Nintendo characters can now come to life in many new ways as amiibo figures. These are interactive figures that have the ability to communicate with specially designed games that support amiibo, simply by touching them to the Wii U GamePad. The amiibo figures can interact with the games that have amiibo compatibility by reading data in the games and storing data in the figure.

In Super Smash Bros Wii U, players can fight with or against the amiibo figures they own, upgrading them in the process. They have the ability to transfer them to another Wii U console and show how they have trained and customized their own amiibo figures.

Various amiibo-supported games will use them in different ways. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U will be the first game to use amiibo. Games like Mario Party 10, Mario Kart 8, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and Yoshi's Woolly World are also expected to support amiibo.