Nintendo's new Wii U Pokémon game includes Skylanders toy tech

UPDATE: The first photos of Nintendo's new range of Pokémon NFC toys have appeared online.

The "first set" (presumably of many) will include Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Torchic, Piplup, Lucario, Victini, and one secret character, Kotaku reported.

Each 200 Yen (£1.40) toy comes in a blind capsule - so you'll likely need to swap duplicates with friends to catch 'em all. There's also a nifty lunchbox/carry case for the lot 780 Yen (£5.40).

ORIGINAL STORY: Nintendo will include Skylanders-style toy technology in its new Wii U Pokémon game.

The game in question is downloadable battler Pokémon Rumble U, a third entry in the Rumble spin-off series. It was announced in Japan last month, and follows earlier versions for DSiWare and 3DS.

Japanese gamers will be able to buy Pokémon figurines and see the appropriate characters appear on-screen. Six standard figures and one special character have been announced so far, with the first revealed (unsurprisingly) to be Pikachu.

You'll be able to level up and record battle information on the toys themselves, Japanese magazine CoroCoro reported, (thanks, Serebii). Rumble U will be available via the Japanese eShop on 24th April.

The game will cost 1800 Yen (£12.60), while toys will cost 200 Yen (£1.40) each.

Nintendo UK told Eurogamer it had no news yet on a European release.

Including the toys within Rumble is a neat fit - the spin-off series already centres on fighting mechanical versions of the pocket monsters.

The game utilises the NFC sensor included within the Wii U GamePad, rather than needing its own Portal of Power-style accessory.

Will you be able to use the toys with other, future releases? Even, somehow, with upcoming 3DS entries X and Y? One reason to doubt this would be the design of the figurines - they follow Rumble's distinctive polygonal design, suggesting the toys are designed especially for that game.

A decision to produce NFC Pokémon toys has been widely expected from Nintendo following the phenomenal success of Skylanders. Activision's game and toy range has made more than $1 billion, with more than 100 million figurines sold.

Disney is also working on its own Skylanders-style game, Disney Infinity. The company owns the licence to its Marvel and Star Wars brands, too.