We look in depth at how the amiibo collectable figures from Nintendo are different to Skylanders and Disney Infinity.

Seen one toy-video-game craze and you’ve seen them all, right? Counter to first impressions Skylanders, Disney Infinity and Angry Birds Telepods each offer a distinct experience. Nintendo’s amiibo characters offer another new way to combine toys and video-games, but how different is it to these other products?

Provided these retail considerations are well managed, and there are enough amiibo figures to make the offering substantial it seems that this will be another driver of game and console sales for Nintendo. It’s an ideal follow up to Mario Kart 8 and is likely to be the sell out product this Christmas. Savvy parents will want to get in early.

More details: http://e3.nintendo.com/amiibo/