So here's how I think/hope it's gonna go down:
For Fighters
All characters announced in time for the 3DS version will be available in the game as normal (as well as unlockables). Both the Wii U Smash and the NFC figures launch this holiday season. So we will get figurines to go along with Smash (however, characters in the 3DS version by default will be in the Wii U version by default). We will get ones for at least some of the existing characters, and we will get a new character or two. These figures will be a vehicle for Nintendo DLC, including Smash. Instead of purchasing new characters digitally, you will purchase them as figures. Data for these characters will be added as patches, and the toys will be the keys.
But wait - the 3DS won't be able to use the NFC technology until sometime in the first half of 2015, because the 3DS does not have the NFC technology built in, and will require a peripheral to be developed. So what does that mean for any extra Smash characters released as figurines in time for the Wii U version?
They'll be timed exclusives for Wii U. Just to clarify, the data for these characters will not be present on the 3DS cart. They would be installed as patches when the 3DS peripheral is available. The developers are not holding these characters back from the 3DS version, they are literally creating extra characters AFTER the 3DS version is out. Extra DLC characters, essentially.
I know some people will say this is unfair, but 3DS owners will have Smash a couple of months early, so I feel like any argument that this is unfair goes out the window. It's a fair trade off - get the game a few months early (with exclusive features like Smash Run), but wait a few months extra for your version to be compatible with the new characters. This would be a great way to help the Wii U and it's version of Smash sell better. The existing 3DS fans will have a genuine reason to get a Wii U and it's version of Smash, brand new, over the holiday season.
Other Features
-Custom movesets could be stored on each figurine.
-When you clear Classic Mode with a character, you get their "Smash" trophy, where they are in their pose from the character select screen, and information about them as a Smash fighter will be displayed. When you clear All-Star Mode, you get the "Final Smash" trophy, like in Brawl. If you have a figurine of a character, you can scan it and receive a "Classic" trophy, and you get a trophy where they are in whatever pose they are in on the figurine, and information about their history is displayed.
-Smash Run equipment sets can be stored on each figurine.
-If the Wii U version has a robust single-player adventure with RPG elements like SSE and it's sticker system, customisation for that can be saved.
-A "Player Card" could be a common thing you could store on all of your figures, which has your NNID, your Mii, your record information, Global Smash Power, etc.
Justifying the price
So the most important thing, that makes or breaks this idea, is the price tag. We don't know how much they will be yet. But for the sake of discussion, Skylanders figurines on their own cost $8. So we will pretend they will cost this much.
I will view this as a justifiable price tag if many games support this NFC thing well. A big problem with Skylanders is that the toys are only compatible with Skylanders games, which are all of the same genre, and play overly similarly. Then you have Disney Infinity which, despite being FAR more impressive than Skylanders, and despite offering LittleBigPlanet-esque elements, and despite using actual beloved characters - it's only one game. So buying lots of these toys is a questionable practice, in terms of whether or not it's really worth it.
But Nintendo has mentioned that their toys will be compatible with multiple games of MULTIPLE GENRES. Which pushes up their worth a bunch if done right.
I'll use the Mario figurine as an example. Imagine if the Mario figurine could:
-Bank power-ups, lives, and coins that you can use across Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario 3D Land, NSMBU, and NSMB2 as you need to.
-Store customised kart data and time trial ghosts for Mario in Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8.
-Store the information I described above in relation to Mario for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS.
If the figurines could work something like that (I'm using existing games and Smash as examples, I don't think these will actually be integrated much into their back catalog, if at all), they'd TOTALLY be worth $8, especially considering that, not only would they allow cross-purchasing and cross-compatibility features in Nintendo games for your own personal benefit at home, but also allow you to take this data to a friends house and use your data while playing with them. Plus, you get a pretty figurine of your favourite Nintendo character to put on your shelf when it's not in use! That altogether would be great value!
So yeah, that's what I hope these figurines will be used for. If Nintendo does this sort of thing, it would really help unify Wii U and 3DS as one platform, rather than one being "the Nintendo console" and one being "the Nintendo handheld". It would help Wii U sales a ton if done right, by bringing the 3DS install base onto the Wii U, and possibly more people beyond that.
Also, I believe buying Smash Wii U should net you a free figurine of a character of your choice.
