Starting in 2016, Nintendo will be on smartphones, at least in Japan. After the announcement of a partnership with mobile company DeNA earlier this year, the company is finally ready to jump into the smartphone world with a new app called Miitomo.
But as far as we can tell, Miitomo isn't exactly a game. Instead, it seems that it's another way to communicate with your friends. Each user creates their own Mii character, similar to the virtual avatars on the WiiU or 3DS. The app then asks you a series of questions (the slides provided by Nintendo asked the question, "What do you do on your days off?") and then shares them with your friends on the app.
In terms of privacy, your answers will be displayed only to those designated as friends on Miitomo. The goal of these "friendly communication starters," as Nintendo calls them, is to encourage everyone to participate in the conversation, especially those who might not be inclined to be the first to start a message. The result would be a deeper connection with your friends both in gameplay and in real life.
Initially, Miitomo was scheduled for release at the end of the year, but the company delayed it to March 2016 to improve the app and make sure it works properly on the intended smartphone platforms. Even with the delay, Nintendo still plans to meet its overall goal of the release of five mobile titles by March 2017.
Even with the popularity of smartphone games and apps on the rise, Nintendo is late to the party. However, it hopes to capitalize on the growing market, not only to make a profit, but to also increase awareness of the Nintendo brand. In terms of the big picture, the push to mobile makes it another cog in the company's plans to keep players continuously connected to the brand across its entire suite of devices and apps.
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Rexly Peñaflorida II is a Contributor at Tom’s Hardware. He writes news on tech and hardware, but mostly focuses on gaming news. As a Chicagoan, he believes that deep dish pizza is real pizza and ketchup should never be on hot dogs. Ever. Also, Portillo’s is amazing.
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