President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, reaffirmed that Miiverse will be coming to 3DS later this year. While being interviewed by Nikkei earlier this week, Iwata stated that; “Once the Miiverse hits the 3DS, it will be huge”. He cited the recently released Animal Crossing: New Leaf as an example of how Nintendo's social network can affect the 3DS, expressing his excitement for players to share their experiences as they play.
Miiverse will not only be making its way to Nintendo’s 3DS handheld, but will eventually be available on PCs, smartphones, and other internet-enabled devices. Iwata hopes that by making the Miiverse accessible on multiple platforms, people will be more able to use this gaming-oriented social network. Iwata made sure to state that Miiverse is not a competitor to Facebook or Twitter, but was designed as an alternative for those who wish to discuss gaming with others.
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 went on to state that the Miiverse was partially inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto’s desire for players to share their different 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.
While Iwata spoke at length about gaming philosophy and the impact of the Miiverse, he did not reveal when this ‘experience sharing network’ would launch for the 3DS. We do know that it will be happening sometime in 2013, though no word has been given as to when players will be able to access the Miiverse via smartphone or PC.
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