As expected, Nintendo has announced its first app for mobile devices. Entitled Miitomo, the free to play game is based in the Mii universe, and will be released next spring.
According to a Wall Street Journal live blog, Miitomo will allow users to design their own Miis, virtual avatars, which first appeared on the original Wii console. Nintendo has characterized Miitomo as a “Friendly Conversation Starter”. By asking and answering questions, gamers will be able to find out unknown aspects about friends along with things that you share in common.
Although Nintendo’s reveal was in Japanese, a rough translation has been acquired:
These “friendly communication starters” have an advantage that even the people who are less willing to send messages can easily participate. Another unique characteristic of Miitomo is that you may be able to find out unknown aspects about your friends or unexpected commonalities you share with your friend because Miitomo may pick up the topics that you usually do not discuss but would be willing to answer if asked.
So this “game” if you even want to call it that, seems more like a social interaction game than a traditional game that you’d expect from Nintendo. While it’s not surprising given Nintendo’s desire to funnel gamers back to its own platforms, it’s also a bit disappointing that some of Nintendo’s more respected and well-known franchises weren’t represented.
That’s not to say that Nintendo’s other franchises won’t appear on smartphones, but Nintendo’s first attempt is looking a bit lukewarm at this point. Sure, Mii’s are well-known, but they’re nowhere near as possible as Nintendo’s other franchises like Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, etc.
What do you think about Miitomo?
Via: Nintendo Everything