Nintendo launches Miitomo: Firm's first mobile app begins rolling out in Japan

  • Nintendo has launched Miitomo in Japan with customisable characters 
  • These so-called Miis are created in the app and fitted with virtual clothes
  • Miitomo - 'tomo' meaning 'friend' in Japanese - is scheduled to come to the US and other markets later this year, but a date has yet to be announced

By VICTORIA WOOLLASTON FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

For its inaugural leap into the mobile gaming business, Nintendo isn't relying on firm favourites Mario or Link.

Instead, the Japanese gaming giant is looking to its legions of cutesy avatars.

Nintendo has launched the 'Miitomo' app in Japan featuring customisable characters called Miis.

The avatars can be created with the app using a smartphone camera and then fitted with virtual clothes and quizzed by other Miis.

The avatars can be created with the app using a smartphone camera and then fitted with virtual clothes and quizzed by other Miis.  'Miitomo' - 'tomo' meaning 'friend' in Japanese - is scheduled to come to the US and other markets later this year, but Nintendo has yet to announce a release date

The avatars can be created with the app using a smartphone camera and then fitted with virtual clothes and quizzed by other Miis.  'Miitomo' - 'tomo' meaning 'friend' in Japanese - is scheduled to come to the US and other markets later this year, but Nintendo has yet to announce a release date

'Miitomo' - 'tomo' meaning 'friend' in Japanese - is scheduled to come to the US and other markets later this year, but Nintendo has yet to announce a release date. 

Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America said: '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. 

. The characters can then ask users questions and make conversations while using the app (pictured) 

. The characters can then ask users questions and make conversations while using the app (pictured) 

'Additionally, creating more traditional gameplay experiences with our intellectual property on these devices is going to take time.' 

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. 

Miitomo users can add real-world friends' Miis to the app by finding them through social networking apps. 

The characters can then ask users questions and make conversations while using the app.

In a demonstration of an English-language version of the Miitomo, a Mii character was shown buying a new astronaut helmet to wear and learning that another Mii was a fan of the FX series 'The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.'

The app's quirky style is reminiscent of the Tomodachi Life series for the hand-held Nintendo 3DS system. 

Tomodachi Life, which featured Miis living on an island, was a top seller in Japan but faced criticism in the US for not allowing same-sex characters to engage in romantic relationships.

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. Miitomo users can add real-world friends' Miis to the app by finding them through social networking apps

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. Miitomo users can add real-world friends' Miis to the app by finding them through social networking apps

WHAT WILL NINTENDOS NX CONSOLE BE LIKE? 

Nintendo has gained a reputation for producing innovative ways of interacting with games with its Wii games console, but a new patent suggests it may be about to do it again.

The company appears to be developing a new type of controller that features a wraparound touchscreen that covers its entire surface.

It has sparked speculation that it may be a hint of what the Japanese video games giant may be planning for its new NX platform, which is expected to be released in 2016.

The patent explains the controller would be covered in a touchscreen while it could allow gamers to enjoy more immersive sound effects and it may even feature a 3D display. 

The patent was filed under the names of five Nintendo employees, including Masato Kuwahara of Nintendo's Development Engineering Department, who headed up the team that designed its DSi handheld games console. 

The video-game controller described in the patent is an elliptical device with a surface almost entirely be covered by a touchscreen, which could be LCD or OLED. 

Despite the jump into mobile gaming, Fils-Aime said Nintendo 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 will also 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, codenamed NX.

'We're migrating the current Nintendo Network ID to Nintendo Account,' said Fils-Aime. 

'As we look to the future with NX, Nintendo Account is going to be the way you engage with Nintendo.'

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. 

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