tomodachilife
Latest
I lost a weekend playing 'Miitomo,' Nintendo's first smartphone game
So here it is: Miitomo is Nintendo's first smartphone app. It's a social interaction game that's ... kind of existed before. Tomodachi Life was a surreal 3DS title populated by your own avatar, as well as StreetPass users, friends and any other Miis you made. It's not a conventional game: You don't move around a world collecting things or defeating things. This time, though, Nintendo is opening up this weird, wonderful universe of conversations, customizable clothing and interactions to anyone with a smartphone. There's no Mario, mushrooms or ink-spitting guns (yet), but the app is already No. 2 in the App Store and it's rocketing up Google Play's charts as well. It launched last week in Japan, where I live, so this is how I spent the weekend. Welcome to the time (and battery) sucking word of Miitomo.
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 promises 'more inclusive' games in wake of #Miiquality campaign
When Nintendo designed Tomodachi Life, a bizarre life-sim that puts the company's Mii avatars in an exaggerated parody of reality, it probably didn't expect to provoke a marriage equality campaign. Community cries for 'Miiquality' petitioned Nintendo to add same-sex relationships to the title, but the company's initial response was sterile and dismissive. "Tomodachi Life was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game," Nintendo said. "We were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary." Intentional or not, the lack of same-sex relationships caused a stir. Now, Nintendo is apologizing officially.
Nintendo responds to marriage equality campaign for its bizarre life-sim
Nintendo has no problem with its Mii-based Tomodachi Life being off-kilter, but when it comes to the handheld game's same-sex avatars being able to wed, well, that's a different story. Tomodachi Life is all about the interactions and relationships between an island full of Miis, and as two characters' dating progresses they'll eventually walk down the aisle, unlock a bigger home and have children -- so long as one is, say, Mario and the other is Princess Peach. A fan called the gaming giant on this, urging the internet to use the "#Miiquality" hashtag across social media when requesting that the company change its stance. Nintendo's response? It told the Associated Press that it "never intended to make any form of social commentary" with the 3DS game's launch. "The relationship options in the game represent a playful alternate world rather than a real-life simulation. We hope that all of our fans will see that 'Tomodachi Life' was intended to be a whimsical and quirky game, and that we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary."
Watch Nintendo execs vie for the love of Princess Zelda in its latest game
Nintendo's had some success with approximating the mundanity of real life in the past, but its latest attempt looks like it'll amp up the crazy rather dramatically. In Tomodachi Life you import a collection of Miis (Nintendo's avatar system) and watch as they interact with each other on an island. We know what you're thinking, but trust us, it's the opposite of boring. For example, one scene from its recent unveiling involves Nintendo's senior product marketing manager Bill Trinen professing his love for Samus Aran on a beach when a shirtless, musclebound president Reggie Fils-Aime runs down the shore to do the same. And then, CEO Satoru Iwata emerges from the water and joins in on the action. Yes, really.
