Miitomo: Nintendo’s first mobile app
Nintendo released its very first mobile app, Miitomo, in the U.S. and Europe, on March 31.
The game was released in Japan earlier in March and, according to The Guardian, racked up more than 1 million downloads in its first three days.
According to Venture Beat, Miitomo was downloaded 1.6 million times in its first four days in the U.S. alone. Fifty-one percent of Miitomo’s downloads come from the U.S., with other top regions such as Great Britain and Canada representing less than 10 percent
Miitomo is Nintendo’s first social media app, which allows people to communicate with friends and learn more about them in an entertaining way.
Players first customize their avatar, known as a Mii. These customizations range from appearance to personality and voice.
Players earn style and popularity points to increase their level by answering questions and buying clothes.
Daily prizes are also distributed to users who log in, and they get bigger each day.
One mini-game, Miitomo Drop, a Plinko-style game, is also available for players to win specialty-clothing items for their Mii and candy to give friends.
Miitomo is free and available on both Android and iOS devices.
In-app purchases also allow users to buy coins and tickets to get items faster.
One of the most surprising features of the Miitomo app however, is the lack of a sensor. Players are truly free to express themselves anyway possible, whether it’s through colorful curse words or bizarre photo edits.
Players can also take a variety of custom photos with their Mii’s, called Miifoto’s, and are even able to use their phone’s photos as backgrounds and pose their Mii’s in a wide variety of stances and facial expressions.
“With Miitomo, Nintendo takes its first step into the world of smart devices,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales & marketing, on the Nintendo website.
“Miitomo brings the special Nintendo charm and polish that people around the world love to an entirely new format and audience.”
This is not Nintendo’s only move into the mobile world. According to Venture Beat, “the company is planning to launch four more games for iOS and Android over the next 12 months.”
“Miitomo is designed to offer a new style of communication between friends,” Nintendo wrote on its site. “You might even learn something completely unexpected or surprising about one of your friends, or a common interest!”