Nintendo's Amiibo Figures Given UK Recommended Retail Price...

A UK retail price for Nintendo's first wave of Amiibo NFC figurines, has been announced today! Nintendo's official online store lists the figures for £10.99 each, which makes than an average of three to four pounds more expensive than the first wave of Skylanders figures when they were first released. There are currently twelve figurines available for pre-order, including Mario, Yoshi and Donkey Kong, but no actual release date for the figurines has been given yet.

 The interactive figures can be used to save stats and other data from various compatible games. Super Smash Bros for  the Wii U and 3DS will be he first game to make use of them.  Keep checking in with Mini Gamers for more news about the Amiibo figurines as it occurs!

E3 2014: Nintendo Digital Event: Introducing Amiibo NFC Figurines...

Nintendo has exclusively unveiled its special range of Near-Field Communication Figurines, which are to be known as Amiibo. These special figurines work with the Wii U Gamepad in the same way the Skylanders figures interact with the 'Portal of Power'.

Touching any Amiibo figurine to the Wii U Gamepad will instantly bring your chosen character to life in your games. All Amiibo characters work with Wii U compatible games, so friends and family can add their Amiibo figures to your game and vice versa.

Better still, your Amiibo figure and its game data develops over time, so as your character progresses through a game, the Amiibo figure gains more experience and more skills which will help you to advance through the game.

The Amiibo figurine range will launch alongside the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros, which will be released in America in December 2014. Super Smash Bros. is not the only Wii U software that will have Amiibo compatibility, other 2014-2015 Wii U releases such as Yoshi's Woolly Adventure and Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party 10 have also been cited as having Amiibo compatible features.

The figures announced so far include:

◦Mario
◦Peach
◦Samus
◦Yoshi
◦Kirby
◦Wii Fit Trainer
◦Link
◦Donkey Kong
◦Pikachu
◦Animal Crossing Villager

Now, you might well question why we at Mini Gamers HQ seem so excited about a gaming accessory that is only out on the Wii U? However, Nintendo have also announced that they are planning on bringing out a 3DS peripheral that will sync the 3DS handheld with its own range of Amiibo figures.

As you can see from the list above, there are already a lot of Amiibo figures in production, with more planned for the future. It is unclear yet how much the yet-unnamed 3DS peripheral is likely to cost, but Nintendo are apparently aiming to release it some time in 2015, so watch this space!

Sony and Nintendo's E3 Handheld Line-ups revealed...

There is only three days to go before one of the biggest events in the gaming calendar gets underway in Los Angeles, and already the rumors have been circulating.

E3 2014  (AKA The Electronic Entertainment Expo), promises an exciting line-up of games and news of future releases for almost every games console in existence, so what does this mean for the Nintendo 3DS and Sony's PS Vita  handheld gaming devices?

As well as the usual E3 conference, which this year takes place at 6pm on Monday the 9th June 2014 Pacific Time (or a very early 2 a.m. BST on Tuesday 10th June 2014 for UK fans who wish to watch the live-stream of the event),  Sony has also decided that it will show a total of seventy different games in its gaming booths, including several PS Vita titles such as:

(click on each link for more information about the game or trailers)

•Big Fest 

•Disgaea 4: A Promise revisited 

•Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed

•CounterSpy 

•Freedom Wars

•Gravity Crash Ultra

•Gunship X

•Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

•Hyper Light Drifter 

•Invizimals: The Alliance

•Legend of Raven

•MechRunner

•Metrico 

•MLB 14 The Show

•Murasaki Baby

•One Way Trip

•PS Vita Pets

•PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate

•Race the Sun

•Rogue Legacy 

•Super Exploding Zoo

•Switch Galaxy Ultra

•To Leave 

Meanwhile, Nintendo has opted for the second year in a row to not participate in an official E3 Press conference. Instead, they have chosen to stream their own special Nintendo Direct broadcast at 9pm on Tuesday the 10th June 2014 Pacific Time (that's 5 p.m. BST for UK fans).

As well as their various announcements for the Wii and Wii U, Nintendo are also expected to reveal a few new 3DS titles, including an as yet unnamed Starfox 64 adventure and Project S.T.E.A.M (Strike Team Eliminating the Alien Menace).

Furthermore, Nintendo have already announced that the presentation will reveal a brand new NFP (AKA Nintendo Figurine Platform/NFC Featured Platform) range of toys. For those of you who have never heard of NFP, these are special figurines that have Near Field Communication built into them, which allow them to interact within virtual games in the same way that Skylanders or Disney Infinity figurines do.

This year's E3 is shaping up to be quite exciting. If you wish to watch the Press Conferences for yourself, both the Playstation.blog and official Nintendo websites will be streaming the relevant conferences live as they happen in Los Angeles.

Alternatively, PS4 owners may wish to watch the Sony Conference on the PS4's UStream app, or those of you with Youtube accounts will be able to gain access to the Ustream website by clicking the link in the E3 trailer video. Please note, that an age restriction does apply to the Ustream site and viewers will be required to give their birthday details before being allowed to view any of the live footage. Lastly, GameSpot will be offering its readers the chance to watch all the E3 conferences live, so there really is no excuse to miss out on the action.

Just a little reminder for UK fans:

The Nintendo broadcast won't be taking place at E3, but will be streamed live from the Nintendo HUB (on the Nintendo website) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday the 10th June 2014, British Standard Time.

Meanwhile, Sony's Press conference will be streamed live on any of the various channels listed above at 2 a.m. (early morning) on Tuesday the 10th June 2014.

HAVE YOUR SAY...

Which shows/announcements are you most looking forward to at this year's E3 conference?

If you have any comments, suggestions or wishlists for the E3 conference, then why not leave a comment in the box below? Mini Gamers loves to hear from you.