Nintendo raining on EA's Mii Parade
by JC Fletcher 
{ Mar 1st 2007 at 7:00PM }
One of our astute readers was just speculating in the My Sims DS comments thread about why EA didn't use Miis in My Sims, especially given that the Sims as they appear are very similar to Miis, and now we have an answer: Nintendo is being stingy! According to a quote in Next Generation from a producer at EA named Eric Chartrand, Nintendo hasn't let any of its third-party friends have development tools for integrating Miis into their software. Whether this means they haven't yet or they won't is still unknown.Nintendo not cooperating with third parties... this sounds familiar somehow. We hope this isn't an ominous portent for the future of non-Nintendo games.
The Next-Gen article is not just about Miis, although they do figure into the whole idea about user-created avatars and content as a step into, and reaction to, the Web 2.0 participatory culture. It's a pretty good read.
[Via NeoGAF]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
canaroo @ Mar 1st 2007 7:45PM
Ah, good ol' Nintendo. Always one to shoot themselves in the foot for no apparent reason. Didn't we all learn to share in 5th grade?
Apparently not. I mean, we all know that the whole "Wii number/friend code" thing is not conducive to sharing at all.
AzaMcWazza @ Mar 1st 2007 10:32PM
Yup, Nintendo are still struggling with the "Maybe we should be more open" philosophy. They're doing much better than the old days, BY FAR, but they have a long way to go.
They need to have a community based mind set, not a them/us market mindset.
BPM @ Mar 1st 2007 8:54PM
Am I the only one who thought MySims didn't look a single thing like Miis? Or like Animal Crossing? Sure, they had the whole, cute, cartoony human thing going on... But it's in a style all of its own.
I'm glad that MySims wouldn't be using Miis. That would really limit what EA could do with their character creation.
(Granted, I'm not fond of EA or Sims... But I do applaud EA for trying something different with the series. Better something cute than their usual ugly art style).
Mario Panighetti @ Mar 1st 2007 10:04PM
This is wholly disappointing news on several fronts. Besides dashing my dreams of walking through my little town in Mii form, I'm annoyed that Nintendo won't let anyone play with its toys. For some crazy reason, I had assumed this to be the whole point of the Mii system, to have a portable avatar running from game to game, bringing amassed achievements along for the ride.
Regarding the mismatched art styles, I'd assume it wouldn't be too difficult to perform a simple conversion, like "if the Mii has eye type X, use MySims eye type X". So it wouldn't look EXACTLY like it does on the Mii Channel, but it would be reminiscent enough, while also being fully integrated with the game in question. I had such beautiful dreams of this happening in other games of varying art style, essentially making one's Red Steel protagonist gain the Mii's hair color and body build , adding a nice personal touch. Clearly this dream was too much to ask for.
dville @ Mar 1st 2007 10:42PM
the big N must have something up their sleeve
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JC Fletcher @ Mar 2nd 2007 1:55AM
Mario: different games' interpretations of the Miis are what interests me most about them, and it's not going to happen for a while. I'd love to see Miis show up in all kinds of art styles.
Will @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:07AM
I think it's apparent what Nintedo is doing: I think they are worried 3rd-parties will abuse the Mii's. I know most of you won't agree with it, but I know it would only take a matter of time before some sicko starts with "naked" Mii's or something like that. I still find it laughable people wanted naked Sims so badly.
I'm not joking, and I think that's what exactly Nintendo is thinking.
PimpDaddyShaggy @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:44AM
I'm looking forward to seeing more from this game, and I'm glad it's not related to Miis at all.
Loban @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:46AM
What?!?!? I can't believe this. I thought the whole point of the Miis was to let third parties, as well as Nintendo, integrate them into their games.
Joshua @ Mar 2nd 2007 11:44AM
With the limited availabilty to shirts styles and more importantly pants color, why would you really want them in the game anyways. Wow I can have black pants or brownish...wow!
Mii's might have loads of options for faces but is painfully limited in clothing. Though I would love to have options to say blue skin or funky hair...
Made me sad to see all the cool outfits during the staff credits in Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Rocketboy @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:17PM
I too would not want my Mii in Sims. I don't play as 'myself' in the Sims, so why would I want my Mii?
Rocketboy @ Mar 2nd 2007 6:18PM
I too would not want my Mii in Sims. I don't play as 'myself' in the Sims, so why would I want my Mii?
Soiden @ Mar 2nd 2007 9:36PM
Maybe Nintendo first will upgrade the Miis. Make them more customizable, letting change their clothes, add more styles, and maybe give them more detail.
Well, I'm just dreaming.
Tintin @ Apr 9th 2007 1:38PM
The only thing that's needed/saved is the mii face. That's why in Baseball they put the face on a legless body but in wiiplay they have full bodies. the sims would only use the face, and attach whatever body it wants.