7 tips for making the most of your new Miitomo life
Are you carrying your Mii in your pocket yet?
Nintendo's first mobile app -- the game/social network hybrid Miitomo -- came out Thursday. It's weird and quirky, and definitely on-brand for the family-friendly company. And already, Miitomo has crossed 3 million downloads since its U.S. and Europe release.
If you're trying to figure out how best to jump into Miitomo, here are our tips to help your Mii truly live.
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1. Sync up your Nintendo account to save time
Unless you've never created a Mii before, you can import your Mii from another platform.
The easiest way to do this, on both a 3DS and a Wii U, is to use your Nintendo account. It will have your Mii saved, and can pop it right in the editor once you've synced your game.
For those receiving the commonly reported "this account doesn't allow sharing" error, you can export your Mii from those other consoles as a QR code, and scan it.
Finally, you can use the camera to create a Mii. It's not a precise process -- so if you choose to go this route, make sure you're in a well-lit room, and point your face directly at the camera.
No matter how you import your Mii, you can tweak it before starting Miitomo or you change it later.
2. Put thought in your answers
Miitomo's main form of communication is through open-ended questions. They range from "What is your favorite type of bread?" to "What is something you're really excited about right now?" Once you've answered a question, your friends in the app will see your response. The resulting discussions can be pretty fun.
To help facilitate this, try to answer each question in complete sentences. Avoid short answers, and give extra details. Think about what would best start a conversation, almost like you're at a party. An exchange like "what have you been up to lately?" "Oh, just working" wouldn't prompt much follow-up discussion in real life, and it probably won't in Miitomo either.
3. Turn on low-power mode
Miitomo is a battery sucker. Just an hour of answering questions and trying on outfits, and your battery may be down by 30%.
Be sure to check out the settings section of the menu, found on the bottom right corner of your screen. You'll be able to turn on "Low Power Mode" from there, as well as change what actions in the game send push notifications.
4. Make your nickname unique
Miitomo relies on your social networks -- Facebook and Twitter, specifically -- to help you find friends. If you're someone with a lot of Twitter or Facebook connections, it may not clear who your connections are, even if you see their Twitter profile. (Miitomo only shows your their Twitter display name -- not @handle -- and profile picture.) Mii avatars aren't also the best match to someone's actual physical appearance either.
In these early days of Miitomo, you may want to make your nickname match your Twitter handle, or your full name. This will make things easier for anyone adding you. (Unless you want to disappear, then do the opposite!)
5. Don't forget to redeem your gifts
Nintendo has made a point to incentivize coming back to Miitomo with lots of small rewards, from cute costume pieces to in-app currency like coins and tickets. You'll get rewards for adding friends, taking photos, and commenting and sharing a lot.
These rewards aren't automatically added to your inventory. Instead, they're stuck in a sub-menu spot called Gifts. Make sure to click inside to redeem them, or you could be missing out on lots of loot.
6. Mix and match when you go shopping
Customizing your outfits is half the fun of Miitomo. The shop has a lot of options for you to spend your money on, and new clothes are added daily.
Much of the centerpiece items in the shop are full-on outfits, with top, bottoms, shoes and even hats. But you don't have to buy them as such. The shop won't actually charge you for any items until you check out, so you can mix and match to your heart's content, layering pieces on top of each other.
When you decide to check out, you will be given a price for everything you're currently wearing. So you could get the top from one piece, separate bottoms and a totally different hat. You'll also be given the option to buy things you tried on, so you can load up your cart if you have the cash.
7. Add your Miis to your real photos
Miitomo's photo generation mode, Miifoto, lets you pose your Miis on unique backgrounds and with cartoonish stickers. But you can also send your Miis into the real world.
Miitomo can pull photos from your camera roll, offering great opportunities for mixed-reality surreal shots.
Also, if you're trying to pose your Mii, cycle through its animations. When you find one you like, drag the slider all the way to the turtle, which will freeze them in that pose. It's perfect for creating the most ridiculous action shot.
Do you have any Miitomo tips? Pleas share them in the comments below.
Chelsea Stark was the Games Editor for Mashable, where she covered everything from AAA titles, mainstream consoles, indie gems, mobile games and gaming culture. She handled news, feature stories and reviews. Before that, Chelsea was Mashable's Multimedia Producer, where she helped develop visual storytelling aids, whether they were photos of video. She came to New York in 2010 to pursue her master's degree in journalism at NYU's Studio 20 program, which focused on innovation as journalism is changed by new technology. Before coming to New York, Chelsea lived in Austin, where she did online journalism and social media for the local CBS affiliate. She loves good beer, classic Nintendo games, and all things geeky, and spends her time attempting to find anything close to good Tex-Mex in Brooklyn.
