In typical Nintendo form, some design features are bizarrely clunky, others are intuitive and clever.
Advertisement
What’s the point of Miitomo? While it isn’t hard to, for example, post your Mii photos on Instagram, getting to that point requires users to already think to use Miitomo. Goofy pictures, Direct presentations featuring Muppets, phrasing that turns into Internet memes; you name it, they capitalize on the giggles. Updates to conversations you’ve already joined will appear in a feed of Recent discussions, so you can continue to participate and update answers at a later date.
A player can ask a question like, “If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?” There’s no question in my mind that the best way to build your personal Nintendo network right now is by downloading Miitomo. That’s nearly all there is to it. The core of the experience is answering and updating questions about yourself, which earns you coins to spend on clothes for your Mii at the Miitomo shop. That’s as far as Miitomo goes in the traditional sense of what a video game can be, though. Then redeem your points for fun rewards. The social aspect is a large part of what keeps Miitomo compelling. Coins are used to purchase in-game clothing, while game tickets are used to play mini games.
If you want to add friends you need to either be in the same room and both press a button at the same time, though you will need to link your Facebook/Twitter to find your friends if you’re not in the same room. There are a few ways to friend someone: you can connect Miitomo to Twitter or Facebook (which is where most of my friends came from), you can connect face-to-face, or you can send requests to suggested friends.
You can make changing in your mode, attitude and manners as well. Yes, this is your dream. The more friends, the more questions players get asked, and the more “money” players make from the game to use on customization items. As with many free-to-play apps, the initial surge of gold runs out before you know it and, at five coins for listening to an answer, it will take weeks to earn the 1,000+ coins often needed to purchase a snazzy new shirt or pair of trousers.
All this question and answer nonsense is curiously moreish. Nintendo originally set out to create an application that brought a new way to interact with your friends, acquaintances, and enemies, breaking several social barriers, and they’ve done just that.
Advertisement
At the time of this writing, Miitomo sits at the No. 93 position on the “Top Grossing iPhone Apps” chart in iTunes – sandwiched between adult social networking app Grindr Xtra (No. 92) and 2K Games’ WWE SuperCard (No. 94) wrestling game.
