Mii Fighter

A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used by Nintendo on their video game consoles and mobile apps, first being introduced with the Wii console in 2006. Since their introduction, Miis have also appeared on the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, the Wii U, the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, as well as various apps for smart devices such as the now-defunct ''Miitomo''.The name Mii is a portmanteau of "Wii" and "me", referring to them typically being avatars of the players.

Miis can be created using different body, facial and clothing features, and can then be used as characters within games on the consoles, either as an avatar of a specific player (such as in the ''Wii'' series) or in some games (such as ''Tomodachi Collection'', ''Tomodachi Life'' and '' Miitopia'') portrayed as characters with their own personalities. Miis can be shared and transferred between consoles, either manually or automatically with other users over the internet and local wireless communications.

On the 3DS and Wii U, user accounts are associated with a Mii as their avatar and used as the basis of the systems' social networking features, most prominently the now-defunct Miiverse. On the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, a Mii can still be used as an account avatar, but avatars depicting various Nintendo characters are also available. Miis are also used as profile pictures for Nintendo Accounts and can be used in Nintendo smart device games such as ''Super Mario Run'', ''Miitomo'' and Mario Kart Tour''.

Games such as ''Wii Sports'', ''Wii Sports Resort'', ''Wii Sports Club'', '' Nintendo Switch Sports'', ''Mario Kart Wii'', ''Mario Kart 8'', ''Go Vacation'', ''Super Mario Maker 2'', ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' and '' New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe'' use Miis as playable characters.

History

Nintendo's idea of a free-form personal avatar software was discussed at the Game Developers Conference in 2007, a year after the Wii was released. There, Shigeru Miyamoto said that the personal avatar concept had originally been intended as a demo for the Family Computer Disk System, where a user could draw a face onto an avatar. Miyamoto commented that the concept could not be turned into a game and was discarded.

In late 1999, during the Nintendo 64 era, the 64DD (a disk drive peripheral for the N64) was launched in Japan. Released in 2000, '' Mario Artist: Talent Studio'' featured an avatar maker, which includes clothes and a built-in movie editor. The player can optionally utilize the Game Boy Camera and the 64DD's Capture Cassette to put their own face upon the avatar. Nintendo had produced a short film using the game's avatar maker to demonstrate its capabilities. ''Talent Studio'' was one of Nintendo's first public debut of avatar creation.

The next avatar implementation was for the Nintendo e-Reader and GameCube. Along with the Game Boy Camera, it also includes an avatar maker. Miyamoto showed another short film they made with this software at E3 2002, under the name ''Stage Debut''. This software, renamed to ''Manebito'', was discontinued prior to release.

Around the same time as the development of the Wii, producer Yoshio Sakamoto was working with Nintendo SPD on a game for the Nintendo DS, which was conceived as a women's fortune-telling game that was inspired by the 2000 ''Hamtaro'' video game '' Tottoko Hamtaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu'' for the Game Boy Color. The game featured an avatar maker that functioned similarly to the ''Mii Channel'' on the Wii, and the avatars themselves bear a striking resemblance to the Mii in terms of appearance, including the use of interchangeable facial features and adjustable body height and weight. The avatar concept from the game would eventually develop as the Mii, which would become a staple of the Wii (as well as future Nintendo consoles and handhelds), while the game itself was reworked as ''Tomodachi Collection'' for the Nintendo DS.

Nintendo designer Yamashita Takayuki attributes his work on ''Talent Studio'' as having been foundational to his eventual work on the Mii, which was necessitated by the development of the game ''Wii Sports''.

During a Financial Results Briefing Q&A with investors in 2008, Satoru Iwata mentioned that the licensed use of the Mii trademark is as valuable to Miyamoto as that of the Mario brand, implying that the company would only narrowly consider any offers from game developers to implement Miis in their games.

Mii creation

Mii characters are created and stored in the Mii Channel or the Mii Maker, which are pre-installed on the Wii and the Nintendo 3DS/Wii U consoles respectively, as well as the Mii creator software located in System Settings for the Nintendo Switch/Nintendo Switch 2. While the user can assign a gender (or Mii styles representing genders since the Nintendo Switch 2), name, birthday, favorite color, and mingle preference to a Mii, the majority of the interface used for Mii creation focuses on the appearance of its face and head: the user is given a variety of different hairstyles, eye, nose, and mouth shapes, and other features such as facial hair or wrinkles, to select from. Most of the facial features can be further adjusted, including their size, position, color, and alignment. Accessories such as hats and glasses are also available to add, and the Mii's height and build can also be adjusted. The Mii Maker installed on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U can use facial recognition to generate a Mii, which selects facial features based on a photograph of a person's face taken with the system's and GamePad's cameras respectively. The features can then be fine-tuned by the user. These versions also have more options than their Wii counterpart. Because the selection of facial features is considered by some to be limited, users are encouraged to develop caricatures of real people instead of accurate depictions.

