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Miiverse to not be in Nintendo Switch

• David MacDonald
• January 15th, 2017

Miiverse is something that has been knocking around Nintendo products for some time now. With it, you could create a custom avatar that could interact with other avatars of other players. It was first introduced with the Nintendo Wii and has been a part of Nintendo ever since. The 3DS even took it once step further with the addition of Streetpass. When two 3DSs touched each other, they would trade avatars for the purposes of mini games. However, this chain of Miiverse being included in Nintendo gaming systems is about to be broken. The Nintendo Switch will have it included.

David Young, assistant manager of public relations for Nintendo of America elaborated on the reasoning behind this. It was to emphasize that the Nintendo Switch was a home console and not a portable system. This is something that heavily plays into the importance of Streetpass, which had become the lifeblood of Miiverse. Logistics also probably play a hand in this. The 3DS had to be active, even if it was in sleep mode, for Streetpass to work. The Nintendo Switch’s battery may not be as well equipped to do that, particularly when it comes to playing games. This is without getting into how it can’t be easily slipped into a pocket the way a 3DS can.

Miiverse is set to be replaced with more traditional social media. The Nintendo Switch will have a share button, much like the PS4 and Xbox One. In a way, this is a mixed bag. No doubt platforms such as Facebook or Youtube will be more convienent than Miiverse, but Miiverse will doubtlessly be missed by some. Streetpass in particular breathed a lot of life into it, especially if you lived in a crowed area. Despite this, some are glad to see it go. All in all, it was flawed entity, although one with fans and supporters.