Nintendo, who promised to release its first game designed specifically for smartphones by the end of 2015, has unveiled Miitomo, the first of five installments attached to the promise. However, the launch won’t be until March 2016, which decreased the enthusiasm of investors and fanatics alike.
This year has been full of headlines where Nintendo announces that their new and most acclaimed games would be getting new installments, attached to other announcements where the company announced that they’ve been delayed, and Miitomo is no different, it seems. No specific reason was given for the delay.
The Details on Miitomo
The game revolves around Mii avatars, which the company uses widely across all of its platforms. According to Eurogamer, it’s a mixture of a 3DS game, Tomodachi Life and a messaging service. The game is set to be free with in-app purchases, which include an array of extra spoils such as clothing or classic Nintendo avatars. Users can create a Mii or, presumably, import their own.
Miis look similarly to how they’re seen on the 3DS and the Wii U. One of the adjustments that come as a novelty is that the Miis seem to be wearing proper clothes, which leads to further belief that in-app purchases will center around that. It will be available for both Android and iOS.
Miitomo Featrures ‘Friendly Communication Starters’
As for the game itself, Miitomo is, as the name implies, about friends. Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima explains that instead of users proactively messaging friends, however, Miitomo has a unique characteristic: he calls it ‘friendly communication starters‘. Your Mii will start a conversation with you, asking about interests, likes and dislikes, and the information it receives will be shared with Mii friends and highlighted for them to see. This feature has an advantage for people who aren’t too keen on sending messages, and it allows them to participate differently.
Another unique feature, Kimishima adds, is that you could find out unexpected facts about your friends through Miitomo. Your Mii will be able to smartly catch on to topics that you don’t discuss but are more than willing to talk about if asked. The point of Miitomo is to express that friendly relationships can be deepened through communication, even one as different as the one Miitomo brings, and also helps begin a network of people with which, through shared interests and hobbies, users can play games and collaborate with.
Nintendo expects to release five more smartphone games by the end of March 2017, but it’s yet to be seen if they’ll stick to that date.
The Delay Causes A 10% Drop in Stocks
Nintendo, which has been faithful to releasing games only for its consoles, made a surprising move in wanting to make one available for smartphones. This can be in an attempt to compete with Sony and Microsoft, both of which have solid smartphone games available.
According to CNET, Nintendo suffered up to $1 million in losses in 2014, but he company saw a rise in operating profit, coming up to $74.6 million in the first half of 2015. These increases were not up to par with forecasts for the company, and investors seem to not be too enthusiastic about the Miitomo delay, given as Nintendo’s stocks dropped 10% immediately after it was announced.
Faithful Nintendo supporters will remain faithful; the company has a way of delivering its promises even if they’re late, so hype among fans is still there. It’s a new world for Nintendo and their games, and success, though hazy for now, seems to be at least in their peripherals.
