Nintendo shows off another two waves of Amiibo toys

UPDATE 11/11/14 2.15pm: Nintendo of Europe has now confirmed UK release dates for the company's third and fourth waves of Amiibo.

Here, only six figures will be available in the third wave - Rosalina, Bowser, Lucario, Toon Link, Sheik and Ike, on 23rd January.

Meta Knight and King Dedede will follow on with Shulk, Sonic and Mega Man, on 20th February.

ORIGINAL STORY 11/11/14 2.15pm: Nintendo has revealed its third and fourth waves of Amiibo NFC toys, due to launch in Japan during January and February next year.

The third line-up features eight more fighters from Super Smash Bros.: Bowser, Toon Link, Rosalina, Meta Knight, Lucario, Sheik, Ike and King Dedede.

Three more characters will then follow as part of a fourth wave in February: Shulk, Sonic and Mega Man.

Japan will see the third wave on 22nd January. The fourth wave just has a vague February date.

We're checking with Nintendo UK now for European launch details.

Noticeably, none of the figures feature the coloured plastic supports seen in Amiibo waves one and two.

All of the figures will be compatible with Super Smash Bros. on 3DS and Wii U, Nintendo has confirmed.

Additionally, Toon Link will be compatible with Mario Kart 8, while both Toon Link and Sheik will be compatible with Zelda: Hyrule Warriors.

A new Wii U system update has just added Amiibo options to the console's settings menu. There you can register Amiibo and give each statue a nickname.

You can also delete data written to a figure by selected software, or reset it completely.

But one major drawback to Amiibo has also been announced - you can only and write data to a figure for a single game. This may be why the only game announced to currently write data is Super Smash Bros - other titles currently just read figurine data and use it to unlock in-game content.

Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 8 and Hyrule Warriors will include Amiibo support when the figurines launch later this month.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Mario Party 10, Yoshi's Woolly World and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse will then include Amiibo compatibility of some point when they launch next year.

Nintendo's first wave of Amiibo will arrive in Europe on 28th November and include 12 characters: Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Fox, Samus, Wii Fit Trainer, Villager, Pikachu, Kirby and Marth.

Wave two arrives on 19th December with Zelda, Diddy Kong, Luigi, Little Mac, Pit and Captain Falcon.