Amiibo

amiibo is a brand of "Toys to Life" products consisting of near field communication-based figurines that can have data read and written on them, used as add-ons to games with amiibo compatibility. Originally referred to internally under the working title "Nintendo Figure Platform" ("NFP") in development, the first line of amiibo, based upon Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, launched on the same day as Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, the first amiibo-compatible game, and it has been confirmed that there will be multiple lines based upon various games and franchises , such as the Super Mario line.

amiibo can be used with Wii U software by placing a figure on the near-field communicator built into the Wii U GamePad under the D-pad; the console must also be updated to at least version 5.3.0. A peripheral for the Nintendo 3DS has also been stated to be released in the summer of 2015 that will wirelessly connect to the 3DS to send and receive data; the New Nintendo 3DS, however, features a built in near-field communicator on the bottom touch-screen. amiibo come with data already on them, but data can also be written on them by the hardware. Several figures will be compatible with multiple games; for example, the Super Smash Bros. line Mario figure can also be used in Mario Party 10. Multiple games can read an amiibo's data, while only one game's data can be written to the figure at a time.

During a Nintendo briefing presented by Satoru Iwata, it was announced that card-format versions of amiibo will be created, and an app will be released for the Wii U, which will allow players to unlock demos of certain NES or SNES titles by scanning an amiibo.

Non-Mario games compatible with Mario-related amiibo

 * One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X: Unlocks costumes based on amiibo scanned (compatible with Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi).
 * Hyrule Warriors: Any non-The Legend of Zelda-based amiibo gives the player a random item, weapon, or Rupees.
 * Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy +: Unlocks plane designs based on amiibo scanned (compatible with Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser).

Figure list
* - Exclusive to Walmart at launch in North America.

The official Japanese Mario Party 10 website shows game pieces for Donkey Kong, Wario, and Rosalina in the style of Super Mario amiibo, appearing in amiibo Party mode. It is unknown at this time if these amiibo will be released as physical items, or if those variants will only be accessible in-game.

Trivia

 * The word "new" in the new Nintendo 3DS logo is stylized similarly to the amiibo logo.
 * Toad is the first (and currently only) character with an amiibo figure who neither has a Super Smash Bros. equivalent nor is usable in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.