Nintendo Launches Subscription Service for Amiibos; 2DS Gets New Colours

Gaming giant Nintendo made two major announcements on Tuesday - for one, it has announced a subscription option to buy the amiibos - NFC enabled figurines that will unlock features in games - as a monthly subscription with online delivery service Loot Crate.

Nintendo had announced the amiibos at E3 this year - taking a cue from Skylanders and Disney Infinity, amiibos are physical toys which can interact with digital games through NFC, and Nintendo described them as an all new platform.

The Loot Crate subscription will give people 10 pre-selected amiibos, spread across three loot crate packages, and while the pricing of the subscription has not been announced, Engadget points out that the Loot Crate typically costs $12.99 (approximately Rs. 799), which is the cost of a single amiibo from Nintendo. If you can get three amiibo's per month for the same price, then this is a great option, but it's likely that the special amiibo packages will be more expensive than that.

You can register for the Loot Crate here, if you live in one of the countries listed here.

Aside from the Loot Crate tie-up, Nintendo had another announcement on Tuesday - the launch of two new colours for the Nintendo 2DS. Called the Crystal Red and Crystal Blue versions, these new 2DS portable consoles are red and blue respectively, but in a very 90s twist, the handheld consoles are also transparent. You can see the circuits in your 2DS with these new designs, something Nintendo had also done with the Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Color when they were in circulation.

The two new 2DS portable consoles will ship with Pokemon Omega Ruby (for the Crystal Red) and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire (for the Crystal Blue) and will be available for $99.99 (approximately Rs. 6,151). The two games will also launch at the same time, for $39.99 (approximately Rs. 2,460).