Good news to all Nintendo game-lovers out there! The Japan-based gaming company is about to open its curtains to the world of smartphone gaming and it is going to be played by a very special character: you.
In a press conference in Kyoto, Japan, last Wednesday Oct. 28, the company announced the upcoming release of Miitomo, a personalised avatar from Wii, Wii U and 3Ds that is locally called miis. Mitomo characters will have the ability to not just stay on its player's phone, but can also visit a friend's phone according to the Wall Street Journal.
Miitomo is a result of a tie-up between big N, which is responsible for the game's advertising and marketing, and DeNA, which is accountable for the game's operation. However, do not get too overwhelmed yet as Tatsumi Kimishima, Nintendo's successor after the death of the previous CEO early this year, pushed back the release date and announced that the launch will commence on March 2016.
It can be remembered that the company said they will release the game before the calendar ends and four other games will be cast loose before spring in 2017. Guaranteeing the support of service is the former banker and now chairman of the gaming giant's reason to postpone the debut.
Furthermore, the company also said to create "Nintendo Account," a membership service account meant to link users of its hardware, PC and smartphones. Transferring of data between mobile and console games will utilize cloud-based servers.
Kimishima will not be looking forward that these mobile games will account half the company's revenue as these are aimed to draw more customers for hardware and software. An analyst from the Bank of America Hiroyasu Eguchi told the Wall Street Journal that the company's strategy is "not primarily to earn profits, but to boost awareness of game characters, which could drive sales of console games in the future." The game will reportedly be released free for everyone with an add-on purchase option that will also be available.