Nintendo has unveiled the first batch of its physical Amiibo figurines, which will be available for the upcoming holiday season. The initial release includes: Mario, Peach, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Kirby, Fox, Marth, Villager and Wii Fit Trainer. Each figure will sell for a suggested retail price of $13. There is no firm release date yet — just a general promise that they’ll arrive during the 2014 holiday season — but pre-orders are now available through participating retailers.
The amiibos were first revealed at E3 2014 as Nintendo’s take on the recent popularity of integrating physical toys with digital games like Disney Infinity and Skylanders. The figures will initially work with the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Touching them to the Wii U gamepad’s NFC receptor will manifest your personalized version of that character in the game. As your amiibos fight more, they will level up and acquire personalized skills, items, and stats. You will be able to fight them yourself, team up with them against your friends, or set them to battle one another, which nets them the most experience.
Nintendo had previously announced an upcoming peripheral for 3DS that would let users input their amiibos to 3DS games. It should be noted that the upcoming new editions of the 3DS, announced earlier today, will incorporate NFC, which will allow direct amiibo integration without an additional device.
Nintendo has also planned integration with Mario Party 10, Mario Kart 8, Yoshi’s Woolly World, and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, though the company has not yet announced how the figures will work with those games.
