Video: What's Going On With Nintendo's Mii, And Why Are They Dying Out?

Nintendo will keep them around… but whether they’re accessible to us or not is the problem.

I like Mii games during Wii, Wii U and 3DS era.
Indeed, from design aspect Mii was still looked primitive than XBOX 360 avatar but Mii games that made Nintendo games looked standout with its quirkiness.
To the current Nintendo CEO, please consider more Mii games in the future.

I never liked Miis too much, if I'm honest and I don't mind if they are on the way out. The issue with them, other than being too tied with the Wii brand, is that they are inherently quite lacking in detail and they simply don't fit the more modern aesthetic of current Nintendo titles.

It seems both Mii and amiibo are on the way out. It could be said that Mii are outdated in the HD era. But yeah It was disappointing not seeing them in Switch Sports. You what else related to Mii I miss? Wuhu Island, which made Wii Sports Resort super coherent and a superior package when compared to Wii Sports.

The Wii U and 3ds honestly shoved Miis in our face so much, I grew tired of them, while never really caring for them in the first place.

They're not dying, they're just subdued now, for the better imo.

The Wii and DS era are over so I expect the Mii to die out too. They're generics, they're terrible, and I hope Nintendo replace them with better avatars.

@Specter_of-the_OLED Why is a replacement needed when we can just expand what was established? Many love the Miis because of their simplistic look and how malleable they are to form the craziest of designs. We dont need the generic looking Xbox Avatar designs. I truly hope Nintendo switch sports does not take too much attention away from the Miis.

I honestly never cared for Miis that much. Their level of customisation differed from game to game but the main Mii maker was too limited for my liking. Aside from that, Miis always looked kind of ugly to me, and some games they appeared in as customizable guest options made them more powerful than the rest of the cast and I never liked that.

Regardless, I'm very indifferent to them fading away.

My problem with Miis being phased out is that we may not get games like Tomodachi Life or Miitopia again.

I would like to think what we saw in Switch Sports is a successor to Miitopia Switch's make-up system. Maybe that's what's going on here?

Kinda shocked the comments on the Nintendo news site of all places has such a negative-to-indifferent opinion of the Miis, haha. I think they're cool characters and Miitopia's Switch port proved that they can be uniquely modernized in a meaningful way. They may be "outdated" but they're dated in the same way that Mario is, I think - they just need to reinvent themselves to stay relevant, and I think the Switch Sports avatars are a step in the wrong direction on that front.

Edit: I should mention that I'm not against the avatars, they are growing on me a bit; my main point is that they don't have the same quirky charm that the Miis do, and their designs are such a far cry from Miis that it's jarring.

Miis ahould've sayed on the Wii. Even xbox don't care for them anymore

@HammerGalladeBro why not? They can create more games with more liberties of Mii creations if Nintendo could stop using them with a certain standard.

I have watched I don't know how many reaction videos to the latest Nintendo Direct. And pretty much 90+% of the time when Switch Sports comes up, the watchers had basically the same response: "Oh YES! This is gre....wait...those aren't Mii's. Where are the Mii's?" Nintendo's little adorable avatar characters have always been popular with Nintendo's fans. I definitely hope that Nintendo is not trying to faze out the Mii's for anything else. They are, and always have been since first introduced, distinctly Nintendo.

@Specter_of-the_OLED
I like Mii as I like their games on Wii, Wii U and 3DS with their quirkiness.
Wii and 3DS era will never faded away.

I don't hate mii's are nothing, its just I have seen them so much, I would't mind a nice change.

Plus these guys in switch sports are, are, such fresh air. Plus I actually like how they look. They look like a better Xbox avatar. I was a little against it at first, but now, I wouldn't have cared to much if the miis wasn't in it.

That doesn't mean I don't want to see miis in anything else, I think they have really cool games and such. But there needs to be something else there every now and again, other then just miis.

@Joeynator3000 what’s going on here is Nintendo commissioned the Japanese artist duo ‘Gurihiru’ who have done loads of work for Marvel and DC comics, to put their character designs in the Switch Sports game.

https://www.linkpicture.com/q/F00AC361-A568-46E8-9AF9-EAF38B1F5744.jpeg

https://www.linkpicture.com/q/237314FB-9B36-4D25-A80F-25BC590D1D33.jpeg

@Snatcher I’ve been looking at the art from Gurihiru (my post above) for years, I love their style. I recognized it almost immediately. They were tweeting Switch Sports during the direct

@NinChocolate OMG is that why I love how the characters look? is that why I thought I had seen them somewhere?