Certain games have also added additional features in their Mii makers that are otherwise made as part of the game or as secondary features, allowing for more customization options than the standard Mii maker software can provide. The ''Tomodachi'' series (which includes ''Miitomo'') contains options to input a first and last name for the Mii in addition to the Mii's given name (which is known as a nickname), the ability to customize the Mii's voice and personality, and (in the Japanese and Korean versions only) options for choosing a blood type for the Mii based on the blood type personality theory. '' Miitopia'' added additional hair color options (which were later adapted for the Switch and Switch 2's Mii Maker), while a variety of wigs and even makeup customization options were added to the Switch version of ''Miitopia''.

Special Miis

Nintendo periodically released special Miis, usually during E3 or to commemorate game and franchise anniversaries. For a limited time between March 13 and 30, 2007, Wii owners in Japan were sent Mii versions of comedian Sanma Akashiya and tennis player Shuzo Matsuoka. The duo had been featured in Japanese promotions for the Wii, highlighting Miis themselves. Miis of Satoru Iwata and Reggie Fils-Aimé (the presidents of Nintendo and Nintendo of America, respectively) were released on the 3DS for the 1st anniversary of the handheld console. During 2013, Nintendo released special Miis of Shigeru Miyamoto and Kensuke Tanabe, and during E3 2013, also released special Miis for Takashi Tezuka, Koichi Hayashida, Eiji Aonuma, and Hideki Konno. Their Miis feature gold pants, as opposed to a gray pair, and cannot be edited or copied. If owners transfer them to another Wii or Wii Remote, they will be removed from their original location, instead of traditionally making another copy.

In late 2011, Nintendo released ''Swapnote'' (known as in Japan and as ''Nintendo Letter Box'' in other regions) for the Nintendo 3DS, which features an original character named Nikki (ニッキー) who serves as a guide for the application. She appears as a uniquely styled female Mii as well as a drawing version of her character. Since her introduction, Nikki has gained a relatively small fan base of her own right, especially in Japan. Nikki would later appear in a few other Nintendo games and apps, such as , a 2015 Nintendo 3DS travel guide app that was exclusively distributed via the now-defunct Club Nintendo in Japan, '' Nintendo Badge Arcade'' for the Nintendo 3DS in late 2015, '' Swapdoodle'' (known as in Japan), the successor to ''Swapnote''/''Nintendo Letter Box'' for the Nintendo 3DS in late 2016, and in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' as an Assist Trophy.

Wii

''Mii Channel''

The ''Mii Channel'' is the app that allows Mii creation on the Wii menu. It can store up to 100 Miis, and Wii Remotes are also able to store and transfer up to ten Miis to other consoles. It is also possible to see other Miis from TV shows and games.

Uses in games

Miis are intended to be an extension of the player, and in keeping with this spirit, the user can use them in several Nintendo titles for the Wii. ''Wii Sports'' is perhaps the best-known example of this, and it adds a further personal touch to Miis by saving game statistics and records for individual Miis. Miis will make cameo appearances as computer-controlled opponents, teammates, or within the audience. Miis have been used to serve as game file icons (profiles) within several games. Often appearing as just a head for identification, this Mii has no impact on the actual gameplay other than to identify a player in another way besides the name, or representation based on looks.

Miis are primarily used in games such as ''Wii Sports'', '' Wii Play'', ''Wii Fit'', ''Wii Party'', '' Wii Fit Plus'', ''Wii Music'' and ''Wii Sports Resort''. Players can also use their Miis, however, in other first-party games, most noticeably within '' WarioWare: Smooth Moves'', ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games'', ''Mario Party 8'', ''Mario Kart Wii'', ''Mario Super Sluggers'', '' Animal Crossing: City Folk'' (using their Mii's head as a mask) and in ''Go Vacation''. The Japan-only Sega game '' Pachinko: Sammy's Collection'' is the first third-party game to incorporate Miis, while the Wii version of '' FIFA Soccer 08'' is the first third-party game released in North America, Europe and Australia to use the ''Mii Channel''. Many other games, like '' We Ski'', and ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' and ''Sonic Colors'' also use Miis.

