older gamers.

Freezie, your post above is the opposite of what was detailed in the Investors Meeting.

Let's wait until E3 before painting such a negative picture please, we will have more details.

 

[Riki]

Freezie, your post above is the opposite of what was detailed in the Investors Meeting.

Let's wait until E3 before painting such a negative picture please, we will have more details.

But jumping to extreme and obviously wrong conclusions is fun!

 

[Bel_Air_Jeff]

That's not a reason to be upset. The reason to be upset is that Nintendo is withholding content behind costly trinkets. With digital distribution, these things have no reason to exist. Plastic does not intrinsically add value to video game. The dolls' connection to a video game is entirely arbitrary.

In terms of treating your consumers well, the hierarchy goes like this:

Good: Include content on disc.
Bad: DLC
Ugly: NFC

That said, age is a factor that directly correlates with the desire to own and play with dolls, so it's worth noting that NFC policy may alienate older gamers.

I agree with this. I like Nintendo for the software, but I would never buy trinkets or dolls to enhance gameplay. Hoping that this isn't essential to the experience..

 

[georly]

I agree with this. I like Nintendo for the software, but I would never buy trinkets or dolls to enhance gameplay. Hoping that this isn't essential to the experience..

It won't be for smash bros, but it might be for whatever nintendo's NFP game is. I can almost guarantee nintendo make a game that requires them (and they way they make it sound, is that it'll use the same figures that you can use in smash).

 

[Luqi]

Really hope we don't need the figurines for gameplay - more like they add trophies or things that ain't exclusivevely needed.

 

[Ludicrous Speed]

Hopefully the figurines add inconsequential items (i.e. hats, alternate costumes, etc) and older games will be patched to include support for these items.

I'd even be okay with unlocking a DLC character for a game like Smash. They probably wouldn't go that route, but I'd be okay spending $15 on the figurine to get a character you'd have to pay for on the eshop.

 

[WordAssassin]

That's not a reason to be upset. The reason to be upset is that Nintendo is withholding content behind costly trinkets. With digital distribution, these things have no reason to exist. Plastic does not intrinsically add value to video game. The dolls' connection to a video game is entirely arbitrary.

In terms of treating your consumers well, the hierarchy goes like this:

Good: Include content on disc.
Bad: DLC
Ugly: NFC

That said, age is a factor that directly correlates with the desire to own and play with dolls, so it's worth noting that NFC policy may alienate older gamers.

I kind of thought you were joking with your other posts because of the "he believed in magic" stuff but you keep blanket-statmenting all toys as dolls which is proper bullshit.

Also you have no idea what features the NFC figures will have, if they will be required in any way, if they will give players the upperhand. They might have no value to anyone at all other than looking cool and making it easy to copy files between games. Stating that Nintendo is withholding anything behind NFC at this point is ridiculous. NOBODY knows anything other than the rumor of "there might be NFC figures that are compatible with Smash Bros".

 

[captmcblack]

I'm sure features and functions that were part of the complete game will never be trapped within any kind of DLC or whatever.

These figures will be cool collectibles, and will probably have bonus stuff that makes them worth the time, like additional costumes, extra taunts, in-game extras (rare items! 5-up! etc). I'm sure you'll never need to buy a figure to unlock "vs. mode" or something.

 

[Polioliolio]

The main game would be two characters beating each other up, right? How could it hinder you from that? Are you honestly implying the system will make you buy extra figurines to play in the first place?

I'm implying I'd have to buy figurines if I wanted the whole roster of playable characters, and of course I would want such content having just bought the game. Or is my thinking outdated and not reasonable anymore?

 

[Vocal Orgasmizzle]

3DS version confirmed to be the best investment.

 

[Aostia]

I'm implying I'd have to buy figurines if I wanted the whole roster of playable characters, and of course I would want such content having just bought the game. Or is my thinking outdated and not reasonable anymore?

outdated, cause it doesn't consider what they said these figures will be, but only nfc implementations done so far by other companies

 

[Diddy Kong]

dammit looks like I'm in for NFC...

 

[Roo]

3DS version confirmed to be the best investment.

Who knew..lol

 

[Aostia]

3DS version confirmed to be the best investment.

3ds version will probably ship already compatible with the figures, but the function will be activated in 2015 when Nintendo will release the nfc IR reader

 

[BRocknRolla]

That's not a reason to be upset. The reason to be upset is that Nintendo is withholding content behind costly trinkets. With digital distribution, these things have no reason to exist. Plastic does not intrinsically add value to video game. The dolls' connection to a video game is entirely arbitrary.

