When Nintendo announced that it will finally be making mobile games, we never expected that the first such "game" was going to be a chat application. This might have been a letdown for a lot of fans, but Japanese gamers seem to disagree.
Nintendo's first mobile game, Miitomo, was launched in Japan on March 17th. It is a social messaging application where users get to answer "friendly conversation starter" questions and share the answers with their friends as a way to stir up conversation. Users also earn virtual coins for answering questions and interacting with friends and those coins can be used to buy clothes and accessories for their avatars.
Miitomo skyrocketed to the top of the free apps and free games categories on Apple's App Store on its first day in the market. The app has also been installed by more than 1 million users before the end of its second day of availability. Miitomo is expected to roll out to another 15 major markets before the end of the month.
It looks like Nintendo was once again able to innovate where nobody else thought possible. That, or the Japanese company simply designed the app in a way that resonated with Japanese audience without necessarily having a global appeal. What do you think?
