Familiar with Amiibo? Nintendo’s hugely successful figure-slash-interactive-toys that are all the rage these days? Well it looks like the market has caught Microsoft’s attention, as it filed a patent for a similar device, according to TechInsider.

The patent, filed in April and published on September 17, feature a device akin smart bracelet or accessory, consisting of a “connecting element” and “two or more smart beads” which are user-re-arrangeable. Each smart bead will have its own ID and data storage, and can presumably interact with some sort of base, similar to how Nintendo’s Amiibos work with Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Here is the blueprint of the device, for the techie souls:

Aside from Nintendo, Activision and Disney also enjoys huge success with the toys-to-life model with their Skylander and Disney Infinity series, racking in millions of dollars. It is understandable then, that Microsoft might be interested in a chunk of that pie, rounding the sets of game control methods for their machines. Whether the device will become a real product or remain in patent form inside Microsoft remains to be seen.

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