Nintendo Announces amiibo Tap, New amiibo Figures for 2015

During Wednesday's Nintendo Direct, the Satoru Iwata announced there would be a bunch of new amiibo figures released later in 2015, as well as an all-new game, amiibo Tap.

The first new batch of Super Smash Bros. amiibo will include characters like Pac-Man, Wario, Charizard, Ness, Greninja, Robin, and Lucina. This wave will be available on May 29, with two more waves planned for July (Dark Pit and Palutena) and September (Olimar, Dr. Mario, Zero Suit Samus, Gannon, Bowswer, Jr.).  Though no figure models were show, Nintendo does have MewTwo and Lucas planned to release later this year, too. Some figures will be retailer exclusive, but Nintendo didn't offer any information as to which of these characters would be relegated to specific stores.

In addition to the new amiibo figures, Iwata also announced amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits, a new series of free mini-games unlocked by tapping a given amiibo on your Wii U Gamepad. The games are all based on classic NES and SNES games, and will be awarded randomly to every person and every amiibo. You can expect to find titles like Balloon Fight, Yoshi, Super Mario World, Wario's Woods, Dr. Mario and more available in amiibo Tap. However, the games will not be the full versions, but rather select sections from each to allow you to relive some memorable moments from Nintendo's history.

amiibo Tap: Nintendo's Greatest Bits will be available for free this spring on the Wii U eShop.