Miitomo was developed by
Nintendo EPD, including several key members of
Tomodachi Life's production team under the supervision of Ryutaro Takahashi and
Yoshio Sakamoto. The title's initial conceptualization began around 2014 following an internal company push to develop
smartphone games, in light of increasing customer demand. Takahashi and Sakamoto dicussed potential applications for
Mii characters beyond traditional video games. Sakamoto in particular distinguished between two categories of Miis; the representational avatars featured in the Mii Maker character-creation software and the independently-acting characters depicted in
Tomodachi Life. He became convinced that the Miis were versatile enough to have a place in a communication-centered smartphone service; the
Miitomo team worked towards developing a platform geared to as large a demographic as possible. Nintendo partnered with
DeNA to leverage the latter's keen understanding of mobile platforms; DeNA were responsible for the service's infrastructure and
My Nintendo integration. While the game employs a
freemium monetization model with the inclusion of in-app purchases, the team wanted to ensure
Miitomo could be enjoyed without spending money. Sakamoto consulted with DeNA to determine appropriate price-points for specific features. The team intended to continue updating the app further with additional content beyond launch. Sakamoto stated that one of the most "demanding" aspects of development was enticing users to visit the app every day by continuously adding original features. He expressed hopes that the app could evolve into a true communication tool, its content spearheaded by the users themselves. The app was first released in Nintendo's home market of Japan on March 17, 2016, and was later released in Western territories on March 31, 2016 for
iOS and
Android mobile devices. Additionally, Nintendo announced plans to update the app further beyond the launch period. Albeit not required, users who linked their Nintendo Account to
Miitomo enjoyed benefits such as
cloud-saving. The app was released alongside the
My Nintendo service respectively in all supported countries.
Miitomo first launched in Japan on March 17, 2016, and by the end of the month, the app became officially available in all sixteen countries that were eligible for a pre-registraton period attached to the
My Nintendo service. The app later became available in Mexico, Switzerland, and South Africa on June 30, 2016, and in Brazil on July 28, 2016. An update in November 2016 added five new features, enabling users to send messages to friends, customize their rooms, share their outfits with the world in "Style Central", publicly answer questions in "Answer Central", and allow for the creation of "Sidekick"
Mii characters, which have their own rooms. Along with the major update,
Miitomo launched in forty additional countries on the same day without any official announcements.
Shutdown In January 2018, Nintendo announced that the game would be discontinued, with its servers being shut down on May 9, 2018. Nintendo also stated that a browser-based Mii Maker tool would be created in late May following the discontinuation of
Miitomo, the likes of which could be used to transfer and save Mii characters created within the app. ==Reception==