My Nintendo Reward Program, ‘Miitomo’ Launches Detailed

Nintendo outlined plans for the launch of its new Nintendo Account system to connect consoles, PCs, and mobile devices Wednesday during a financial briefing along with the Club Nintendo successor, My Nintendo, and the game maker’s first iOS and Android app, Miitomo. The game maker is taking the first big step to push into the mobile space with a unified service that connects with its handheld and home consoles.

The new Nintendo Account, My Nintendo rewards program, and Miitomo mobile app will all launch this March in North America and Europe. Those interested will be able to pre-register for all three starting February 17, and earn bonus rewards.

My Nintendo replaces the Club Nintendo rewards system and appears to be moving completely digital. Consumers could redeem codes acquired from the purchase of Nintendo consoles and physical games under the previous system. My Nintendo will only offer rewards when playing mobile app, purchasing digital games, or other online activities, according to Nintendo’s financial presentation.

The My Nintendo program will offer two types of rewards. Platinum Points are earned “when consumers play smart device apps, when they log onto Nintendo eShop, or when they meet certain conditions” and can be spent on “a range of digital content which will be considered valuable by consumers.” Meanwhile, Gold Points come from “digital purchases of Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games” and can be used for “discount coupons to purchase digital software for Wii U or Nintendo 3DS.”

While Nintendo did not use the financial briefing to detail the kind of rewards that can be purchased with points, a slide showed various costumes for Mii characters along with what appears to be wallpaper backgrounds.

Pre-registering for My Nintendo and the Miitomo app will reward users with bonus Platinum Points. However, other services with the My Nintendo program include game recommendations, special discounts, and more. These are currently being tested in Japan, where the program was soft-launched in December.

The Miitomo app itself is not exactly a game. Instead, it is a mix between Apple’s Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana, blended with social Mii characters.

“All of you must have had the enjoyable experience of being prompted by a friend to talk about something that you might not normally bring up in the course of your conversation. Mii characters facilitate this kind of social play structure with Miitomo,” Nintendo President Tatsumu Kimishima said during the financial presentation.

“Unlike most communication apps, with which you are supposed to proactively dispatch your message, in Miitomo, talkative Mii characters will automatically spark unique conversations and help friends connect on random, fun and light-hearted topics.”

Miitomo users will be able to create their own Mii characters and interact with them in different ways. The “Miifoto” feature was shown as a way for consumers to create and share pictures with their Mii character added.

This represents the first of five mobile apps Nintendo plans to launch by the end of March, 2017. Nintendo sees the apps as driving Nintendo Account and My Nintendo registration with a goal to achieve 100 million members globally. Interestingly, it plans on doing that without making either service mandatory when using a Nintendo mobile app.

The Miitomo app will be released to 16 countries at launch with support for eight different languages. The availability of the app will expand to other countries as Nintendo establishes the necessary support needed.

“Miitomo is a uniquely entertaining mobile experience that only Nintendo can deliver,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “Featuring Mii characters, users will be able to interact with their friends in an entirely new way that transforms communication into a form of play.”

What do you think of the new My Nintendo rewards program and the Miitomo app? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Nintendo]