Hot Coldman
Banned
This is something that I've been curious about the specifics of the rollout for. They say details at E3, and unless I misread something somewhere, NFP is coming later this year for Wii U (next year for 3DS). So I did some theorising about what the launch line-up for this thing will likely involve. I think these are probably realistic guesses, and obviously there's room for Nintendo to pull some crazy shit out of it's hat between now and release, but here goes:
A new 2D platformer (probably in the Mario series)
This holiday will be 2 years since the release of the last 2D Mario game. I know that probably doesn't feel right, seeing as we all got serious NSMB fatigue big time back in 2012, but it's the truth, and honestly the timing is probably good for another trip back to the traditional Mushroom Kingdom. I think this would be the big, obvious title for NFP's launch; Mario's 2D (and nowadays 3D) games have been experimenting with multiplayer and extended casts for the last 5 years or so now, and having a new Super Mario Bros. game where you can swap to Luigi mid-level simply by placing a Luigi figure on the GamePad is the kind of quick, easy sell for Nintendo's take on NFC gaming that I just can't see them missing out on.
Despite the picture, I don't think this will be a NSMB title - I think that brand is probably done with by now - but I feel pretty confident in guessing that it'll be Mario, and it'll be 2D. I'm thinking the Mario figure comes in the box, with playable Miis to fill out the 2/3/4P slots for those without figures.
Related possiblities: a more loose 2D platformer with multiple franchises (Mario + Kirby + DK; a "new IP" that integrates these series, kind of like LittleBigPlanet); Yarn Yoshi is now Yarn EVERYTHING; a Super Mario 3D World expansion.
Hyrule Warriors
I think this is definitely going to be an NFP title. Dynasty Warriors and its various off-shoots, licensed or otherwise are known for having a sizeable cast of playable characters. The Legend of Zelda series, however, is the exact opposite; you play as Link, and only Link. How about a nice compromise? Make Link the main playable character (no figure required), make it so that the game can be played entirely with him just fine, and then sell figures for your Zelda all-stars alongside the game. Sheik, Impa, Ganondorf, Vaati, Ghirahim, Young Link, Oni Link... There's a fair bit of money to be made from Zelda nuts here. Obviously the trick is selling to a slightly older audience, as well as working with a game that might not explicitly encourage you to go buy figures, but I'd still be extremely surprising if THIS game of all things doesn't have some NFP usage.
Related possibilities: Turns out it was Nintendo Musou all along! (OK, not really.)
Wii/Mario Party NFP
The NFP figures are practically board game pieces already. I think NFP has to launch with a game that all present (and future) figurines can be compatible with (not even Smash can manage that), and this would be the obvious one: Mario Party. The game can use Miis as the default character, so you can still have fun without figures - it's not as if Mario Party ever differed based on the character you chose - but obviously the cast can increase tenfold when you start putting figures in the mix. There's the potential for unlockable content in the game based on which figures you bring to the party, too - put down a Link figure, get a sweet Hyrule Castle board, or a Cucco catching minigame. Put down Kirby, get the Megaton Punch minigame from Super Star. Plus I think the more physically-minded nature of a lot of the Wii Party minigames works well for a game where you're interacting via real-world objects anyway. This seems like a no-brainer to me, personally, but we'll see.
Related possibilities: Wii Sports with NFP support, perhaps?
An OS level NFP app
I would be surprised if there's nothing baked into the system that reacts to the figures by time they're available to purchase. I'm thinking something similar to the Wara Wara Plaza here. Put down an NFP figure, a cutesy-little avatar based on the figure shows up, and then you can run around one of those clinical Wii-white open spaces with it. Oh, and more relevantly, you can use it to track the data saved to your figure, and compare it to others. Wanna see who has the best Mario on your friends list? In your country, in the world? Plus it could track your various accomplishments with that character - oh, this Mario has won X% of online Smash Bros matches, X% of MK8 races, it's completed 3D World, etc etc.
Related possibilities: There's gotta be some way to tie NFP into Miiverse as well, but I can't say I have any ideas.
Mario Kart 8
I know it, you know it: the roster in MK8 is bogus. Whilst I'm glad Waluigi is back, and the Koopa Kids are great, having "Pink Gold Peach" over Diddy Kong is so awful. Naturally, I'm expecting them to update that game to include more characters... characters you unlock via their NFP figurines, of course...
On a more serious note, games like MK8 and Smash Bros will likely interact with NFP, but not in the usual Skylanders manner. I think you'll be able to transfer data from those games, such as your Global Smash Power (ugh) and your Mario Kart 8 records to a NFP figure relevant to that character. Your Mario figure carries all your wins and losses as Mario in MK8, for example. It could even contain code to access a particularly cool replay for that character on Mario Kart TV, for NFC compatible smartphones. That's probably wishful thinking but it's just the kind of thing they could do with NFP, without actually forcing you to buy an armful of figures for every single game. Consider it equal to how certain games don't go overboard with the Miis.
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That's just what I'm thinking for 2014. Naturally, 2015 will bring more games and the arrival of 3DS compatibility. I can see whatever Pokken is launching in early '15; if it's a true Tekken game, like I think it is, then I think we then see Nintendo begin to explore things like F2P, NFP driven games versus traditional £40 releases, or perhaps even both at once, like Killer Instinct's season passes.