My god this is so hype! as I got the Gwen pool comic just for the art style alone!

@Snatcher yup! Gwen pool artists! I emailed this information to Nintendolife days ago but I guess they chose not to report on it

@NinChocolate Dude thats why they look so good! this is even more hype!

I feel like they have a really good use of color, and that really does show in a nintendo game.

Here’s the Twitter for the artists for anyone interested

https://mobile.twitter.com/gurihiru?lang=en

@Snatcher Yeah, they have really good colors and a cute style. I heard people saying the game characters looked like Bandai Namco designed them but nope, Nintendo hired a really cool studio

@NinChocolate I had no idea it was an artist of their calibre who had done this!

@NinChocolate I hope they bring these guys back later down the line, there just too good!

@Joeynator3000 The makeup system looks entirely different to the switch sports stuff. With the makeup, you could still tell they were miis, but with Switch Sports, they're just replaced with extremely generic NPCs. There's still the option of using Miis, but not to the extent of the past wii sports titles.

I might actually buy Switch Sports now that I know you can play as Miis. I don't know why, but I just love Miis. But will your opponents always be those soulless hell-spawn avatars?

Maybe Nintendo is destroying everything Iwata build? The virtual console is also gone. Its a wonder that the Directs still exist.

Oh, and those Switch sport avatars are awful. Totally Nintendo unworthy!

@nessisonett as soon as I took a close look at the trailer I jumped up. Exciting stuff. But I guess not everyone is gonna be down with their style, lol

@Snatcher For sure. I think their style translates well to 3D. But maybe because I like their stuff it doesn’t look so generic to me, lol

I’ve said this a few times already, but I hate the new Switch Sports avatars. They’re painfully generic and look like something out of a cheap cash-in on Nintendo’s more successful output.

As “antiquated” as Miis are, they weren’t exactly groundbreaking in 2006 either, and they have a goofy idiosyncratic charm to them, and after so many years, immediately scream “Nintendo”. And I was really disappointed that Switch Sports wasn’t named Mii Sports in order to usher in a new era of classic Wii-style experiences by mostly retaining the branding and signature design elements from their original iterations (and perhaps see other games from the “Wii” series instead carry the “Mii” moniker well into the future).

And I strongly doubt that Miitopia and Tomodachi Life would have been anywhere near as charming without them.

Sure, expand the customisation options from generation to generation, kind of like how Miitopia on Switch introduced some new options without completely reinventing the wheel, but I don’t think these new designs will stick.

I actually started creating a WHOLE bunch of mii’s to the point that I’m nearing the maximum I can make!
Their ranging from characters from the Pokemon anime, Human versions of Kirby characters and even OC’s.
Hopefully they don’t get rid of them.

Hmm, I know I'm going to sound like a conspiracy theorist but I'm thinking it has to do with them not wanting to make a Tomodachi 3.
Doesn't anybody remember the whole gay relationship controversy? And them promising to implement it in the next installment? Yeah, no doubt they trying to phase Miis out as a whole to quietly cancel any potential Tomodachi sequel so they don't have to keep any broken promises...

Sorry guys, I don't think Furukawa reads Nintendo Life

After playing some of the online test, I actually like the new avatars. In fact, I had always wished Nintendo had evolved the Miis beyond what they were.

Somehow, the Miis have more Character as the generic Character on the right of the Screenshot.

I honestly love the new look of the characters in Nintendo Switch Sports, and the game earlier today brought me back to simpler times when games were engaging and clean. I missed that from the Wii days, even though I never owned one myself. (I played my brother's.) The nostalgia plus the intense gameplay I experienced from all three demos has convinced me that I need this game in my life, and I have it on preorder now. Can't wait to play it some more in August. Hopefully this will also bring about the possibility of a "Resorts" style sequel since I anticipate this game to be a huge success financially.

@NinChocolate idk, maybe LOL.

Miis should at least always be an option in games that support them. For switch sports I can understand the mii/wii brand not having as much appeal outside of hardcore fans, but games like miitopia and tomodachi life NEED the miis.

Their cartoonish customization is what makes those games, I can see the new avatars being a one time thing for switch sports with how generically human they look to be. It would be a massive downgrade to replace the miis with that.

