Nintendo may be one of the most immediately recognizable names in the world of video gaming, but the Japan-based company has so far managed to evade the allure of entering into the world of mobile gaming; that is, until now. As part of an internal strategy meeting with investors of the company, Nintendo unveiled its plans to finally release a game intended for mobile devices as early as March 2016. The game, which will be called Miitomo, will be the first of five titles launched before March 2017 under the Nintendo brand.
As is generally the case with mobile games released by large brands, Miitomo will be offered as an entirely free-of-charge download with a plethora of free-to-play content. Nintendo’s monetization of the product will be addressed by an array of “attractive add-ons”, which essentially equates to a myriad of content that can be acquired as an in-app purchase.
One of the core value propositions of the game for gamers is that they will be able to create their own avatar characters, which will be known as “Miis”, which in turn can communicate within the game with other Mii characters around the world.
One of the interesting things about the characters is that Miis will be able to communicate with other Miis without letting a particular user becoming aware of the initiation. This appears to all be part of an initiative and a unique selling point that Nintendo has, designed to “encourage people who are hesitant to talk to share things about themselves”. We’re not exactly sure how that little feature will work, or how gamers will feel about it in practice, but it’s undeniably a unique aspect to a game that will need to find its own feet on the various app stores.
Nintendo had originally planned to release Miitomo before the end of 2015. That launch has now been delayed until March 2016 to afford the Japanese company some time to try and actually explain and promote what Miitomo is to users around the world while working tirelessly on the other four titles which the company plans to release as paid-downloads.
Nintendo undoubtedly has a cult following of fans who will immediately embrace this release, but it clearly fears that those who aren’t particularly au fait with how the company works, won’t understand what it’s trying to be achieved with Miitomo.
With five games in the pipeline, and a new membership service called Nintendo Account that connects PC, Nintendo and smartphone users together, it seems that the company is heavily invested in taking the mobile gaming world by storm.
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