E3 2012

Nintendo’s Miis are going to be a lot busier in the coming year, as new online features for the Wii U make extensive use out of party chat and in-game social media. It’s called the “Mii Universe” and it’s aimed at maintaining a constant dialogue with your friends about the games you’re all playing.

By displaying the Mii Plaza on the Wii U’s gamepad, players can type and draw messages to their friends that can be seen both in the Mii Plaza and during specific points within games. One clear example was shown in New Super Mario Bros. Mii, as messages and achievement updates were highlighted on the title’s world map.

Probably the biggest news is the online app that’ll work in conjunction with the Mii Universe. Although it won’t be available for launch, it’ll be mobile, which would make it the first official Nintendo app on the iPhone and iPad.

It that’s the case, Nintendo is truly changing. One has to wonder how all this online content will be curated and managed, especially given the family-friendly focus of that has been Nintendo’s biggest calling card for so many years.