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[DownGrader]

The information comes from one of the posters in the NX thread, where it was largely ignored due to overall insanity.

Just stumbled upon a new FCC filing for a Bluetooth product. (Pokemon GO Plus is older https://fccid.io/BKEP)

https://fccid.io/BKEF

It this something we already know about?

At first I thought this is just a Nintendo 3DS NFC Reader/Writer, but that one was labelled CTR-012 while this is CTR-013. The new device also has Bluetooth, while the previous version only has IR port.

Could it be the NFC/amiibo reader/writer which works with both Nintendo 3DS and smartphones? I even consider the possibility of NX having no internal amiibo reader/writer and relying on the updated external one, but disregard that.

 

[Living the Dream]

With animal crossing coming to phones, having Amiibo functionality only makes sense.

 

[FelipeMGM]

3DS doesnt have bluetooth does it?

So I guess its not for it but it could be for smartphones

 

[L~A]

The information comes from one of the posters in the NX thread, where it was largely ignored due to overall insanity.



At first I thought this is just a Nintendo 3DS NFC Reader/Writer, but that one was labelled CTR-012 while this is CTR-013. The new device also has Bluetooth, while the previous version only has IR port.

Could it be the NFC/amiibo reader/writer which works with both Nintendo 3DS and smartphones? I even consider the possibility of NX having no internal amiibo reader/writer and relying on the updated external one, but disregard that.

No. NX will have built-in NFC, since Nintendo is also using it for payments in Japan. Doesn't make sense to force people to use an accessory here.

Most likely a reader for phones which don't have NFC reader included (I don't think it's very common to have that in a phone?).

 

[sixteen-bit]

amiibo support for pokemon go incoming?

 

[ggx2ac]

I'm guessing this is Nintendo's way of getting around NFC reading Amiibo for smartphones.

This is under the assumption that certain phone brands restrict what can be connected by Bluetooth or NFC. So this accessory is for that. I could be wrong.

 

[Somnid]

The test report confirms RFID so it's exactly that, an upgraded NFC reader, likely for smartphones. Very likely Animal Crossing will play into this.

 

[NoKisum]

I'm gonna take it a step further and say this somehow connects your phone/tablet/smart device to the NX directly, in the same manner as the GCN-GBA connectivity.

Spoiler

I could be 100% wrong, though.

 

[-shadow-]

Going by the design I'd say something like another PokéWalker/Fit Meter with a bunch of new extras considering those two were rather limited in options.

 

[Dystify]

I'm gonna take it a step further and say this somehow connects your phone/tablet/smart device to the NX directly, in the same manner as the GCN-GBA connectivity.

Spoiler

I could be 100% wrong, though.

If they want NX to connect to smartphones it would make more sense to build that functionality into the NX device directly.

 

[darkness_s]

3DS doesn't have Bluetooth, but this device is in the 3DS family of accessories going by the CTR product number. So I'm guessing, it's an NFC reader compatible with both 3DS and smartphones.

 

[Bazry]

They could have made a killing with Pokemon Amiibos for Pokemon Go, probably still could to some degree

 

[Shiggy]

Do iPhones support NFC these days? If not, it could be for that.

 

[ggx2ac]

Do iPhones support NFC these days? If not, it could be for that.

It took a long time until iPhones finally got NFC readers.

I don't know about Bluetooth though, I remember hearing years ago how they only work with accessories and not other phones. So I don't know if they've changed that. As I said though, they communicate with accessories that aren't phones.

 

[oti]

I hope it's an integral part of the NX that any game could use. The new Wii Fit could use this, Pokémon GO and other mobile games could use it, you could track steps and unlock in- game rewards and so on. I love the Wii Fit Meter but it lacked functionality. You could also scan amiibo I mean why not.

 

[Living the Dream]

Do iPhones support NFC these days? If not, it could be for that.

iPhones have NFC but it's not open to third parties.

 

[darkness_s]

Do iPhones support NFC these days? If not, it could be for that.

As far as I know, iPhones have NFC but it's only used for Apple Pay, there's no API available for devs to use it on their apps.

 

[Somnid]

Do iPhones support NFC these days? If not, it could be for that.

Not practically, no, they lock down access to Apple Pay only but I'm pretty sure it supports the necessary types (Amiibos currently use MIFARE) and the iPhone 7 also supports FeliCa which both Wii U and 3DS support as well.

 

[OmegaFax]

It looks like the short-term confidentiality request will expire on the 24th. The user manual ought to shed some light on what it's used for. It could very well replace the current standalone Amiibo IR reader unit or was meant to be sold alongside the recently postponed Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem games for iOS/Android.

The posters are right about iOS devices. The NFC is for Apple Pay only. NFC compatibility on Android is a bit dicey depending on make/model. Some phones are still sold without NFC while others may refuse to read/write older MIFARE tags. It's also possible that Nintendo doesn't want to make it any easier to reverse engineer Amiibo and would rather have Amiibo communicate through the reader rather than directly to the device.

 

[OmegaFax]

Sorry for the bump. It looks like whatever Nintendo submitted to the FCC had its application quietly dismissed in March. Bummer because the instruction manual submitted for the device probably would have shed some light on what it did or what it was intended to connect to.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

It's possible Nintendo intended for amiibo usage with mobile devices but it fell through for any number of reasons. Since the Animal Crossing app was delayed it could be receiving a big overhaul.