While a Mii's head always remains the same, its body varies between games. For example, in ''Wii Sports'', the Mii's body is stylized, with spherical floating hands and bearing no arms, and Mii audiences or CPUs floating with spherical bottoms with no legs instead, but in ''Wii Fit'' its body is designed to look more natural, and its weight will be determined by the weight ''Wii Fit'' found of the player in ''Wii Fit'' tests. Sometimes Miis will wear outfits in context with the game. In ''Super Mario Galaxy'' and its sequel, the Miis can be optionally used for the planet's icon that represents the save file, the other option being to use ''Mario'' characters for the planets. Only the Mii's head is shown and it's shown in a sphere shaped like the planet. In ''Mario Kart Wii'', Mii racers can be dressed in jumpsuits, or Mario style overalls for males and a Peach style dress for females, in '' Dr. Mario Online Rx'', Miis appear in medical clothing, and in '' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption'', where they appear as bobblehead dolls, they will be dressed up in bounty hunter Samus Aran's Power Suit. In '' MLB Power Pros'', Miis are designed to look like regular Power Pro-Kun avatar, with legs detached from the main body. In '' Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2'', the Mii's body is formed more like a regular human. This design was, however, criticized by IGN's Lucas M. Thomas, who sarcastically commented that " tdoesn't look disturbing at all."

While Miis are not playable in ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', the creator of the series, Masahiro Sakurai, explained that Miis were originally considered to be playable in the game, but the idea was decided against due to fears of bullying. They would eventually debut in ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U''.

''Everybody Votes Channel''

Miis were incorporated in the downloadable ''Everybody Votes Channel'', where Miis represented the voter. Up to six different Miis could be registered within the channel to use in voting. The channel was discontinued along with the Check Mii Out channel by Nintendo on June 28, 2013, as they moved on to other next-generation projects.

''Check Mii Out Channel''

Another Mii-centric channel, the ''Check Mii Out Channel'', also known as the in Japan, Europe, and Oceania, was released on November 11, 2007. Perhaps an evolution of an idea shared by Shigeru Miyamoto at the Game Developers Conference in 2007, this channel allowed players to upload their Mii characters and share them with other users. There were also popularity contests, in which players would design a Mii that would personify a specific idea or character and then vote on the Mii that would best fit the suggestion. The channel was available for free download on the ''Wii Shop Channel'' from November 12, 2007, until June 27, 2013, when Nintendo discontinued the channel along with the Everybody Votes channel.

Nintendo DS

Although the platform lacks native support for Mii creation, a few games on the Nintendo DS console do support Mii functionality, and will work in conjunction with the Wii's ''Mii Channel''.

Uses in games

Miis can be transferred from a user's Wii to supported Nintendo DS games via the Mii Channel. A code must be entered by the user to unlock the feature on the ''Mii Channel''.

The Nintendo DS game '' Personal Trainer: Walking'' uses Miis to allow players to track their progress in the game. Players are also able to create Miis in-game. The Nintendo DS version of '' Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time'' also uses Miis.

The life-simulation game ''Tomodachi Collection'', only released in Japan for the Nintendo DS, also uses Miis and has a built-in Mii editor. Miis from the user's Wii's Mii Channel can be transferred to the game, and vice versa.

Nintendo 3DS

Mii Maker

The is the app that allows Mii creation on the Nintendo 3DS. It can store up to 100 Mii characters, much like the Wii, and includes more facial features than the latter console. The Mii Maker installed on the Nintendo 3DS can use facial recognition to generate a Mii, which selects facial features based on a photograph of a person's face taken with the system's cameras.

Uses in games

Unlike the Nintendo DS, which features limited support of Mii characters, its successor the Nintendo 3DS features Miis as a standard. Similar to the Wii's ''Mii Channel'', the Nintendo 3DS features its own Mii-creating application called ''Mii Maker'', which is more advanced than the ''Mii Channel''.

