Mii

A Mii (/miː/ MEE) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps.

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.

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.

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.

[1] During a Financial Results Briefing Q&A with investors in 2008, 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.

While the user can assign a gender, 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.

Because the selection of facial features is considered by some to be limited,[citation needed] users are encouraged to develop caricatures of real people instead of accurate depictions.

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.

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.

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.

Many other games, like We Ski, and Guitar Hero World Tour and Sonic Colors also use Miis.

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.

[8] The Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time also uses Miis.

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.

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,[14] who have the ability for twelve separate Nintendo Network ID User accounts that can be used on a single console at a time.

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

It includes the same facial features used on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, while also providing unnatural hair and eye colors.

Miis can be used on the Switch to represent accounts; users may optionally use a Nintendo character such as Mario as their avatar instead.

[20] 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.

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.

[citation needed] Nintendo Switch Sports introduced new avatars known as "Sportsmates", however Miis can still be selected as an option.

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.

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.

The CPU Miis used since 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.

[25] Miis were referenced in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where it is briefly shown on Luigi's smartphone when he receives an incoming call.