Tho the new avatars may also have animal avatars if that promo pic is anything to go by. I wanna see more of what these new avatars can offer first

I mean, they're more relevant now than they have been for a while. In its first couple of years, pretty much the only Switch games you could use your Miis in were Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (a port) and that boring-looking competitive indie game where you make colored tiles. Do you guys know what I'm talking about? I can't even remember the name, it was so forgettable. Think that Mario Party minigame with the stamps where you have to get the most of the ground in your color to win, except that's the whole game and it's painfully slow.

I still think the new avatars looks good, if generic. But nintendo always made miis look generic in trailers too so there may be more that meets the eye with these guys.

If the main thing to customize with these guys are the face, clothes, and species(?) I think they'd be more than enough to satisfy the Sports series. But I doubt they'd reach the level of variety miis have for games like miitopia and tomodachi life

I think the Mii’s are part of the reason the Wii U failed..
For the Wii it was a fun lite gimmick for a while, and it attracted a lot of casual players. but they took it too far and many gamers thougt Nintendo become more of a children’s console then a serious contender.

Myself included..

I had serious doubts about the switch when they revealed it because I didn’t want another gimmick console but now I like it more then any other system. And I think a big reason is that with a sleek, more elegant design (especially the oled), and a simple yet refined menu (without a bunch of mii’s running around) it feels more serious.

Hopefully they will keep the mii’s to only certain games moving forward so that fans can choose themselves.

I think they've just spent too long without refining them. They worked fine for the Wii but basically the only meaningful expansion of them since has been getting more hair color options on the Switch. They're pretty overdue for kind of a Mii 2.0 that can look a lot better, especially since the Miitopia port shows an excellent way the process can be expanded on and make for vastly superior work.

I think the fact that miis are still an avatar option in the switch, and the fact nintendo wants the switch to last a long time, means they won't replace the miis anytime soon

If they want to experiment with new, polished designs on switch sports then so be it. I actually found it refreshing to see these avatars take more than 1 frame to blink lol

It would guarantee future Smash games won't replicate the "Everyone is Here" feature.

The Miis are an option in Switch Sport Resort - they are in the volleyball demo in the direct, so I’m not sure why everyone is complaining 😀😀 at first I was disappointed with the new avatars but I’ll probably end up loving them when I see the customisation options!

You can still make Mii's on the Switch, and Nintendo have released Miitopia, You can use them in Mario Kart deluxe, Smash bros, and it looks like the new Switch sports game uses them too, not sure this is phasing them out, but they are kind of tied to the Wii and Wii U era.

The Wii U MiiMaker app was one of my most used apps on any device. The detail and ability to use QR codes was addictive. Also the transferability from the 3DS. Also loved seeing them jog past on my wii fit u runs. Besides Sports, Fit and Party U, I didn't have much inclination to want to use them much in game though.

I would like a properly stationed app like that tied into the Switch. The current Switch set up for Miis is a bit average.

I'd be happy to see them disappear for good. Miis are very bland and simple. They lack in details and are just boring.

I do hope Nintendo will replace them with better looking avatars, like those on XBOX.

@LEGEND_MARIOID
I agree with that - they are a bit hidden at the moment.

I think a lot of people miss the point of the Miis simplicity, especially when they say they should be more like the generic cartoony Xbox Avatars. They are heavily influenced by Kokeshi, sharing the same painted on faces, and simple wooden shapes for the head and bodies. So they are steeped in Japanese history and culture. I think to rob the Miis of their quirkiness and cultural background to replace them with standard cartoons is a deep shame.

Nothing of value was lost. Ugly little plain fellas.

Miis were fun when they first appeared but now just make a game look aged straight away. Imho they were a bit lazy in the first place. Mii’s should have always been an extra. Wii sports should have had all the Nintendo IPs as playable. I think Nintendo always miss a trick not putting their characters in games. Giving people choice is better. Miis felt over used and under developed and these days they just look silly compared to other personalised characters. I’m all for the throwback option. 100% but kids aren’t gonna buy into creating their own Mii - you need better avatars to appeal to anyone but us oldies that owned a Wii.

