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Breath of the Wild's minor characters are likely advanced Miis
For years, fans have theorized that Nintendo used Miis to build many of the NPCs (non-player characters) in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. A Mii expert with the handle HEYimHeroic has discovered that it’s possible to convert and import traditional Miis — the ones that you can craft on the Wii, Wii U, 3DS and Switch — into the game. HEYimHeroic has stressed that the Mii and UMii file formats aren’t identical.
Nintendo will pull the plug on 'Miitomo' in May
Before Super Mario Run and Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, there was Miitomo. A sort of social network in disguise, it was Nintendo's first push into mobile gaming on iOS and Android, but now the company has announced it will shut down May 9th. It rocketed to the top of app stores upon release in 2016 and gained more than 10 million users, but just as quickly fell off since it lacked basic features that would keep players coming back. Eventually, things like chat and increased customization arrived, but it was too little too late. A note on the website informs users that the sale of premium coins has ended, however, it will offer daily login bonuses from now until it shuts down as part of a "Final Thank You Festival." Once the lights go out at 3 AM ET on May 9th, users won't be able to see or use any of its features. They'll need to save Miifotos locally to their device before the shutdown, and backup any Sidekick Mii characters they'd like to save as a QR code usable on 3DS or Wii U. To save your Mii, you'll need to link a Nintendo Account, but all you'll get is its look -- the personality will not carry over. At least we still have Pokémon Go.
Nintendo still has a stack of 3DS games in the pipeline
Nintendo Switch titles ARMS and Splatoon 2 headlined today's Nintendo Direct presentation, but they weren't the only games with news to reveal. The studio has a solid lineup of games coming to the 3DS this year.
Nintendo's Switch won't have video streaming apps at launch
We've been up close with the Nintendo Switch, tried some of its games and heard the company's pitch for the system. But still, questions remain. Thankfully, the folks at Kotaku have managed to prise some new information out of the house of Mario. Namely that the system does support multiple users -- up to eight accounts can be registered on a single system -- and that Nintendo's colorful Miis will be making a return. "There is a Mii Maker on Nintendo Switch," a spokesperson confirmed. "Mii characters can be used to represent a user profile, but are not required. [They] can still be used in games if developers choose to include them."
Nintendo finally increases the 3DS StreetPass limit to 100
The ability to share information via StreetPass with other players has always been a fun reason to carry your 3DS everywhere. But you can only capture up to 10 users' Miis at a time, and going through them is a time-consuming pain. On this morning's Nintendo Direct the company announced a new "Quick Plaza" to make the process a lot smoother, as well as a new premium feature that can increase your number of potential encounters to 100.
Nintendo is bringing 'Splatoon' gear to its 'Miitomo' app
Since its launch, Nintendo has held back from offering video game-related clothing in Miitomo. You can quickly earn a Mario hat, but otherwise there are few items to show off your love for a particular franchise, like Star Fox or The Legend of Zelda. That's now changing, however, as Nintendo readies its first batch of Splatoon-themed gear. From April 27th through to May 29th, users will be able to unlock inkling shoes, shorts, t-shirts and hairstyles through the app's Miitomo Drop mini-game. Colorful squid pins will also be redeemable using regular coins in the Miitomo Shop.
My Miitomo addiction proves social media is just a game
I used to think there was no room for another social network in my life. I already have Twitter for public interactions and jokes, Facebook for connecting with friends and family, Instagram for sharing closeup photos of my dinner and Snapchat for when I feel like goofing around. Upstart social networks like Ello, App.net and Peach never resonated with me. But for the past two weeks, I've been flirting with a new contender. It's called Miitomo, a game from Nintendo that's really a social network in disguise. And my Miitomo obsession has made me wonder if the social networks I use the most often -- Twitter, Facebook and Instagram -- aren't games of a sort too.
Nintendo explains its reward program and that smartphone app
Nintendo's first smartphone entry is gradually, actually, happening. During an investor call earlier today, the company showcased what is actually going on and how it'll attempt to make the most of your smartphone. You can also start registering for the game (and its corresponding "My Nintendo" online service) starting February 17th. This dovetails with the company's new rewards scheme, which was also elaborated on further in today's call. You'll have to ensure you have your "My Nintendo" account ready for all the above when it launches globally in March, but until then, here's what the gaming company had to say.
Nintendo toys with the idea of a Mii mobile app
Nintendo has been dropping hints for years about possible smartphone apps starring its classic characters or somehow tying into the Wii and Wii U. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is back at it this week, this time with a specific idea: Mii for mobile devices. "It would be fun for players to use their Mii characters as icons on social media," Iwata said in an interview with Nikkei. "We are currently developing an application that will allow users to do that."
