ok, this is one of those days in which I have plenty to say about both concepts.
NFC
Chance: 99%
Here's a couple of different reasons why I think it's happening, aside from Nintendo of France pretty much up and confirming it.
Nintendo's Stance
Couple of weeks ago Nintendo had that investor's meeting in which they pulled out a mario figurine and explained how the idea was to use these figures to load data into both Wii U and 3DS games. They explained this even as something that would work for more than just one game.
Likewise, we know from even more investor meetings in the past that Nintendo is looking to invest in Software that takes advantage of the Wii U gamepad's unique features, and the NFC receptor is one that so far has only been taken advantage of by Pokemon Rumble (unsure about how skylanders works so I won't touch that.)
Further on that, usually the idea behind figurines like these are to capitalize on the company's unique universe. If we look at Disney Infinity, we see it as Disney taking huge advantage of their extensive line of characters, recently including Marvel as well, so it's the sort of idea that works for a company with such a diverse range of personalities. Nintendo has shown interest in developing all their franchises as much as possible through, first, Nintendoland and now it's clear that they're promoting Smash Brothers to such degrees that they are using the Nokia Theater during E3 to hold a tournament for Smash Brothers fans.
I think in terms of business and marketing, Nintendo is at a point where it is extremely logical for us to assume that this is happening. That's not even mentioning the economical merits of doing this.
The Smash Connection
Now, it's fairly easy to conclude they're doing this, but are they doing it for Smash? The way I see it, it's inevitable.
First, the Sakurai factor: Sakurai is known for playing around with the hardware he works with and squeeze as much from it as possible. We know this from Kid Icarus having AR cards that fought each other, even though that one kind of fizzled. Still, we know he played with that. (Just like we know he also has toys of all Smash characters ... )
More importantly, the concept of Smash in the first place is based on toys of Nintendo characters coming to life to fight each other. We have had this since the first Smash Brothers:
And of course, Melee and Brawl both went even more into the concept, now making them trophies, and establishing that in this universe these are all character trophies that come to life and go back into toy mode when defeated. Like in the original Smash when you clear single player mode and turn back into a toy on a table.
Now we can actually make that happen in real life.
We have the technology. The very concept of Smash Bros can finally go full circle to allow players to literally own character trophies that come to life.
Along with that, we keep getting told, since day one, that both versions of the game will be "somehow" connected. In the Direct we were told "more on this later." We are told that the Nintendo figurines will be elaborated on in E3 and we can expect them around the end of the year. Likewise, we can also expect Smash Bros for Wii U at the end of the year ...
Ladies and gentleman, I would bet money on the fact that on E3 we will be informed of these figures, and they'll be released to be compatible with Smash Bros. in December, and shortly after that we will get the platform for the 3DS so that we can store memory on these figurines (paricularly custom movesets and maybe stages if they happen) to transfer from the Wii U and 3DS versions.
And this is all before ignoring the bit about the French dude pretty much confirming it.
Want - 100%
This is literally the first thing I dreamed of when I heard the Gamepad had a thing for NFC.
First of all, I want it because it makes sense. Like I said, this IS what Smash is supposed to be about, and the fact that as a Smash Player you gain such ownership of your character makes it even better. We all know this ... look at your signatures and avatar, most of us have them littered with our favorite characters, the ones we support and love and always play us, sometimes even if they suck (dammit Mewtwo in Melee, why must you be low tier ><.) With that in mind, I would love to have that little Palutena trophy that I carry around to tournaments to pull up my custom moveset or player bio and information instead of having to adjust my controller preferences every single time.
Because that's the second thing. This is NINTENDO we're talking about. Not only that, it's also Sakurai. He has made it explicitely clear that the one reason he hates the idea of DLC is that he wants players to have all the game's content when they get the game. He wants players to have as full an experience as possible. If you play Kid Icarus or any previous Smash game ... think about how much content this man puts into his games. Given that mentality, given how much of Nintendo's DLC is not vital to the gameplay and is always extra and optional ... I seriously seriously extremely doubt that they would make these mandatory. I genuinely doubt that they would force you to buy a toy in order to be able to play as the character, because, again, that's not NIntendo. Activision would do that ... Capcom would probably do it too, but I know from years of understanding how this company works that they will NOT impose mandatory DLC on the players, and if we ever get a stage or a character through a NFC figurine, I'm sure it will be one that wasn't originally possible in the game and will therefore be genuine extra content, and not content witheld for the purpose of more money.
