Finally, Nintendo goes mobile with Miitomo

The app lets players use Mii characters to interact with and learn more about friends.
Nintendo today released its first app in a bid to capture the growing audience of mobile users.

Miitomo is less a game and more a social media app in which you create your own character known as a Mii.

Yes, the same cartoonish characters the company used
in some of its Wii console games. Your Mii asks you a series of questions to learn about you and build a personality. Players can then interact with other Miis to learn more about each other and find common interests.

Available for the iPhone, iPad and Android devices on Thursday, Miitomo is free to play.

Nintendo is also counting on
its membership service,
known as Nintendo Account,
to generate demand for its
apps as well as its gaming
consoles. The service connects players across different devices, PCs, smartphones and Nintendo consoles. Users can also save their game data to the cloud, so they can hop between console and smartphone without losing their place.

Nintendo believes both teens
and adults will want to use
Miitomo on a daily basis.

"We believe we created a
number of elements that are
very sticky for the consumer,"
Reggie Fils-Aimé, president of
the company's US division,
told The Wall Street Journal.
"If we are successful in
creating something sticky and
shareable, we believe it will
break through."

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