Ways Nintendo Can Improve Miiverse May 9, 2013

One of the major selling points of the Wii U is that it offers players the chance to join Nintendo Network, which grants access to the Wii U’s social platform, Miiverse.  For those of you who don’t know what Miiverse is, it’s a social platform through the Wii U which allows players to post their thoughts on a wide variety of Nintendo’s games or Nintendo exclusive communities.  Just like in other social platforms, users can respond to comments or “like” comments by other users.  Posts in text format are limited to one-hundred characters, so its very similar to Twitter in a lot of ways, but it offers options to users that Twitter does not.  In particular, you can also use the Wii U’s gamepad to post simple handwritten drawings, and a lot of phenomenal artwork has been created since the service launched.  You can even directly post screenshots from your games to attach to your comments.

Right now, Nintendo is doing a really good job with Miiverse, but there is a lot they can do to improve the service.  Nintendo has already announced their intention to expand Miiverse beyond access through the Wii U, and they have made good on that promise.  Miiverse can now be accessed through the web for existing users, but users without a Wii U can’t sign up just yet.  Nintendo has also promised that a dedicated Smartphone app is in development, but there aren’t a lot of details about this.

First off, Miiverse needs Nintendo 3DS support.  Miis used in the Nintendo 3DS will transfer back and forth between the Wii U and 3DS but for right now, 3DS owners, who a huge portion of Nintendo’s customers, can’t even access the Miiverse’s website with their internet browser.  The 3DS has some pretty cool social functions of its own, with things like Streetpass, which allows 3DS owners who come in proximity with each other to share Miis for the purpose of using them in various minigames to unlock things like 3D pictures or hats for their Miis.  Right now, all of that functionality is separate from the Wii U, and its a shame.  It would be cool to have the ability to access Miiverse on the 3DS and interact with it using the 3DS touch screen or unlockable Mii hats.  Right now, 3DS owners can’t even sign up for Nintendo Network, despite the Nintendo Network logo being featured on many recent 3DS games.

Another great idea would be for Miiverse to get opened to more users, including people who don’t have the Wii U.  While PC users wouldn’t be able to use a large amount of the functionality Miiverse offers Wii U owners, like the ability to post screenshots or handwrite on the Wii U controller, they would be able to contribute in text format, check if there were any “likes” or replies to their already posted comments, update their friends list, and browse, “like”, and respond to new posts.

Adding an entire social platform to a game console was practically unheard of, and who would have imagined that it would be Nintendo to do it first?  The Miiverse is a great selling point to encourage people to buy a Wii U and to encourage Wii U owners to keep playing it.  I have just posted up a few minor ideas that I had that I thought Nintendo could implement to improve the service, but I want to hear what you think.  If there are any ideas you had that Nintendo should implement to improve Miiverse, please post a comment!