LOS ANGELES — For its inaugural plunge into the mobile gaming business, Nintendo isn’t relying on bouncy plumber Mario or sword-wielding hero Link. Instead, the Japanese gaming giant is looking to its legions of cutesy avatars.
Nintendo launched the “Miitomo” app in Japan on Thursday, featuring customizable characters called Miis. The avatars can be created with the app using a smartphone camera and then outfitted with virtual fashions and quizzed by other Miis.
“Miitomo” — “tomo” is Japanese for “friend” — is scheduled to come to the U.S. and other markets later this year, but Nintendo has yet to announce a release date.
Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, said he thinks “Miitomo” is appropriate as Nintendo’s first foray into mobile gaming because it’s a socially focused experience. It’s also less challenging than bringing “Super Mario Bros.” or “The Legend of Zelda” to touchscreen-only devices — not that Nintendo has ruled that out.
“You have your smartphone with you, and you’re engaging with social media on it all the time, so it made sense for us to go down this path with Miis,” said Fils-Aime. “Additionally, creating more traditional gameplay experiences with our intellectual property on these devices is going to take time.”
The app represents a big leap for a company known for being fiercely protective of its intellectual properties. Nintendo rarely produces content for other platforms than its own, ranging from the original Nintendo Entertainment System to the Wii U console, which has lagged behind Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One in sales since its 2012 release.
“Miitomo” is the first of five Nintendo apps that will be released over the next year in a partnership with Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA. It’s an opportunity for Nintendo potentially to reach billions of consumers. Despite Nintendo’s jump into mobile gaming, Fils-Aime said the company remains committed to creating dedicated gaming experiences on consoles.
“The smartphone device space allows us to reach many more consumers with our intellectual property and to provide them with new and difference experiences, monetize those experiences and have it be an additive part of our business, not a replacement,” said Fils-Aime.
The app also will serve as a launch pad for the My Nintendo rewards program and Nintendo Account, a new multiplatform system that will connect users across Nintendo apps and systems, including Nintendo’s next console, code-named NX.
