DeNA says Miitomo has “that distinct Nintendo feel”, emphasizing entertainment, communication important

The Wall Street Journal has some new interview quotes up with DeNA president Isao Moriyasu. Much of the discussion pertained to Miitomo. Moriyasu commented on the user experience, how it’ll separate itself from other social networking/messaging services, and more.

Head past the break for a roundup of Moriyasu’s remarks. You can find a bit more of the interview here.

On when the concept was born…

Mr. Moriyasu: Last year. We hadn’t decided on specific names of titles at that point, but we knew we wanted to create a membership service that could connect users across devices, and around five games that could be played on smart devices. And to expand that membership service, we knew we wanted to start by rolling out a game that could be used to communicate with friends.

On the user experience…

Mr. Moriyasu: There’s that distinct Nintendo feel to the game that gives you a certain comfort and nostalgia. The user interface, feel and sound—it’s all very Nintendo.

On how it’s different from other social networking or messaging services…

Mr. Moriyasu: Miitomo places more emphasis on entertainment. The process of discovering new aspects of your friends via Miis can be quite fun. One distinct aspect of Miitomo is how you can configure your Mii to have it look very similar to yourself. Communicating with friends who actually look like your friends in real life is a distinctly different feeling from text-based communication. We’re thinking of linking the game with users’ Facebook friend lists. I think it could be fun connecting with friends people don’t often communicate with.

On any plans to include games and other services within Miitomo/monetization….

Mr. Moriyasu: Communication will be central to the game, but I think various elements could be added on— like mini-games users can play with their friends. As for monetizing, there are various possibilities, but at first we plan on selling clothes users can buy for their Miis.

Moriyasu also spoke vaguely about its partnership with Nintendo, noting that the goal is to “produce several big hits so we can build a sustainable business structure, not just rely on one hit.” He also mentioned that things are “going smoothly” despite the passing of Satoru Iwata.