Toys-to-life

Toys-to-life is a genre of video game using physical figurines or action figures to interact within the game. These toys use a near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), or image recognition data protocol to determine the individual figurine's proximity, and save a player's progress data to a storage medium located within that piece. It is one of the most lucrative branches of the video game industry, with the Skylanders franchise alone selling more than $3 billion worth over the course of four years.

Toys-to-life games generally use a third-person camera view, and have in-game power-up figurines. Most toys-to-life games are based on E-E10+ content, oriented to users aged 5 through 12 years. Toys-to-life games generally have an accompanying portal device that is used to "transport" the figurine's character and associated player data into the game. The figurines can be transferred from each game in the franchise, possibly resetting with every different installment.

Skylanders (2011) is one of the most successful early games of this genre. Since its first release, each year has seen a new installment in the series, totaling six as of 2016^[update]. Each game has its own portal device and a different take on the premise than past games. They star the Skylander heroes and the evil antagonist Kaos. All current figurines are compatible with its most recent installment, Skylanders: Imaginators (2016).

Amiibo (2014) is a toys-to-life platform primarily based on Nintendo properties and characters, as well some third-party non-Nintendo characters like Pac-Man, Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Ryu and Cloud Strife that have appeared in Nintendo games. Launching in 2014 with figurines, Nintendo has since also deployed Amiibo-compatible playing cards, with plans for other media in the future. Unlike most other toys-to-life series, Amiibo does not have games dedicated exclusively to the use of the toys, but the characters are used throughout various Nintendo games. Amiibo toys can save players' progress data and information per game. They have even released plush toy Amiibo for Yoshi's Woolly World and Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World.

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