Popular Japanese handheld and console game maker, Nintendo is branching out into new markets by announcing it’s first ever smartphone game – Miitomo (which seems to mean Mii Friends as some sources says) at a media event in Japan. The game which was expected to make its debut later this year has been moved to March 2016.
Miitomo is a free-to-play social game with in-app purchases and requires users to not only create but also customise Miis (or avatars) characters and have them interact with the characters of other players. It is a purely social app and I must say that it is not exactly what we can call a game.
Nintendo also announced a new membership service called – Nintendo Account; this will connect hardware users as well as mobile devices and PC users. It is a cloud based service which allows users to transfer information between console games and mobile games.
Miitomo could be said to be a litmus test for Nintendo to gauge the reaction of the public before the company decides to bring more established games like Mario, Pikachu or Link. The Japanese company is expected to launch four more pay-to-download games by March 2017.
Source: Wall Street Journal (WSJ)