@TanukiTrooper right? i'm baffled at the amount of customization people want, i think making something limited look like yourself is one of the best exercises in creativity and the plain-ness was always one of their charms

The Miis are just updated for Nintendo Switch Sports. Just like how the Villagers in Animal Crossing New Horizons got Updated. The legs are just longer and they actually have arms, which is a GREAT thing! The "miis" as we know them are dead and gone with the wii, ds, wiiu, and 3ds. Get over it.

@Henmii Nintendo is Getting so Much better! Wii sucked

@NintendoEternity you sound absurd sometimes man

Miis have evovled into Pokemon Trainers by the looks of things! There is a lot to applaud with Miis. Really simple idea with a surprising amount of flexibility. Using them to create the Zelda characters in BotW was genius. So there is room to take them forward. I would miss them if they got rid of them entirely. The new player characters look slightly crazed to me.

@TanukiTrooper history and culture shouldn't stop technological improvements.

@sanderev "improvement" is subjective here

@sanderev That's heavy. And also feels totally absolved of any responsibilty / appreciation of culture. (You sound a bit like Darth Vader! hahah)

@somebread Miis were cute on the 480p of the Wii. But on the Wii U and especially Switch they look extremely outdated.

Adding more expressive features and details (like these new avatars, though they still can be better) is just a next step.

@GrailUK Actually Darth Vader as very cultural. Also I appreciate culture, I never said I didn't. I only say that culture and technology doesn't mix.

@sanderev Oh, I haven't had a cup of coffee yet.

The new avatars look charmless.

Okay, Mii have never get full body?

DDR Hottest Party 2 Wii

Tomodachi Life 3DS 😁

Go Vacation Wii & Switch

Mii's were best when they acted as proper avatars, be it as save files on the Wii or later as avatars for Street Pass or MiiVerse.

Mii's died together with fun Nintendo console UI/UX's.
As much as i love the Switch, but its interface has absolutely no character or identity.
Its soulless minimalism just had no place for these goofy avatars anymore.

Which, if you ask me is a darn shame.

@NinChocolate That’s a fantastic spot! I love their artwork, love those links you’ve posted too. Their take on Gwen and Merida is awesome. While I do love the old Nintendo Mii’s I played the Switch sports trial with my teenage daughters yesterday and they absolutely adored the new art style. If we get the chance to create our own new Mii’s in the style of these talented artists, I’ll be more than happy. We’ll done, great spot!

Oh... It's really sad for me to see that so many people dislike/didn't care about Mii... Mii looks funny and charming. I like them. Those new avatars in Nintendo Switch Sports looks terrible and ugly. I dislike them very much. I'm hope that Nintendo will continue to use Mii and will make more games with them.

I wish they would hurry up and die out. I have hated them since day 1 when they were introduced on the wii. They are so ugly, I have nothing positive to say about them.

Keep miis or riot

I'm mostly ambivalent toward the Miis. They have their place and they don't hurt anyone, so I don't feel any angst about them.
Confession: I can still remember, vividly and in great detail, the music from the Mii Maker Channel on the Wii. Over ten years later, it's still stuck in my head if I think about it. 🤣

They need to do a massive overhaul of the Mii system and make the options much more varied. And then release a new Tomodachi Life game to showcase the new Mii options 😁

Maybe you could look on it from another way. We just have seen a game with Mii support announched. It could br the beginning of the renaissance of Wii ideas…

I honestly liked the Miis back in the day, but I have to agree that they're pretty outdated looking. I really like the new avatar design in Switch Sports.

I just wish they'd make a new Tomodachi Life with those updated avatars. Though, heck, I'd take a Switch port of the original at this point...

I think Mii’s have become a somewhat iconic staple of Nintendo. I think the character editor from Miitopia needs to become the standard though.

What about Nintendo's attack on the Miis? It's critical we send an attack group there immediately.

As long as they’ll continue to be around for the Smash game after Ultimate. It gives all of us who can’t get our most wanted characters a chance to be in the game. For example my Geno Mii Gunner.

2007: Miis are lame! They are for grandmas and kazualzzd

2022: No! I love Miis! you meanie Nintendo!

-_-

Jesus christ

My problem with the Miis was the relative lack of customization.

During the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U era, options for hair color, eye color, skin color, and clothing color were very limited. And there were no outfits, either; and no, hats from StreetPass don't count; neither are costumes in Super Smash Bros..

It got a bit better during the Switch era, with more color options, but they heyday of the Miis was long since over.