Mario Kart 8 update adds Amiibo support
A downloadable Mario Kart 8 update, meant to steady the game for the initial volley of DLC cars and tracks, will also enable simple support for Nintendo's Amiibo lineup. A select number of characters from Nintendo's new toy army will unlock corresponding outfits for your Mii racer. Tapping the Kirby statue on the Wii U gamepad, for instance, will unlock a pink puffball-themed outfit for your Mario Kart Mii, complete with a helmet designed to resemble Kirby looking back at you, smiling in the face of a blue shell coming up. Mario Kart 8 will also have unlocks for Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Link, Captain Falcon, Samus, and Fox McCloud. The Amiibo update will happen alongside the November 13 release of Mario Kart 8's first DLC - a pack of 8 tracks, 4 vehicles and 3 new characters, including Link and Tanooki Mario. The Amiibo toys, meanwhile, are coming out alongside the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. on November 21. For more on the Amiibo and how they work in Smash, check out my impressions here.
Dress your Mii as Nintendo characters in Super Smash Bros.
Nintendo's Masahiro Sakurai revealed that players will be able to dress their Mii characters up in Nintendo-themed costumes in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. The screenshot above shows off custom outfits inspired by Metroid's Samus and Meta Knight from the Kirby series. Nintendo announced at this year's E3 that Mii characters will join the melee with three selectable classes: gunner, brawler, and sword-fighter. The publisher has issued no word as to whether specific costumes will be tied to Mii character classes. Super Smash Bros. will launch first for the Nintendo 3DS in October, and a Wii U release will follow in the winter. [Image: Nintendo]
'Family Game Night 4: The Game Show' got bored with board games
The crazy thing is: Yahtzee played with a giant rubber bawl and bowling pins, instead of the traditional cup and dice, is actually a better idea for a video game -- especially one compatible with Kinect and PlayStation Move. The crazier thing is: The Family Game Night 4 video game includes fewer than half of the minigames featured in the Family Game Night television game show on which it's based. You can't even begin to imagine how "Operation Relay" is going to work in your living room -- you just have to wait for the EA Hasbro division's next sequel. Family Game Night 4: The Game Show will be released this fall for Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and features support for motion control on all three platforms. It includes five minigames adapted from The Hub channel's Family Game Night game show, including "Bop-It Boptagon," "Connect 4 Basketball," "Scrabble Flash," "Sorry! Sliders" and "Yahtzee Bowling." [Image credit: Hub Television Networks]
Arttoo: 3DS fan gets AR card tattoo
Most people who don't happen to have their Nintendo 3DS AR cards handy just, you know, load them up on a smartphone. But a fellow who goes by the handle Cranberryzero decided to go for a more permanent solution -- he got a tattoo of the Mii AR card on his arm. As you can see above and after the break, the tattoo actually works. Whenever the 3DS camera is looking at his arm, the Mii of his choosing appears to be standing just below his wrist. Cranberryzero says the tattoo works best in dim light; in bright light, the device seems to have trouble sussing out the card's border from his skin color. It's pretty cool -- and clever -- but he'd better start preparing an explanation to give his future grandkids now.
Giant AR card used to create a Mega Mii
Follow us on this one: The way augmented reality cards work is that a camera (like the cameras on Nintendo's 3DS) sees a certain marker image at a certain size on screen, and then displays video from the camera along with a virtual object that matches that size. The closer the camera is to the card, the bigger it is on screen, and thus the bigger the object is displayed, as if it really exists in the on-screen world. So what if you took one of the slightly-smaller-than-a-credit-card-sized images, blew it up, pixel for pixel, into a 22 foot long swimming-pool-sized poster, and then looked at it with the Nintendo 3DS? Answer: You'd get a three-story tall augmented reality Mii. See it in action after the break.
3DS can import your Wii Mii, too 'robust' to export them back
Connectivity used to be a big buzz word for Nintendo during the GBA/DS era. Yet, the 3DS is oddly lacking interoperability with a Nintendo home console. At launch, only one feature will be available that caters to owners of both a Wii and 3DS: transferring your Mii from the console to your handheld. But what if you want to send a Mii back to the Wii? "It's a one way transfer," NOA Product Marketing Manager Bill Trinen told Joystiq. "You can send your Miis from your Wii to your 3DS. But, because the Mii Maker on the Nintendo 3DS is a more robust program and has newer features, like hairstyles and eyes and things like that, the Miis you create there can't go back to the Wii." Too bad, because Mii Maker's ability to automatically create new avatars by taking pictures would expedite an otherwise lengthy process. Can we expect any other connectivity between the two Nintendo devices? Perhaps, but Trinen didn't even offer a tease. "Beyond that, that's the only Wii connectivity we've talked about."
