Nintendo is following in the footsteps of Activision’s Skylanders and Disney’s Infinity with plans for its own interactive figure platform.

The gaming company is planning a new line of character figurines that can communicate with video games, currently called the Nintendo Figurine Platform. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who announced the new platform at the company’s annual financial briefing Thursday, says that NFP is targeted to launch by the end of this year.

“To establish new and growing areas through the active utilization of character IP, it is important for Nintendo to take risks and come up with interesting ways to use our character IP,” said Iwata. “In other words, other than using character IP in Nintendo’s video game software, we need to start a new business that will someday become one of our core activities.”

At launch the figures will be compatible with both the Nintendo Wii GamePad and the 3DS handheld system.

Products and full details of the program will be unveiled at the E3 expo this June.