Nintedo has finally started its move into the mobile space with the announcement of Miitomo, the company’s first ever smart device app, next month. Additionally, a new rewards program called My Nintendo will be launching alongside it.
My Nintendo will replace the now-defunct Club Nintendo, and will begin a global rollout during March. 39 countries will be able to access the program, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Russia, South Africa, North America and countries throughout Europe. There’ll be two types of points you can earn, platinum points (which are, by Nintendo’s own admission, “for fun”) and gold points (which are for the good stuff).
You can accrue platinum points by simply logging into the Nintendo eShop, playing games and jumping into various Nintendo websites. You can redeem them for various digital baubles, things like themes or wallpapers for your 3DS.
Gold points, however, are where its at. You get them for buying content directly from the eShop and they’ll get you discounts on other games and apps.
But what about Miitomo?
In Nintendo’s own words, Miitomo “is a social experience that uses Nintendo’s Mii characters to engage friends in a lighthearted, playful and welcoming social setting.” The nutshell version is that it’s a messaging app that uses Mii’s and pre-written questions to spark interesting conversations and find out more about their friends.
Miitomo will launch in Japan during March for iOS and Android devices, and Nintendo says it expects the app to move into other areas during the month too. It will support eight languages – English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish – in 16 territories (including Australia). Nintendo says it will be accepting “pre-registration” for Miitomo beginning February 17 so, if you’re keen to try it, watch this space.
Nintendo plans to release a total of five mobile apps by 2017. We can’t wait to see what they are.
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