Miitomo Will Be Nintendo’s First Mobile Game

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight on an investor’s call Nintendo finally revealed details of their first official mobile game. (And no, Pokemon Shuffle doesn’t count).

A result of their partnership with DeNA, Miitomo will be available starting March 2016. The game allows players to create their own Mii (a virtual avatar) and let them interact with other players’ Miis after answering a series of questions.

This sounds more like a social network than a game, though I suppose we’ll have to wait for March 2016 to find out exactly what Miitomo is intended to be. Miitomo will be a free download, supported by in-app purchases should players want add-ons.

The real shock to come out of the investor’s call, though? The four remaining games resulting from Nintendo’s partnership with DeNA will be paid downloads. This is in sharp contrast with everything that had generally been suspected prior to tonight’s call, with smartphone games being billed as a way to direct players to “more premium experiences” on Nintendo platforms.

Color us surprised!

These four additional games are expected by March 2017 — but then there’s also Pokemon Go. I’m not too sure where this fits into the puzzle, as it’s not from DeNA and looks like a natural fit for free-to-play. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens there.

At the risk of editorializing, I’m shocked they’re not leading with a Mario game.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Jim Squires

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Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.