The Wii U GamePad controller features an NCF chip — Near Field Communications — that makes it possible to communicate with other objects and devices with NFC chips. The technology is commonly used in smartphones to exchange small bits of data. While we’ve known about the Wii U NFC technology for a long time, there is still not a single game out there which supports it.
Nintendo has now revealed that they are working on a Wii U game with NFC features, and the game is scheduled for release later this year. The news was revealed via a conference call after the latest earnings report, where a Nintendo spokesperson said that NFC can be used with figures and playing cards, and that the company has something in development.
Of the 50 games that are set for release during the launch window, none support the NFC feature. Rayman Legends was the first game to flirt with the idea, which was revealed in an early trailer. But even Rayman Legends won’t support NFC when it’s released next month.
Nintendo has several Wii U games scheduled for release this year that could possibly see the implementation of NFC. One of those games is Bayonetta 2, another is Wii Fit U. Then there’s always Zelda: The Wind Waker, and party games such as Game & Wario. Or maybe we’ll get something entirely new from Nintendo.

it better be pokemon or it's pointless

I'm going to take a guess -- The Wonderful 101.

100 different superheroes ... 100 different figurines? Would make sense. Gotta collect 'em all.

It's maybe Nintendos time to copy what others have done? Mix the Pokemon universe with Skylanders style figurines? The backlog of characters would be massive. I personally hope it's something more creative than that.

I don't think you would do figurines with that many characters, unless the figurines were very small and inexpensive (less than $5 a piece); cards would be the mor practical choice for that.

Interesting.

That NFC tech is a potential gold mine. Skylanders proved as much. I hope Nintendo uses it for good, not for evil :P

Pokemon or bust, really.

I'm surprised Activision didn't use it for Skylanders tbh.

Best bet for Nintendo would be Pokemon, it'd be a licence to print money. I would have thought they would have released a Pokemon game with NFC cards/figurines during the launch window tbh.

I can't wait for people to write an app for my S3 to send the right signals to the Wii U game pad so I can just use my phone lol....