In terms of treating your consumers well, the hierarchy goes like this:

Good: Include content on disc.
Bad: DLC
Ugly: NFC

That said, age is a factor that directly correlates with the desire to own and play with dolls, so it's worth noting that NFC policy may alienate older gamers.

We mostly agree. I think I said as much that's there are many reasons to be skeptical about the whole thing, which I certainly am. But while there is no reason for the dolls to exist for me, I'm sure there is a consumer base that would in fact like to have Nintendo dolls, regardless of whether or not they are tied to this game. If they in any way gate content in the game, I'll be very upset by the whole thing, not because I feel like I'm too old to play with dolls, though I don't play with dolls anymore, but because it will seem like I'm being taken advantage of as a consumer. (Which is what I would hope all people would feel regardless of whether or not they want the dolls.)

As far as whether or not it alienates older gamers, I agree that there's a correlation to older people no longer being interested in dolls. I was speaking out against people calling it causation. ("I don't like this because I'm too old for dolls.") The later is imposing some kind of social norm that shouldn't exist.

I kind of thought you were joking with your other posts because of the "he believed in magic" stuff but you keep blanket-statmenting all toys as dolls which is proper bullshit.

It shouldn't matter whether or not you call it a "doll" or a "figurine" or a "model" or whatever other moniker you'd like to attach to it. "Doll" isn't some kind a derogatory term for toys. Who cares what it's called? You'll either like them or you won't; no need to pick a defensible noun. Make peace with that.

 

[Asd202]

Well I always figured NFC is a means to double dip on Nintendo Fans more than anything else. If you can't find new customers suck money from your hardcore .

 

[KillerIsJed]

Called it as well (I'm sure you can find where I posted it).

The real question is what will the NFC figures do in the game. Will they be a benefit to the consumer or will they be strictly a benefit to Nintendos revenue, like all the Skylanders / Disney figures.

I mean, I'm all for owning Nintendo figurines, and I even have some of the Pokemon Rumble ones (which seem impossible to find now) that are already out for the Wii U, but they have to keep them affordable. $10-13 like Skylanders / Infinity is too much, in my opinion. Pokemon Rumble were like $3 I think.

BTW, for those wondering how NFC works with the Wii U gamepad, check it out, there is NFC reader / writer built in, did ya know that?

 

[Alaskanbullworm]

Can't wait to see Ridley's NFC figurine

 

[WordAssassin]

It shouldn't matter whether or not you call it a "doll" or a "figurine" or a "model" or whatever other moniker you'd like to attach to it. "Doll" isn't some kind a derogatory term for toys. Who cares what it's called? You'll either like them or you won't; no need to pick a defensible noun. Make peace with that.

When you come upon a group of people discussing toys of any nature and you throw out "Yeah I don't care about playing with dolls" that's typically an inflammatory statement. I'm not saying you were doing this, you seem fairly level-headed about the whole thing, but the way Freezie was throwing it around came off as inflammatory to me. Maybe it's not in which case, sorry to go off the rails!

Also, the monikers exist for a reason, dolls, figurines, models, action figures, plush, they're all different subcategories of "toy" as they all have different attributes. If you wanted to argue semantics anyway.

 

[Mr-Joker]

Can't wait to see Ridley's NFC figurine

Nah it's more like

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

You're both low-balling.

Replace the Xboxes with Ridleys.

 

[Metalingus5150]

Hopefully they do it tastefully. If not then I won't even buy the game. lol

 

[BM8]

Iwata: "customize your NFP to raise or train your own Nintendo characters"(this might just be for the new nfc game)

Smash gets custom move sets, by altering abilities.

Bring your figurine to your friends, and quickly load costum move sets on the gamepad.

It'll be like with killer instinct, with kinect. Where it can recognize you, and load your settings. Except Nintendos solution is mobile.

Now they just need to make a Mario cloud figurine, so i can say my data is stored in the cloud.

Nintendos going to have a bunch of grown men carrying Nintendo figurines in their pockets.

edit: Nintendo is giving an artificial soul to a figurine. I dont think this has been done before. Kids will hold them, and feel like theres power in them. For instance, custom movesets.

Gaming revolution?

 

[Riki]

Hopefully they do it tastefully. If not then I won't even buy the game. lol

How would it not be "tasteful"?
This isn't for unlocking anything in Smash.
Did no one read Nintendo Q&A about NFC?

 

[Kriken]

You're both low-balling.

Replace the Xboxes with Ridleys.

And the ship is the Wii U gamepad

 

[Griss]

I think we'll have to wait and find out if this is correct.

But if there's any major content locked behind plastic figurines then I am out, and considering how much I love Smash Bros, I will be PISSED.