Oh, there's one more game for next year too.
Lords = Figures. Be prepared.
A new 2D platformer (probably in the Mario series)
This holiday will be 2 years since the release of the last 2D Mario game. I know that probably doesn't feel right, seeing as we all got serious NSMB fatigue big time back in 2012, but it's the truth, and honestly the timing is probably good for another trip back to the traditional Mushroom Kingdom. I think this would be the big, obvious title for NFP's launch; Mario's 2D (and nowadays 3D) games have been experimenting with multiplayer and extended casts for the last 5 years or so now, and having a new Super Mario Bros. game where you can swap to Luigi mid-level simply by placing a Luigi figure on the GamePad is the kind of quick, easy sell for Nintendo's take on NFC gaming that I just can't see them missing out on.
Despite the picture, I don't think this will be a NSMB title - I think that brand is probably done with by now - but I feel pretty confident in guessing that it'll be Mario, and it'll be 2D. I'm thinking the Mario figure comes in the box, with playable Miis to fill out the 2/3/4P slots for those without figures.
Related possiblities: a more loose 2D platformer with multiple franchises (Mario + Kirby + DK; a "new IP" that integrates these series, kind of like LittleBigPlanet); Yarn Yoshi is now Yarn EVERYTHING; a Super Mario 3D World expansion.
Hyrule Warriors
I think this is definitely going to be an NFP title. Dynasty Warriors and its various off-shoots, licensed or otherwise are known for having a sizeable cast of playable characters. The Legend of Zelda series, however, is the exact opposite; you play as Link, and only Link. How about a nice compromise? Make Link the main playable character (no figure required), make it so that the game can be played entirely with him just fine, and then sell figures for your Zelda all-stars alongside the game. Sheik, Impa, Ganondorf, Vaati, Ghirahim, Young Link, Oni Link... There's a fair bit of money to be made from Zelda nuts here. Obviously the trick is selling to a slightly older audience, as well as working with a game that might not explicitly encourage you to go buy figures, but I'd still be extremely surprising if THIS game of all things doesn't have some NFP usage.
Related possibilities: Turns out it was Nintendo Musou all along! (OK, not really.)
Wii/Mario Party NFP
The NFP figures are practically board game pieces already. I think NFP has to launch with a game that all present (and future) figurines can be compatible with (not even Smash can manage that), and this would be the obvious one: Mario Party. The game can use Miis as the default character, so you can still have fun without figures - it's not as if Mario Party ever differed based on the character you chose - but obviously the cast can increase tenfold when you start putting figures in the mix. There's the potential for unlockable content in the game based on which figures you bring to the party, too - put down a Link figure, get a sweet Hyrule Castle board, or a Cucco catching minigame. Put down Kirby, get the Megaton Punch minigame from Super Star. Plus I think the more physically-minded nature of a lot of the Wii Party minigames works well for a game where you're interacting via real-world objects anyway. This seems like a no-brainer to me, personally, but we'll see.
Related possibilities: Wii Sports with NFP support, perhaps?
An OS level NFP app
I would be surprised if there's nothing baked into the system that reacts to the figures by time they're available to purchase. I'm thinking something similar to the Wara Wara Plaza here. Put down an NFP figure, a cutesy-little avatar based on the figure shows up, and then you can run around one of those clinical Wii-white open spaces with it. Oh, and more relevantly, you can use it to track the data saved to your figure, and compare it to others. Wanna see who has the best Mario on your friends list? In your country, in the world? Plus it could track your various accomplishments with that character - oh, this Mario has won X% of online Smash Bros matches, X% of MK8 races, it's completed 3D World, etc etc.
Related possibilities: There's gotta be some way to tie NFP into Miiverse as well, but I can't say I have any ideas.
Mario Kart 8
I know it, you know it: the roster in MK8 is bogus. Whilst I'm glad Waluigi is back, and the Koopa Kids are great, having "Pink Gold Peach" over Diddy Kong is so awful. Naturally, I'm expecting them to update that game to include more characters... characters you unlock via their NFP figurines, of course...
On a more serious note, games like MK8 and Smash Bros will likely interact with NFP, but not in the usual Skylanders manner. I think you'll be able to transfer data from those games, such as your Global Smash Power (ugh) and your Mario Kart 8 records to a NFP figure relevant to that character. Your Mario figure carries all your wins and losses as Mario in MK8, for example. It could even contain code to access a particularly cool replay for that character on Mario Kart TV, for NFC compatible smartphones. That's probably wishful thinking but it's just the kind of thing they could do with NFP, without actually forcing you to buy an armful of figures for every single game. Consider it equal to how certain games don't go overboard with the Miis.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
That's just what I'm thinking for 2014. Naturally, 2015 will bring more games and the arrival of 3DS compatibility. I can see whatever Pokken is launching in early '15; if it's a true Tekken game, like I think it is, then I think we then see Nintendo begin to explore things like F2P, NFP driven games versus traditional £40 releases, or perhaps even both at once, like Killer Instinct's season passes.
Oh, there's one more game for next year too.
Lords = Figures. Be prepared.
