Miitomo, Nintendo’s first foray into the mobile market, is shutting down for good on May 9th 2018. At 12 AM Pacific on the deadline, every function of the app will be inaccessible. A faux-social media app centered around Mii avatars, Miitomo launched in early 2016 to light fanfare before its user base dropped off. A Nintendo rep confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that the app’s dwindling usage is the reason for the shutdown.
As of today, in-game coins are not available for purchase. In turn, from now until the shutdown, users will be given free goodies including 2000 coins and 5 game tickets per day.
Here’s more specific information about how the shutdown will affect Miitomo, per the official FAQ:
- If you launch the app after the end of service on 5/9, you’ll see a message informing you that service has ended. You will no longer be able to use any of the app’s features.
- You will no longer be able to see your answers or messages in the app.
- You will no longer be able to use items you’ve obtained in the app, such as clothing items, wallpapers, or posters.
- You can transfer your Mii™ character to your Nintendo Account by linking it to Miitomo. (Its personality and other information will not be carried over.)
- Sidekick Mii characters will be deleted. You can keep Sidekick Mii characters by saving them as a QR Code® before the end of service on 5/9/2018 12:00 AM (PDT). They can then be transferred to Mii Maker on the Nintendo 3DS™ family of systems or the Wii U™ console.
- You will not be able to view Miifotos, including Miifotos you have shared to your social media channels. If you want to save any Miifotos, you must save them to your smart device before 5/9/2018 12:00 AM (PDT).
- Miitomo- themed icons and clothing items used in your Nintendo Account or the Super Mario Run™ game will not display after the service has ended.
Nintendo will compensate the app’s demise for regular users with several special events, including the final Miifoto event and Answer Central questions all about Miitomo memories. These give users four final months to get the most out of the app before May 9th.
Miitomo also counts as the first app in Nintendo’s collaboration with mobile game maker DeNA, an app they called a “friendly conversation starter”. The collaboration’s further and more successful efforts include Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. There’s no telling where their next mobile game, or the app’s focus on the company’s Miis, will go next in 2018.
