Nintendo Announces First Smartphone Game: Miitomo

Nintendo have finally announced their first smartphone game in partnership with Japanese developer DeNA.

Miitomo will be released in March 2016 and is a communication application using Miis.

Players can create a Mii with whom they can strike up a conversation, answering various questions about themselves. These answers are then shared amongst friends' Miis, leading to interesting conversation starters.

Like many mobile games, it will be a "freemium" product, meaning that it will be free to download and play, but will contain in-app purchases for a more enhanced product.

However, Nintendo's share prices have dropped by a staggering 9% (the lowest in almost a month) following the announcement, which saw popular Nintendo IPs shelved in favour of Miis and the release date falling short of a previously expected 2015 release. DeNA's share prices have fallen by 15%.

Miitomo will be released on mobile devices in March 2016, along with the new My Nintendo reward scheme and Nintendo Account programme.