There are a lot of things going on at the Nintendo headquarters right now and the first of the upcoming Nintendo changes as the shift to mobile is imminent are just starting to show up. To clarify, Nintendo is planning to breach into the mobile market with a series of 5 mobile games and applications, which not only a few are a little skeptical about.
To start off, Nintendo is matching the changes it has done to the network last year in Japan everywhere else now, by launching the Nintendo Account service in a large number of states across US, Europe and Australia. Signups have become available to individuals from Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.
All they need to do in order to create their new Nintendo Account is either to link their already existent Nintendo Network ID, or sign up via one of the social media accounts active – Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
But this isn’t the only thing that Nintendo is cooking up this time of the year. Their first of the five applications they intend to release for the mobile platform – known as Miitomo – is a social game/app that is planned to come out later this year, in mid-March. The pre-registration period for Miitomo has already begun for both iOS and Android platforms, allowing users who sign up for it before launch to receive special benefits.
The benefits that come packed with a pre-registration of Miitomo are closely related to the way the new My Nintendo system works and its internal currency. Therefore, people who register their Nintendo Account now will receive platinum points, which they can exchange for digital content and original goods. This type of currency will start existing on both smartphones and game consoles.
There will also be another type of currency, obtainable by purchasing Nintendo eShop content, called Gold Points. These, however, will only be exchangeable for discount coupons for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS apps and games via the online store.
While the Miitomo application is cutely masked behind funny and highly customizable cartoon characters that will represent you and which you’ll be able to use to communicate and share moments with others, the app serves a slightly different purpose for the company. Considering it’s the first time the company delves in mobile as a platform, it’s very probable for Nintendo to be using this type of light and mainstream type of service as a server stress test, in order to prepare for the largest, more complex applications in the future.
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