ON TOP OF THAT, because yes, there's more ... There's the thing about the figurines working for more than just one game. If there's something Nintendo has, it's star power, and that's one of the reasons people keep buying Nintendo systems. Nowhere else can you play Mario, Zelda, Kid Icarus, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Fire Emblem, etc. ... and they know this. Given that, and the fact they make their own games and combined the handheld and console crews within their company structure ... it would mean that these figurines could easily be compatible with most, if not all, first party games in some ways so that you get extra content in
every game just from owning them. Like Kid Icarus? Well, now that you linked that Palutena figure you can have Kid Icarus music appear in future Nintendo games! Or you can link your Fire Emblem data to your Chrom/Robin figurine so that your avatar can keep on having the same appearance and affinities in future Fire Emblem games!
And lastly ... yes, I really want real life toys of my favorite Smash characters. I already have my Luma plushie, my figma Pit, my stuffed Greninja ... and I want more. I love collecting toys and it's sooo hard to find good ones of Nintendo characters without paying an arm and a leg. If these become a thing ... oh man, my wallet will hurt but I will be soooo happy. Everything I've just described is like a dream come true, and I truly fail to understand why people wouldn't want this.
Brabra the Bat
Chance - 5%
And the huge walls of text continues.
Of all the Rhythm game options we have, there's a particular reason I strongly believe in Rhythm Heaven, and that reason is just overall presence. When talking about Daigasso Band Brothers, we're talking about one of those series that stay in Japan and remain fabled to us in the west and we can perhaps one day import them or hope for localization.
Then there's games like Rhythm Heaven that are SO SUCCESSFUL that they actually get localized and then they keep on being successful. Yes, Rhythm Heaven is nowhere as strong in the west as it is in Japan. BUT, at least it got localized and did fairly well, particularly the DS one.
So in terms of franchise potential and recognizability, I did the research, and I still think Rhythm Heaven deserves the rep a lot more.
I do give Brabra some points due to having been an Assist Trophy in the past, and the fact that she actually is a named character ... however, the whole Japan only factor in an era in which Nintendo feels comfortable localizing stuff like Tomodachi Life ... that's kind of a huge drawback and a very significant one.
Also, I think there's a problem also faced by Ouendan, which is the fact that a considerable amount of the tracks and music in the game are pop songs not actually owned by Nintendo. Whereas all the content in Rhythm Heaven is the property of Tsunku and made for Rhythm Heaven, so that would be less of a copyright nightmare when it comes to inclusion in the game.
ALSO, moveset diversity. Rhythm Heaven has a much more wacky and zany line of minigames where movesets could be taken from. So far in these forums alone we've had like, at least four incredibly unique movesets based on that series. Meanwhile, Brabra has a guitar. You tell me which one is more interesting.
Want - 0%
For want, I'm not only affected by classic Rhythm Heaven Fangirl disease, but also by a huge ... well, in this case, two huge ... factors.
I REALLY REALLY HATE HER DESIGN
Like seriously, it's awful. It's like you take the concept of Rouge the bat, give it a weirder head and then give it breast implants, and bam, that's Barbara. Initially, I was just calling her Brabra because of a Flight of the Conchords joke, but dang it, that's a really appropriate nickname.
So yea, I think she should definitely not be playable, and I think I might just hate it. Rhythm Heaven has more character with less sex appeal, so naturally I prefer that a million times more.
Predictions
Ayumi - 1.2%
Dr. Lobe - 1.1%
Nominations
x5 Smash TV/Spectator Mode
And with that, I'm done typing for a while *drops mic*
Groose
thought the same thing from the nominations ...
Glaciacott
summed this up brilliantly.
Also, anyone can look like 30% less of a child for playing with action figures!
