It's sort of hard to explain what Nintendo's first app, Miitomo, actually is. It's kind of a game, but it's kind of not. It's kind of a social network, but not really. But all the way through it screams "Nintendo."

If you've played any Nintendo product since the Wii, you'll know what a Mii is. A Mii is Nintendo's customizable character model that you create on their systems to represent you in certain games. Miitomo is sort of Nintendo testing the waters by opening their network up to mobile. There isn't really a point to it, but it's still a fun thing to check daily. It lets you create Miis, buy clothes with Miitomo Coins, add friends from various social networks, take pictures (or Miifotos), and most importantly, answer questions.

Yes, Nintendo's first mobile app revolves around answering questions. I'm a little concerned about this being their main selling point, here. Especially considering you can't even think of the questions to ask, yourself, like Ask.fm or Tumblr. What Miitomo does is generate questions, (Think: "What is your favorite food?" or "Do you recommend any TV shows lately?") and asks you them. Your answers to these questions are then displayed for your friends to see, and they can like or comment on them. It's fun, for a bit, but kind of gets old. Something that makes Miitomo more entertaining is that there is a voice synthesizer that speaks all of the things different Miis say. The voices are customizable so each Mii sounds different. Besides this, they have a few games. They're all "Miitomo Drop" where you try to win prizes, though.

The app experience is laggy at best. When you change screens, there's always a few second loading delay before it actually switches. I don't know why this is, other than Nintendo trying to emulate the experience on its consoles. (Burn!) Besides changing screens, the 3D elements are very well done. They're smooth on my Nexus 6P and actually look very nice. I would love for them to have done more with this, other than a static room and Miis. Animal Crossing or an actual game would be amazing using these kinds of graphics on mobile.

Despite all of its flaws, Miitomo has a certain charm to it that makes me nearly forgive them. Even though the app has flaws, it does feel polished. There are a ton of outfits, positions, expressions, and possibilities. If anything, I'd download it and play with it. It's free, and it's fun. It isn't going to be a craze or something that will even be relevant a year from now, but it's still enjoyable.

Nintendo led the revolution in video games with the release of the NES in 1983. Since then, there's been many ups and downs for the company. Lately, however, Nintendo has been falling behind the competition. Xbox and Playstation lead in terms of users and developers. Today Nintendo announced details, albeit very few details, about its upcoming smartphone game. Is this a last resort on Nintendo's part to gain more revenue? Or is it a natural progression? Is it even a bad thing?


I'll start off by saying Nintendo isn't in danger of going out of business any time soon. From years of success the company has built up $10.5 billion in savings. They could take a $257 million loss every year and still be in business until 2075 through selling its intellectual property. But while Nintendo isn't in danger of going out of business, I can't help but want them to succeed.

Now, that isn't to say Nintendo doesn't deserve what it's getting at least a little bit. The Wii U isn't the best for third party developers. Naming it "Wii U" even though it's hardly related to the Wii at all makes it seem like outdated hardware instead of a new console. A lack of users created a lack of developers and ended up making an endless cycle that makes it really hard to want a Wii U. Thankfully, Nintendo does make some awesome games. Splatoon is a title I've been putting tons of hours into since this summer, all because Nintendo continued to update it at a steady rate. One game does not make up for the lack of third party developers, however. Nintendo has also been remaking its old titles lately instead of making new ones, with releases including Wind Waker HD, Ocarina of Time 3D, and Majora's Mask 3D. These kind of releases would be great if they were accompanied by new titles, but they're not. Consistently, at least.

Nintendo's announcement of a smartphone game today is only a natural step now that people aren't buying their consoles. Nintendo makes good games, but releasing them exclusively for their own consoles really limits their market. It may have worked before, but after Xbox and Playstation took over the market, there's no way Nintendo can keep up without major changes. They'll have to really grab developers attention with their next console, but in the meantime, a few apps for platforms people already have will get them some more revenue.

Sources: Wii U Daily, Engadget, Nintendo