Nintendo’s global president Satoru Iwata believes that Miiverse “will be huge” once it has been integrated with the Nintendo 3DS.
Such comments were made during a broader discussion with Nikkei about the company’s social media service, Miiverse. Iwata excited about the possibilities of using the service on Nintendo’s latest handheld to share experiences with games such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
“I noticed that there’s been lesser Nintendo talk going on in the Twitterverse,” Iwata remarked. “Then, I realised that those who always spoke highly of Nintendo were happily doing the same in Miiverse. When I checked the Miiverse, it was full of comments on people’s accomplishments in [New Super Mario Bros. U] and discussing the game itself.
“When we first thought of Miiverse, we were told that it would be a bad idea after considering the likes of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter,” he revealed. “After doing some more brainstorming, we decided to stick to the idea we wanted to see. The results ended up being something many people enjoy today.”
He continued to explain, “The primary use of Twitter and Facebook is not gaming, but a means of communication. Although I don’t use either of them, if I did, I imagine I’d use it to talk about my outings and vacations to people who aren’t exactly video game enthusiasts.
“I don’t think my former classmates would care to hear about my new Mario Kart record and so on.”
Iwata adds, “This is something I’ve talked about for many years with Mr. Miyamoto. Miyamoto loves making games that allow players to create and share experiences.
“We believe that it’s one of the main reasons behind the Mario series and Animal Crossing’s success. It was having those thoughts and feelings which eventually led to the creation of the Miiverse. Rather than social networking, we consider it an ‘experience sharing network’.”
Currently, Miiverse is only available on Wii U, yet Nintendo are looking to bring the service to Nintendo 3DS, PCs and smartphones in the near future.
“Once the Miiverse hits the 3DS, it will be huge. Just imagine the possibilities of playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf while sharing your experiences on the Miiverse. Now that’s something!”
[Thanks Siliconera]
Iwata: “Once the Miiverse hits the 3DS, it will be huge”