Microsoft executives get their own public avatars, may never age
Ever wondered what your favorite Microsoft executive would look like if transformed into an Xbox Live avatar? Wonder no more, as the aforementioned company has done the honors for you. Joey B. definitely looks like his real-world counterpart, but Steve's just looks... doctored. Why give the man forehead lines when he's still so young and vivacious? Hit the source link for lots more where these came from.
Online shopping comes to Wii in Japan November 1
Nintendo's Wii no Ma Channel currently provides videos to Wii users in Japan. During an investors presentation, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata introduced plans to add an online shopping component to the service. On November 1, three department store companies and Nintendo will launch the new Wii no Ma Shopping portal, which will carry goods from those department stores in addition to exclusive items like stickers and stamps with Mii images on them. "In addition to exclusive commodities only available at Wii-no-Ma," Iwata said, "there will always be more than 10,000 items to choose from, including foods, daily commodities, fashion items and furniture." Iwata has high hopes for the shopping service: "Wii is a game console which can be enjoyed by any member of a family regardless of age, gender and gaming experiences, and by deploying services that are unique to Wii with such characteristics, we are trying to make it even more useful for facilitating communication between people," he said. "If we can maintain the high active-use ratio of Wii through that process, people will keep using Wii as a game console. Overall, we are also hopeful that we will be able to increase the social acceptance of video games, which is one of our long-term goals." Don't expect to buy stuff through your Wii: the Wii no Ma Channel remains unavailable outside of Japan.
Nintendo 3DS automatic Mii creation and editing demonstrated on video
Here it is, Nintendo's new Mii Studio software bundled on every new Nintendo 3DS. The software uses any of the 3DS' cameras to snap a photo and automatically create the Mii. It'll blow your mind then let you edit the pieces back together. See what we mean after the break.
Nintendo reveals more 3DS hardware details, OS features
Nintendo didn't just drop a Japanese release date and price for the 3DS tonight -- in a document (PDF) released following this evening's press conference, the company detailed more of the hardware's features, including unexpected pack-ins. ¥25,000 ($299) will net you -- among other things -- a charging cradle, 2GB SD card, telescoping metal stylus and six "paper cards" that can be used for playing the system's built-in augmented reality games. (The 3DS' outward-facing 3D camera will detect and replace them in the "scene" with different 3D objects.) 3DS will also perform some neat new tricks. It has backlit face buttons -- one of which is the Home button. When pressed, it will bring up an in-game menu enabling users to browse the web, turn Wi-Fi on/off and modify other settings without exiting. Finally, there's a breakdown of the built-in software, which includes "Nintendo 3DS cameras," "Nintendo 3DS sound," Mii Studio," "Chance Encounter Mii Plaza," "AR Games" and "Book" (an ebook reader, perhaps?). Mii Studio is unique in that it allows players to snap photos of themselves to use as a basis for their Mii. More details as they hit.%Gallery-103582%
Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!)
Enough with the rumored prices and launch dates for the 3DS already, let's get official. Nintendo just announced a February 26 ship date in Japan for ¥25,000 (about $298). It'll then land in the US and Europe in March for an undisclosed amount. Launch colors are aqua blue or cosmo black. At a press event in Japan, Nintendo demonstrated the ability to take your picture using the 3DS' front-facing camera and then automatically converting the image into a Mii -- you can edit it too using Mii Studio on the 3DS. You can even merge two photos into a single image if you choose. Images can then be exported as QR codes in wireless "tag mode" or as a file to the bundled 2GB SD card. Ninty also announced a special edition Super Mario DSi LL (no hardware changes) set to launch for ¥18,000 in Japan on October 28th. It also confirmed that a Wii Remote Plus is in development (it'll be announced at a date some time in the future) and a partnership with Fuji TV that will trial 3D video streaming to Nintendo's new handheld. Finally, a virtual console-style store was show serving up downloadable Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to the 3DS. Update: Nintendo just launched its 3DS microsite in Japan with a bit more product detail including new feature overview and software lineup videos found after the break. There you'll see a built-in pedometer with activity graph and what looks like background multitasking (or at least a state save) letting you launch other apps and then return to a game at the exact same point you left it. Nintendo also demonstrates the Mii Plaza app that lets you collect and view Miis from 3DS owners you pass throughout the day (even when the 3DS is sleeping); Augmented Reality gaming with six AR cards included in the box; a long-press home button for in-game access to web browsing, WiFi toggle, and more; a Book app; and note writing / diary software.%Gallery-103589%