Nintendo Bringing a Mii App to Mobile Devices

Nintendo remains steadfast in its refusal to develop games for mobile devices, but we now know one of the ways it plans to leverage that market to its advantage: a Mii-focused app.

In an interview with Japanese publication Nikkei, Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata was asked about the company’s plans for mobile. He reiterated his hesitation to allow the company to get into the smartphone or tablet games business, stating, “In the past, I have opposed making smartphone and tablet versions of Nintendo titles. Prices for content aimed at smartphones and tablets are falling quickly. I am still wary of the category. We intend to develop products that will allow customers to identify with Nintendo products and make people pay attention to Nintendo games.”

He offered one example of how Nintendo intends to accomplish this: “[S]ome Nintendo game consoles incorporate Mii, which creates a digital avatar to represent players. It would be fun for players to use their Mii characters as icons on social media. We are currently developing an application that will allow users to do that. The app will be announced around the time our full-year results are released.”

Iwata didn’t share any further details, so it’s unclear if the app would have any functions beyond that. Nintendo’s fiscal year runs through the end of March, suggesting an announcement will be made in either April or May.

In a statement to investors last month, Iwata offered a vague outline of Nintendo’s plans for mobile development. A small team is at work on the initiative with a goal of “achieving greater ties with our consumers on smart devices and expanding our platform business.”

“It is our intention to release some application on smart devices this year that is capable of attracting consumer attention and communicating the value of our entertainment offerings,” Iwata added at the time.

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