While it's dabbled with the technology already in Pokemon Rumble U, Nintendo is about to get serious with the Wii U's NFC (Near-Field-Communication) capabilities.
At an investor Q&A today in Japan, the company spoke briefly about its plans for NFP, or Nintendo Figure Platform. Think Skylanders, or Disney Infinity, only with Nintendo characters.
While a full reveal is planned for E3, Nintendo did show off an image of what a Mario figure could look like, as well as saying that games and figures wouldn't just run on a Wii U, but on a 3DS as well via a wireless adapter.