Nintendo unveils new smartphone game ‘Miitomo’ for March 2016

Nintendo’s first smartphone game is a communication game called Miitomo, and it will be released in March 2016, the company said today. DeNA traditionally follows the freemium model, which means that the games are free to download and play, but there are either ads or in-app purchases for extra features. “You might dig up a few previously-buried topics of conversation, learn about a surprising side of your friend you’ve never seen before, find things you never knew you had in common”, Kimishima said. Takahashi emphasized that Miitomo centers around facilitating connections for people who are shy or hesitant to communicate with others. It seems Nintendo will need more time to appropriately promote Miitomo; the issue is they are busy promoting other apps right now.

Whether Nintendo’s latest innovation turns out to be a success, like the motion and touch-screen controls of its newest game systems, or a spectacular train wreck on the order of the R.O.B. and Virtual Boy, remains to be seen.

This is Nintento’s first smartphone game.

Nintendo also says that while Miitomo will be free-to-play, it’ll offer add-ons that you can pay for.

The first images of the game show the Miis we’re used to seeing on Nintendo game consoles at this point, but on a phone and in slightly different places than normal. Much expected was the announcement of Nintendo’s first mobile app, updates on the new Nintendo network ID program, and more.

However, instead of targeting the year’s end, Nintendo is now looking to begin the roll-out by March 2016.

“We will talk about details tomorrow”, Nintendo’s new chief executive, Tatsumi Kimishima, said Wednesday to the Wall Street Journal.

My Nintendo will work as a bridge between dedicated game systems and smart devices.

Nintendo maintained its forecast for sales of the Wii U to be little changed this fiscal year as hit titles like Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, which lets players design their own game levels, failed to spur demand.

Thanks to the Nintendo’s delay of their smartphone lineup, Nintendo Co., Ltd. share prices dropped over 10%.