Nintendo To Add Ability To Create And Edit Miis In Web Browsers

TheGamer

By Daniel Alvarez

Published May 2, 2018

Nintendo will, at long last, allow Miis to be created through an in-browser app, rather than through software on a console.

Via nintendolife.com, play.nintendo.com

When the Nintendo Wii launched in 2006, Nintendo introduced the "Mii," customizable avatars to represent the player. Two years ago the company released a smartphone app dedicated to Miis, "Miitomo." Miitomo attempted to add a Nintendo touch to social media, and also link it to My Nintendo awards. Nintendo announced back in January that Miitomo would be shutting down on May 9th. Today, if you turn on the app, you will find an announcement from Nintendo stating that after Miitomo is gone, people will be able to create and edit Miis in web browsers.

From Nintendo's announcement in Miitomo, "With the end of Miitomo service, it will no longer be possible to create or edit Mii characters using Miitomo, but we are planning to add a feature in late May 2018 which will enable you to create and edit Mii characters for your Nintendo Account via your web browser of choice."

Sadly, the announcement also states that the clothing and accessories in Miitomo will not transfer, so whatever you had on your Mii in the app will be lost. This will come as a disappointment to those who enjoyed customizing the Mii. But, we don't know what accessories the upcoming online application will have, so maybe there will be plenty of unique options.

For some, Miitomo's demise came off as sudden. The app, in theory, should have been around for a very long time. It certainly started off well; it exceeded 1 million downloads in just three days according to Nintendo. But after that, very few people were talking about it. It didn't come off as a revolutionary smartphone app - or very fun for that matter. For many, there was a lack of reason to actually spend time with it long-term. Outside of contributing to My Nintendo awards, what was the reason for opening it up, when there were quite a few other, more easier social platforms to use?

Miitomo was Nintendo's first foray into smartphones applications. The company seemed to be against going into this area of entertainment, but as we've seen, Nintendo has reversed that way of thinking. Unfortunately, the company has yet to deliver a runaway hit on the mobile. According to Nintendo's recent financial report on the section of the smart-device business, "we have not reached a satisfactory profit point yet," meaning that the company is not yet making big business with their smartphone apps.

Many wonder why Nintendo has not simply added some of its classic games to smartphones. Super Mario Run is fun, but many would probably prefer to have the original Super Mario Bros. on the smartphone. If SEGA can have Sonic The Hedgehog, and Ubisoft can have Rayman, then there's no reason why Nintendo can't put some of its classic titles in the app store. Perhaps Nintendo feels that the upcoming Nintendo Switch Virtual Console will serve that purpose.

One of Nintendo's upcoming smartphone apps is Mario Kart Tour, so it should be interesting to see how the company will bring the high-octane racing gameplay to smartphones. Meanwhile, those who desire to continue making Miis will be able to do so in late May.