Miitomo brings Nintendo's trademark weirdness to the social app

Miitomo, the first mobile app made by Nintendo, is more social network than video game. Asocial appwithout much of what makes current social networks tick, it brings conversations with your friends andcreativity to the forefront.

At the same time, the number of features at launch feels sparse, and you might soon findyourself wondering what to do next.

You can converse with friends, buy outfits, sharephotos and gamble for unique clothing in a Plinko-style game called Miitomo drop. That's basically it.

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You won't be following current events, sharing links to other websites or checking out events. There are no videos or hashtags. You probably won't be working towarda friends count in the thousands.

Compared to the public ecosystem of networks like Twitter or Instagram, Miitomo might seem dour andpointless.

But that's clearly not the point of this app. It's a place for your friends friends you likelyalready know on a first-name basis to gather and chatter about daily minutiae.

All about Mii

Users begin by creating a Mii, the cartoony avatars first introduced with the Nintendo Wii back in 2006.

You can use your phone's camera to create an approximation of what you look like in real life, and then customize it to your liking, including altering your personality profile, nicknameand the intonation ofthe vocaloid that voices out everything your egg-headed caricature says.

Unlike social networks where users post status updates that start with a blank slate, Miitomo starts offby asking you a series of questions, usually something benign like "What's your favourite food?"

Naturally, this can lead to some unusual interactions. Imagine a multitude of automated robot voicesspeaking out all of the comments in your Facebook feed, and you'll get a sense of just how weirdMiitomo can get.

Sharing Miifotos

Creative types will spend most of their time with the Miifoto feature, where you can pose your Mii onbackground images and share them onto your other social media accounts like Facebook or Twitter.

Unlike other apps with "selfie" creation tools like Kendall & Kylie, you can upload your own photos as backgrounds. The end result in Miitomo's launch week has been a flurry of creativity and surrealism,piling on memes, jokes, a dash of Donald Trump and more raunchy humour than you might expect froma Nintendo-made game.

Indeed, Miitomo is only as work-safe as you and your friends make it. Miis' voices will say literallyanything you want them to say. Don't be surprised to hear more than a few F-bombs when browsingthrough your friends' comments.

In-app purchases

Miitomo sportsa platform that encourages creativity, playfulness and conversation. That doesn't mean itrewardsthese activities in traditionally gamey ways, though.

Like most free-to-play games, you can buy coins (used to buy outfits and play Miitomo Drop) with realmoney. But so far the push to get you to pony up real cash isn't as strong as a Candy Crush.

If you want to pay more to amass a giant wardrobe, then you can do that. But if not, there's nothingstopping you from just chatting with your friends and creating Miifotos, all for free.

Nintendo's mobile future

Recent Nintendo gamers will find Miitomo instantly recognizable. Players have been able to sharephotos, art and tips for games using the Miiverse network that plugged directly into games for the Wii Uand 3DS systems for several years now.

Miitomo, by contrast, isn't connected to any existing games yet. It looks poised to bring the Miiverse'sunique flavour of online social interaction to the masses by making it available for free, on Apple andAndroid devices.

This might not last for long, though: inFebruary, companypresident Tatsumi Kimishima said thathe hopes to use mobile apps to foster interest in their dedicated gaming devices such as the 3DS and WiiU.

This might be the base for future online interactions on Nintendo's systems. Using Miis from Miitomo inWii U or NX games wouldn't be unprecedented, and could better streamline the company's onlineofferings.

That said, we won't know more until Nintendo reveals information about the NX at this summer's E3conference.

Until then, players will be able to content themselves with the quirky and strangely intimate experiencesoffered by Miitomothough for how long is up to you.