Nintendo's Miiverse service for Wii U is heading for 3DS, as reconfirmed by the company's president, Satoru Iwata, in an interview with Nikkei. Iwata confidently declared: "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!"
At present, the Miiverse allows Wii U gamers to share screenshots, tips, messages and pictures with other people in special communities attached to each game and has been described in the past by Reggie Fils-Aime as Wii U's Killer App. But Iwata has a bigger vision, planning to eventually make the Miiverse accessible via any internet-enabled device, from PCs to smartphones and tablets, allowing gamers to access the service anywhere they go. He said:
"This is something I've talked about for many years with Mr. Miyamoto. He 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'."
Iwata is keen to differentiate the service from Twitter (and negative comments about Nintendo on it), adding:
“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.”
“I noticed that there’s been lesser Nintendo talk going on in the Twitterverse. Then, I realized 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.”
A release date for a version of the service on 3DS or the web has yet to be announced. However, Animal Crossing: New Leaf is scheduled for a Q2 release this year in Europe and Q1/Q2 in the US, having already been released to great commercial success in Japan.
Source: Siliconera