It's not about age or embarassment - I bought the Skylanders Wii U pack for myself without a care in the world because it was the cheapest deal. It's about not having any interest in toys (gave the Skylanders away) and not wanting to lose out on any content.

EDIT: If it's used to carry personal data (records, custom move sets, stamp/sticker unlocks) then it could be a great idea for kids, and I'd have no problem at all with it.

 

[ActStriker]

How would it not be "tasteful"?
This isn't for unlocking anything in Smash.
Did no one read Nintendo Q&A about NFC?

No way man, it's better to pretend that the sky is falling.

 

[paradox121]

Although this is kinda expected it'll be interesting to see what they release. I mean, the figure(s) will have to be:

-Popular enough to be a part of the first wave of characters released
-Popular enough to star in multiple games, since that seems to be the thing they're keen on differentiating from Skylanders
-Not so popular that people become OUTRAGED over the fact that they're being 'forced' to buy extra stuff. i.e. having a Link statue unlock a Link costume would probably cause ire.

 

[Metalingus5150]

How would it not be "tasteful"?
This isn't for unlocking anything in Smash.
Did no one read Nintendo Q&A about NFC?

Send me to it please.

 

[EmpReb]

Oh God, my wallet.

First though in my mind. And I though Steam sales where the only way to get to my money.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I really hope characters aren't figurine-locked.

This is my only fear... I doubt playable characters will be figurine locked, but what about trophies/assist trophies?

 

[Tom_Cody]

Nintendo released a Ganondorf statue with the special edition of Windwaker HD last fall and I just confirmed that it looks exactly like the Ganondorf trophy in Brawl:

The angles are different but the poses appear to be exactly the same. Is it possible that this is the first preview of what the figurines are going to look like?

Nintendo also has a blue shell statue coming with the Mario Kart special edition:

And here's Nintendo's preview image:

 

[WordAssassin]

Although this is kinda expected it'll be interesting to see what they release. I mean, the figure(s) will have to be:

-Popular enough to be a part of the first wave of characters released
-Popular enough to star in multiple games, since that seems to be the thing they're keen on differentiating from Skylanders
-Not so popular that people become OUTRAGED over the fact that they're being 'forced' to buy extra stuff. i.e. having a Link statue unlock a Link costume would probably cause ire.

I was thinking this too - will every playable character get a figure? Or will there just be a small selection of "main" characters that get figures, but all figures do the same thing (save moves and other data)? Cause it's not like people would want to be hauling 5-10 different figs to friends houses or tournaments. But Nintendo wants to use the figures for multiple games, so it's not like we'd see an Ice Climbers figure, would we? Some of the roster gets pretty random. And how would it work for 3rd party characters?

Still a lot to find out about this.

 

[FUNKNOWN iXi]

something something Nintendo's back in business

 

[Zeyphersan]

So obviously the obvious (and kind of dastardly) thing to do with this is new characters, but there's also the potential for new costumes, which is way better.

Seriously. New costumes as a figurine. Be still my heart

 

[Soodanim]

I'm really confused. If it's NFC content (of any kind: characters, costumes, stages, modes, etc), then it's even worse than DLC. If it's just storing data, then it's useful in a memory card sort of way, but not that exciting. Either way I don't see why so many people want to throw their wallets at Nintendo over this.

Can it really just be the case that almost the entire first 100 posts were by collectors? I didn't think there would be that many of you about.

 

[Mariolee]

Likewise.

I mean I'd love the idea of it if I was a naive child, but unless it's an extra feature that exists outside of the main game itself, it's pure evil and corrupting a good, quality brand.

Idk, that sounds like a naive view of everything to me.

 

[KHlover]

So obviously the obvious (and kind of dastardly) thing to do with this is new characters, but there's also the potential for new costumes, which is way better.

Seriously. New costumes as a figurine. Be still my heart

Dear god would my wallet bleed

Spoiler

but at the same time I'd build up a nice figurine collection

 

[mutsu]

My wallet, body, everything is ready. They must make them high quality though. No cheap Made in China quality figurines please.

 

[BM8]

I'm really confused. If it's NFC content (of any kind: characters, costumes, stages, modes, etc), then it's even worse than DLC. If it's just storing data, then it's useful in a memory card sort of way, but not that exciting. Either way I don't see why so many people want to throw their wallets at Nintendo over this.

Can it really just be the case that almost the entire first 100 posts were by collectors? I didn't think there would be that many of you about.

The NFC figures are part of a new platform, NFP.

These figures will be used in their own original games, but can also be used across a spectrum of other games. Details on how much interaction they will have with other games has still to be seen.

So it can be for collectors/their own original games/enhance other games. Who really knows what else?

E3 should give us an idea.