Nintendo’s foray into the mobile marketplace an instant success
Nintendo has finally made their way into the mobile app market with the release of Miitomo. Described as a “free-to-start social experience” in Nintendo’s official release, the app had already been downloaded by over one million users in Japan before launching overseas on March 31, 2016.
Miitomo can be best described as Nintendo’s interpretation of a social media service; it’s fun, family friendly, and a little quirky to boot. Users engage in conversation with their friends through the avatars they create called Miis. The Mii concept was originally implemented with the launch of the high selling Wii, Nintendo’s motion controlled console released in 2006. Gamers would create their Mii, which would act as an avatar through a variety of Wii exclusive titles—the most famous being the massively popular Wii Sports.
Nintendo has been incorporating the Mii idea in all major console releases since the Wii, but it’s interesting that their first foray into the mobile marketplace is headed by a user-created character, instead of their old stalwart mascot Mario.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…over one million users in Japan…[/pullquote]
Once users install the Miitomo app—which is free on both iOS and Android devices—they can create their Mii and dig into what Miitomo
Nintendo is also not shying away from their goofier roots, allowing users to make their Miis as true to life or unrealistic as they want. After decking out my Mii in some spiffy threads—and glasses for accuracy’s sake—I was ready to dive into the meat and potatoes of Miitomo.
The app centres on connecting with friends and answering a fun collection of questions to have conversations that extend from the usual inquiries about weekend plans or post-bar texts. At the time of this review, however, most of my contacts haven’t been in the know on Nintendo’s new app, so my ability to try out the conversation aspect was limited.
The other main feature of Miitomo allows users to create their own snapshots using their Mii creations. This secondary function of the app has led many users to create some hilarious—and many offensive—Mii snapshots. I’m sure the offensive characters contradict the family-friendly image that Nintendo is going for.
At over three million unique downloads since its launch, it’s safe to call Nintendo’s first foray into the mobile app market a rousing success, though not necessarily a meaningful gaming experience. It will be interesting to see how users will react when Nintendo decides to venture into actual mobile gaming, and whether it will be as successful as this fun little social media distraction.