Mii characters can be created manually with ''Mii Maker'' as on the Wii's ''Mii Channel'', but they can also be created automatically through the use of the Nintendo 3DS's cameras. The system captures an image of a subject's face, and the application converts the image into a Mii likeness using integrated recognition software. Automated Mii character designs can be manually adjusted. Mii characters can also be imported from the Wii to the 3DS or from the 3DS to the Wii U, however, Miis cannot be sent from the 3DS to the Wii, as ''Mii Maker'' features an expanded selection of design parts that are not available on ''Mii Channel''.

The Nintendo 3DS can generate and read QR codes that represent Mii characters. QR codes and pictures of Mii characters can also be transferred to an SD card in any picture format, and be used in various ways, such as posting them on a web page. Miis on the Nintendo 3DS can also be used in conjunction with the device's built-in augmented reality software – the software includes a mini-app named 'Mii Pics' which allows the user to take a photo of their Mii within a regular photo, using an augmented reality card included with the system.

The first Nintendo 3DS game to include support for Mii characters is ''Pilotwings Resort''. Miis obtained through StreetPass appear as non-player characters in '' Nintendogs + Cats''. Mii characters also appear in '' Pokémon Rumble Blast'', ''Mario Kart 7'', and many more games. In the Nintendo eShop exclusive game ''Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers'', the player creates an "Amiimal", an animal with facial features based on their selected Mii.

Currently, the most notable game to feature Miis in their entirety is ''Tomodachi Life'', the sequel to the Japan-only ''Tomodachi Collection'' for the Nintendo DS. This is also the first game to give Miis complete lines of dialogue as well as the first game to allow players to choose what Miis say. '' Miitopia'' is another Mii-centric game title for the Nintendo 3DS.

''StreetPass Mii Plaza''

A feature on the Nintendo 3DS, the makes use of the handheld's StreetPass feature, which data can be transferred between nearby Nintendo 3DS consoles in standby mode. As Miis are gathered in the plaza, they can be used in numerous minigames, with the initial two being Puzzle Swap and Find Mii (known as StreetPass Quest in PAL regions). In Puzzle Swap, players can exchange pieces of several jigsaw puzzle panels based on Nintendo games, in which there were initially seven, but this number increased with occasional updates. Find Mii is an RPG minigame in which players use the Miis they gathered to fight through dungeons, earning accessories for their Mii. Each Mii possesses a different type of magic depending on their color, and become more powerful if the player meets them more than once. These games can be optionally played with Play Coins, though the results are more random than with Streetpass Miis. On December 6, 2011, the feature was updated to include SpotPass functionality, as well as new puzzle panels, a sequel to Find Mii, a map showing where players met other Miis, Accomplishments and a music player.

Special Miis released by Nintendo and obtained through SpotPass can also be used in ''StreetPass Mii Plaza''. They have access to all Puzzle Swap pieces and provide a level 5 player for Find Mii.

Wii U

''Mii Maker''

The is the app that allows Mii creation on the Wii U. It can store up to 3,000 Miis and includes the same facial features used on the Nintendo 3DS. The ''Mii Maker'' installed on the Wii U can use facial recognition to generate a Mii, which selects the features based on a photo of a face taken with the Wii U GamePad camera.

Uses in games

Mii characters evolve further for the Wii's successor, Wii U. In addition to previous uses on the Wii, Mii characters are wholly integrated into the Wii U's social online network Miiverse, the WaraWara Plaza community where clusters of Mii characters crowd around the hottest games, and being depicted as personal avatars for individual Wii U players, who have the ability for twelve separate Nintendo Network ID User accounts that can be used on a single console at a time. User accounts with Mii representatives are used for both games and apps such as Nintendo TVii. Mii characters can be transferred from the Wii and/or the Nintendo 3DS to the Wii U, in which in the latter's case transfers between consoles can occur as many times as possible.

Mii characters also return as in-game characters for certain Wii U games, which in addition to Nintendo-published launch titles such as ''Wii Sports Club'', '' Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'', ''Mario Kart 8'', ''New Super Mario Bros. U'' and ''Nintendo Land'', they are also included in third-party titles such as ''Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed''. In the case of ''Mario Kart 8'', about 19+ amiibo suits can be acquired by tapping a compatible amiibo figure via an NFC reader located on the left-hand side of the Gamepad.

'' The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'' uses an evolved form of Mii, ''UMii'', to render non-essential NPCs.

