Wii U near-field communication more a money grab than gameplay enhancement?

Nintendo this week announced near-field communication support for Wii U (or whatever it ends up being called). While the addition may help developers introduce new gameplay ideas, 1up makes a strong argument that the technology will likely be used to “milk money” out of enthusiast gamers.

Iwata only gave one explicit example of how the NFC tech might be used, “micropayments.” He didn’t elaborate beyond that one word, but this probably means Wii point cards will no longer come with scratch codes. Instead, Nintendo will probably sell cards with NFC chips. Swipe it and points will be added to your Nintendo Network account.

Nintendo may also use the tech so you can swipe merch for pre-order bonuses, downloadable content, and Pokemon tie-ins. Obviously, many of those would enhance convenience in getting your analog stuff to talk with digital stuff. But it’s to be seen how, if ever, NFC will enhance actual games.

What do you think?