The company recently announced that its first mobile game, “Miitomo,” will be released early next year.
Last week, Nintendo announced that it will be launching its first-ever mobile app in March 2016. Miitomo (“tomo” translates to “friend” in Japanese) will allow players to create their own avatars, called Mii’s in Nintendo-speak, and then answer a series of questions. Based on the answers, players will then be able to communicate with other Mii’s.
The app is free to play and will offer add-ons for a cost. This is the first of five mobile games released by the company, and all others will be paid downloads.
It seems a little debatable if you can actually call Miitomo a game. According to The Wall Street Journal, “executive Shinya Takahashi says that Nintendo will find ways to encourage people who are hesitant to talk to share things about themselves.” The app seems to be a communication or social networking app that will be helpful for those that have trouble talking to others or simply like the usage of Mii’s.
“You might dig up some previously-buried topics of conversation, learn about a surprising side of your friend you’ve never seen before, find things you never knew you had in common,” said Tatsumi Kimishima, Nintendo president.
While I think the game is geared toward a very specific demographic, I think “Miitomo” is a great introduction for Nintendo in the mobile platform. Personally, I’m really excited for mobile games that feature some of our favorite characters, like Mario. This is a quick way to get Nintendo integrated into the mobile sector and get people excited about finding Nintendo games on their phones and tablets.
It’s surprising that the gaming powerhouse is finally making the transition to include mobile games. The Wall Street Journal reported that Osama Kamada, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities said “Tough times ahead for Nintendo’s Wii U console and 3DS handheld device because rivals are already moving on to the next-generation technology, such as virtual reality.”
While the 3DS still is one of the top selling consoles, it’s easy to notice that it’s being rivaled by advancing console technologies, as well as the advancement in mobile gaming. More and more games are becoming full-fledged to play on a mobile device. There are still an abundance of arcade-based games, but many are campaign-like and feature characters and storylines.
If Nintendo is able to secure a strong spot in this sector of gaming, it will be irreplaceable for them.
Sophie Kruse is a senior studying journalism. What do you think about Miitomo? Email her at sk139011@ohio.edu or tweet her @kruseco.
