Nintendo Figurine Platform (1)

So apparently, this Skylanders thing is quite a big phenomenon. Selling individual toys to interact with games? How genius! So genius that Disney has taken a stab at using some of its characters in a similar way, and now Nintendo is looking to get in on the action too.

Rumors were flying around earlier this week that Nintendo had some new hardware to show off at E3 this year. While it wasn't a new platform like some were interpreting, it could in fact be a new NFC bit of tech set to interact with the Wii U and 3DS by use of none other than toys of Nintendo's world famous characters.

Nintendo revealed its plans at an investor briefing after showing poorer financial reports that expected following under-performing Wii U and Nintendo 3DS sales.

This Nintendo Figurine Platform, as it is code named, will interact with the 3DS through infrared and the Wii U through its native NFC capabilities. What sets the Nintendo Figurine Platform apart from Skylanders and Disney Infinity is that the figurines will not be locked into a single game or franchise, but rather it will be useful for a wide variety of Nintendo software from here on out.

Each figurine is fully customizable for a task, and they can store enough data to rewrite what they are capable of. No specifics have been mentioned yet as to what they can exactly do, but you can expect more from Nintendo during its E3 Direct video presentation.

It's worth noting that this is Nintendo's second attempt at this venture. Pokemon Rumble U features Skylander-esque toys that could directly interact with the Wii U, but with the scale Nintendo has planned for these toys, its previous attempt now simply looks like practice.

Skylanders and Disney Infinity have both proven to be huge hits, and now it is obvious why Nintendo turned down the opportunity to exclusively work with Activision. Nintendo's going to do things its own way every time.

Could this be the product Nintendo needs to get itself back on track? I'm certain this will be enormous in Japan, but America has been so neglectful of Nintendo these days, it still seems like a stretch.