One of the most memorable parts of the Nintendo Wii was the console’s Mii system. Nintendo came up with a simple and approachable way for families with Wiis to make avatars for themselves that they could use in all kinds of Wii games, like the launch title Wii Sports. Although the Wii has long since aged out, Miis live on without it, and have become part and parcel to the Nintendo brand. One fairly recent game that made use of Miis well beyond the Wii’s time is Miitopia, a turn-based RPG where every character is one Mii or another. To the surprise of many, this RPG is getting a Switch port very soon.
Miitopia did fairly well for itself, but it wasn’t such a big hit that a Switch port was a logical next step. One has to wonder why Nintendo chose Miitopia of all games to remaster and deliver to its current console. One reason that Miitopia might have made the cut is that Nintendo is interested in finding out if fans want more games focused on Miis. Although Miis are far from obsolete, they’re not quite at the forefront of Nintendo’s content like they once were. Maybe Nintendo wants to give Miis a second life.
Nintendo clearly loves Miis. It could have looked for a new kind of avatar making system a long time ago, but instead its doubled down on this quirky-yet-simple character designs. Switch games like Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Super Mario Maker 2 allow players to use Miis in one way or another. On top of that, there’s been all kinds of games outside Nintendo’s core systems that use Miis, like the now-closed phone app Miitomo. Little by little, Nintendo has improved Mii creation for all these various uses, and the purposes of Miis have increasingly diversified.
Even though there’s still attention on Miis, it’s worth nothing that the Switch didn’t have any Mii-centric games until now. Miitopia is the first Switch game that focuses exclusively on Miis, even after several years of operation. That’s a stark difference from an era where Nintendo was developing tons of sports games, party games, and social sims using these avatars. The implication seems to be that Nintendo wants its consumers to think about Miis again. It could be that Nintendo is playing the long con by porting Miitopia. Maybe it wants to see how players respond to Miitopia on the Switch before it develops more Mii-based games for the Switch.
There’s lots of Mii franchises that Nintendo could come back to, if Miitopia indicates its intentions at all. Wii Sports Resort was a beloved sports game for the Wii, offering a broad range of sports and games to play with friends and family. The Switch still offers the motion controls necessary to make a Sports Resort 2 game possible.
Alternatively, Nintendo could be preparing for Tomodachi Life 2. Miitopia was generally considered a spinoff of Tomodachi Life, incorporating some very similar social sim elements. Nintendo has indicated before that it was interested in making another Tomodachi Life game. It could turn out to be a great counterpart to the hugely successful Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Admittedly, now would be a bit of an odd time for Nintendo to suddenly revive its Mii games. The Switch is pretty deep into its lifespan, and there’s rumors of a Switch Pro or a Super Switch on the horizon. Still, Nintendo could be considering more Mii games for a new version of the Switch. It’d be a great type of launch title to have handy, alongside other candidates like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Even if there’s no Switch Pro, more Mii games would be a good way to diversify the Switch’s offerings while also giving fans some Wii nostalgia. Miis are a ton of fun, so if Nintendo wants to explore them again, there’ll probably be a lot of fans willing to give Mii centric games another shot.
Miitopia launches for Nintendo Switch on May 21, 2021.
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