| Goodnightmoon said: I was thinking the same, it is a pretty good idea if true. |
I still think it's not far to not call it a game. It is a game, but in the same way that Street Plaza or Rusty is one. It's less a singular, focused game and more of a minigame collection with a social hub. What Nintendo showed us was the social hub part. Like I said in March, I think the games will be focused around social play. Games like Words with Friends (WWF) or Draw Something (DS) are perfect examples of what to expect. I think people were expecting like Puzzles and Dragons or something deep like that, but that kind of stuff isn't going to get Nintendo the installed base they obviously want.
DeNA wasn't partnered with to make mobile games - they were teamed up with to make My Nintendo/Nintendo Accounts. Everything they are doing is in service of that. Miitomo is going to have absolutely massive world wide appeal for the same reasons Mii's did on the Wii - it's simple and cute to make your own Mii. It's going to be an absolute sinch to get people to download Miitomo, especially since they're going to promote it like an actual product with an actual marketing campaign. It's going to easily reach 10s of millions of downloads day one. That's not even a question.
After that, it's those social interactions that will give the game retention. Like I said, the key is passive relationships with the app. Miitomo isn't going to demand anything of your time. Just like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter, you can check it absolutely at your leisure. You can leave it for weeks, and you won't be losing out on anything. There's no commitment, but there will be little tacticle draws to pull you in. The little questions are one thing, as it'll likely be used to facilitate match making with people on your friends list, but the mini games will be another big thing.
WWF and DS were so successful because playing the games were passive experiences. You interacted with the games the way you interact with a text message or any social media notification. You pop in, do one move, leave, and wait to be notified of your friends move. That's what I think Nintendo is going for with their Miitomo minigames. And that's genius, because it allows life to move on around these games. And the games themselves are a form of social interaction, only instead of texting friends, you're playing with them. Think Cards Against Humanity or Scrabble. The games are meant to facilitate conversation and social interaction. The games aren't fun just because the gameplay is fun - they are mostly fun because they are great social lubricant.
So I doubt any of the Miitomo minigames will be single player. They will all be either 1v1, group challenges, or even "co-op." But they will be designed to play with friends, and the reason why the entire app is being designed this way is to - you all guessed it - get as many people to make Nintendo Accounts and have My Nintendo as possible. Best way to do that? Getting people to get their friends to get it so you can interact with them. I got my Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter accounts solely because my friends were so adamant about me getting one. The exact same thing will happen with Miitomo, only that account will then be used for theme parks, movies, other mobile games, NX platforms/Wii U/3DS, and PC. Nintendo Accounts/My Nintendo is the end goal for Miitomo. That is the foundation for which the NX is being built, and it starts in March. Those accounts are going to spread like wild fire.
It's so obvious when you think about it.
