When it comes down to it, haters gon’ hate. If someone decides to set themselves against some game or some company, there’s nothing you can do to change their minds. The gaming world has some of the most passionate haters known to humanity, and among them the Nintendo haters are the most tenacious. The Wii and the Wii U were both wonderful consoles with incredible games, but the fact that the Wii used a remote and the Wii U didn’t sell well are all the evidence needed for haters to justify their Nintendo bashing. The fact is that 2016 is going to be a transformative year for Nintendo. There’s so much to look forward to, but there’s also much at stake. While I’m excited for and confident in everything the NX will be, I’m also a little worried about Nintendo’s approach to the smartphone market.
Making free-to-start or premium smartphone games seems like a no-brainer for Nintendo. I mean think about it… its characters are known and loved by the old and the young, so whether Nintendo puts out some kind of new Donkey Kong platformer or a mobile port of a classic like Super Mario World, the game would appeal to customers from multiple generations and likely sell really well. Plus, Nintendo has been successfully creating bite-sized, mobile-friendly games since 1989! All of the Gameboy platforms have done phenomenally well, and Warioware Inc. Mega Microgames is proof that Nintendo can produce a game that you can pick up and play for 15 seconds or 2 hours and have a blast.
So to recap: Nintendo knows how to produce killer games meant to be played on the go, and it also has IPs that appeal to pretty much anyone with a smartphone, or at least a kid playing on mom and dad’s tablet. What’s the problem? The problem is that Nintendo’s very first smartphone game isn’t a game at all, and it isn’t using a recognizable IP, but your Mii instead. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and the first bit of software that we’ll be downloading from Nintendo from our app stores is going to be Miitomo.
I honestly think that since Nintendo has been so successful, and because it has so much cash to mess around with, that it’s created a little bubble around itself. Internally, the road-map plotting the course ahead is likely clear and makes sense, but from the outside it’s hard to understand why Nintendo would kick things off with a weird, social experiment like Miitomo. From what I can tell, you basically just build a profile about yourself based on your answers to strange questions, and you can create a new Mii by taking a picture of yourself on your phone. From there I guess your Mii will interact with friends and friends of friends. Oh! And you can insert your Mii into pictures and add stickers.
I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but if Mittomo is as forgettable as it sounds than many eager Nintendo fans that were looking forward to this partnership with DeNA are going to be disappointed. I also noticed in Nintendo’s recent press release concerning the game that it is free-to-start, meaning there will be a push toward microtransactions in some way. Nintendo isn’t as bad as most publishers, but damn if that Badge Arcade rabbit isn’t persistent. Hopefully the only thing we’ll see in Miitomo that costs money will be crazy suits of armor from Monster Hunter or Metroid or something.
While I’m very happy to have signed up for my new Nintendo Account, and I can’t wait to see what kind of rewards are in store when the My Nintendo program kicks off, I am a little wary of Miitomo and the impression it may (or may not) make. Even if the app tanks, Nintendo won’t suffer for it, and we know that the second app or game will feature a well-known IP. More than anything I just don’t want to deal with the haters making fun of Miitomo for months. Ah, who am I kidding – I couldn’t care less.
What about you guys, though? Is Miitomo even on your radar? What’s your dream announcement from Nintendo and DeNA? Personally, I’m waiting for a new Warioware game; it’s perfect for smartphones. Pitch your idea in the comments section.