Personally, I like these new avatars from Nintendo Switch Sports. Even though they are still cartoony, they seem like a more natural evolution to Nintendo avatars.

I could see them replacing Miis altogether, and those new avatars would be in more Switch games. And maybe they would have even more customization than Miis ever did, including outfits.

I've been happy with how my Mii has looked since the Wii U era, but nowadays, the character creation seems more restrictive compared to, say, the avatar creation on Xbox. I've been hoping that Nintendo would update Mii creation, and Miitopia on Switch made it seem like that might be a possibility, but now they seem to want to move away from Miis. I wouldn't be surprised if the next system didn't have them, unless the system is backwards compatible with Switch, because of games like Smash and Mario Kart.

I've said this multiple times that the base Mii mechanics need to be improved with Miitopia's improved facial features.

In fact, Miitopia's new face customization supposedly comes from BOTW, so they might as well make next generation Mii's look like BOTW face models.

East = right, not left.

Miis are fun, but at this point they’re kinda vestigal, unfortunately. It’s a cool little hit of nostalgia (at least for me, a Gen Z’er whose first console was a Wii), but almost every modern implementation I can think of has Miis as an afterthought. I played Warioware Gold the other day and was surprised when my Mii showed up in a game, I hadn’t seen it in so long!

@Anti-Matter They’re not primitive, they’re intentionally simplified and that’s the entire point. They’re not trying to look like generic Illumination Studios characters, and that’s why they stand out.

@MH4 Yeah well, most the people on here these days don’t really even like Nintendo. It used to be full of Nintendo fans, but ever since the Switch took off it’s been more like overflow from PushSquare.

I like Miis as an option in the Smash Bros or Mario Sports/Kart games, but other than that I could care less. I think they're being phased out because the Wii and Wii U eras are over and Nintendo wants to move away from it.

However I'm not really digging the new avatars for Wii Sports, they feel kind of soulless and lack charm by comparison, I feel like they're only there because the Miis would give people the impression that this was a port of the original Wii Sports.

@Anti-Matter Those look even worse than regular Miis. The proportions seem all wrong.

@sanderev
I know it looks wrong with unfit body proportion but it looks hilarious for me to see Mii with realistic size body on Tomodachi Life. 😆

I'll take the Mii Maker from the Switch remaster of Miitopia if Nintendo insists on keeping Miis around. Other than that, I don't care too much about the type of avatars being used.

The Mii was oddly ahead of it’s time, and now that the rest of the industry has caught up (emojis, mobile avatars, VR, AR, etc) it’s become dated. There was that Mii app on mobile where people could share silly pictures that came about as close as it becoming a ubiquitous “thing”, but ultimately the most used platform with best cross-compatibility will win the avatar war.

I never really cared for these avatars. I never bothered to make any of them and I didn't own the systems that featured them heavily.

I don’t really get why people are so upset about the Mii’s being phased out. They were always such a part of the Wii era that it makes sense Nintendo would phase them out for something new. I’m surprised they lasted as long as they have. It’s time for them to evolve, and that’s ok.

If we learned something from Miitopia, it would be that with an upgraded Mii editor the Miis can look amazing! We need that to become the new Mii Channel on Switch.

I love miis! As a child, I used to spend an hour or so making random miis on my wiiu, I have around 300 miis right now 😅

I don't want Mii's forced on me in every game, but it has firm place in Multiplayer/Party/Sport games, gives extra character option(s).
Awesome in Mario Kart 8(DX)

@somebread just being honest

@NintendoEternity

I totally disagree, but to each their own.

A lot of people have always hated Miis. They're definitely a hallmark of an era that Nintendo is trying to move away from. With the Switch, they've recaptured a place in the market that has them holding onto a spot that's cool and trendy for the first time in a long time. They're not just the kid's Christmas gift as they were often pigeonholed in the media and the minds of many people. It makes a lot of sense that they'd steer away from them.

Here's the thing, though. You guys just published an article about the NSO service and the VC service and asked why not do both in a situation where doing both doesn't make as much sense. But here.. that's exactly what they've done but it seems like it's viewed as a bad thing.

If anything, I think Nintendo has gone above and beyond by continuing to include Mii support and having those options for those who want it, but smartly steering advertising and such away from it.

@RubyCarbuncle why though, the switch sports avatars are ugly and disgusting, if they replace minis with those then people will be madddd