Flipnote 3 D

Flipnote Studio 3D arrives in Europe next week on 1st August, with the North American release still pegged for "early August". It's already arrived in Japan, and the recent Nintendo Direct Mini is a useful video to see the free app in action, with various tools and features shown off.

While we've already learned a fair amount about the free Friend Gallery and the subscription-based World equivalent (which will cost $0.99 for 30 days of access) we've known little detail about how the latter will work. The free Friend option allows you to share animations and galleries with those on your friend list, but there was minimal solid information on how the eco-system of the subscription area would work beyond general concepts. Ahead of the European release, the updated official website for the region clarifies matters a little.

For starters, the pricing will match up with that in North America, with 30 days of World gallery access costing £0.89/€0.99. What that fee gets you isn't just access, but grants you three Star Coins and 100 normal Coins, which are vital for any activity in that area. When you post a Flipnote, for example, using a standard Coin comes with the risk that your masterpiece will be removed from the gallery after 30 days if others don't rate it and, by extension, give you coins in the process. If you use one of your limited supply of Star Coins, however, the post will stay in the gallery regardless.

You also need to use Coins whenever you rate other user's Flipnotes — doing them a favour in the process — or to post a comment, while a coin will also allow you to save a Flipnote to your 3DS for easy access. The system is setup for those that want to draw a great deal or simply those that want to browse and rate other's work; if you get ratings or distribute them to worthy Flipnotes, you have a chance of earning a free 30 day pass, as the infographic below shows.

Flipnote Coins

What this does do is show that accessing the World gallery for free (between 3pm and 9pm every day) will do little but allow you to casually browse. The moment you want to post an animation, rate or comment, you'll need a coin allocation via the 30-day subscription. As this doesn't appear to be a micro-transaction process that you can top up at will, you'll also need to make good use of the coin allocation that you have or earn more from the community before you can renew after 30 days.

It seems like an interesting economy that the World gallery is setting up, but let us know what you think in the comments below. For full details, it's worth checking out the official website.

[source nintendo.co.uk]