Nintendo Switch/Nintendo Switch 2

Mii creation

Unlike previous Nintendo consoles and handhelds, the Nintendo Switch (and by extension, the Nintendo Switch 2)'s Mii creation software is located within the console's system settings menu instead of it being a separate app. It can store up to 100 Miis, similar to the Wii and Nintendo 3DS, and includes the same facial features used on the 3DS and Wii U while also providing additional options as well as unnatural hair and eye colors. Starting with the Nintendo Switch 2, Miis are no longer defined by a specific gender; instead, the Switch 2's Mii creation software offers two different Mii styles that represents the two gender types.

Uses in games

Miis can be used on the Switch to represent accounts; users may optionally use a Nintendo character such as Mario as their avatar instead. Miis can be transferred between Switch consoles and imported from a 3DS or Wii U using an amiibo figure. Miis can also be imported from a Nintendo Account.

Miis can still be integrated into games as a playable character such as ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'', ''Go Vacation'', '' Nintendo Switch Sports'', ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' and '' New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe''. In the case of ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'', about 20+ amiibo suits can be acquired by tapping a compatible amiibo figure via the NFC reader on the right-hand Joy-Con or on the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, similar to that of ''Mario Kart 8'' for the Wii U. '' Nintendo Switch Sports'' introduced an entirely different set of avatars known as "Sportsmates"; Miis can still be selected as an option.

Currently, the most notable game on the Switch to feature Miis in their entirety is '' Miitopia'', a remaster of the 2017 role-playing video game of the same name for the Nintendo 3DS. The next Mii-centric game title for the Switch, '' Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream'', which is the sequel to ''Tomodachi Life'' for the Nintendo 3DS, is set for release in 2026, 13 years after the release of the original game and 10 years after the release of ''Miitomo'' in 2016.

Miitopia

'' Miitopia'' included a more advanced Mii creator in addition to what the Nintendo Switch offered with "Makeup" and "Wigs" that could be added onto an existing Mii. These Miis are only available for the Switch remaster of Miitopia and cannot be used anywhere else on the system. These Miis were also able to be transferred via access keys with ''Nintendo Switch Online.'' This would allow the player to add Miis shared using access keys onto their save data and use them in-game.

Other platforms

When the freemium mobile app ''Miitomo'' launched on iOS and Android devices in 2016, it was possible for the first time to officially create Mii characters without the need for a Nintendo console. Mii characters created on the app initially resembled their Wii U counterparts, and used the same attributes. Later versions of the app updated the Mii characters to be more inline with that of the Nintendo Switch, even using the same attributes. Nintendo Account holders can opt to use the app to create Mii avatars without the need to link their accounts to any Nintendo console, with the option also available. ''Miitomo'' was also used to support Mii avatars on other Nintendo apps for smart devices. For example, an update released for ''Super Mario Run'' on April 25, 2017 introduced player Mii icon customization options with the support of ''Miitomo'' and its in-game costumes via the same Nintendo Account. ''Miitomo'' was only available in 60 of the 165 countries/territories recognized by Nintendo Accounts when it was discontinued on May 9, 2018.

A few weeks after ''Miitomo'' was discontinued, Nintendo introduced a browser-based Mii editor called Mii Studio on May 24, 2018. The editor is integrated into all Nintendo Accounts for users in all regions, including regions that originally did not have official support for ''Miitomo''. Mii Studio supports all Mii attributes and standards introduced for the Nintendo Switch. Up to six Mii avatars can be created at a time, including any Mii imported from a linked Nintendo Network ID (also known as NNID).

Other appearances

Outside of games, Miis were also used in several promotional and marketing materials by Nintendo. A selection of CPU Miis used since ''Nintendo Land'', ''Wii Sports Club'' and ''Wii Party U'' have also appeared in '' Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge'' at the Super Nintendo World amusement areas in Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood, where they appear on several screens in the pre-show rooms to showcase ride mechanics and safety precautions.

Miis also can be made on the web using Nintendo's official ''Mii Studio'''','' which users can link onto their Nintendo Account.

Miis were referenced in '' The Super Mario Bros. Movie'', where it is briefly shown on Luigi's smartphone when he receives an incoming call. The icon in question is a silhouetted image of a male default Mii which is used to represent a no contact icon.

See also

*List of video games featuring Miis
* Xbox Avatars
*PlayStation Home, which also featured avatar creation

References

External links

''Mii Channel''
at Nintendo.com

{{Portal bar, Video games

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