Why discontinue Miiverse rather than migrating it to Switch?

[Rick Dangerous]

Why discontinue Miiverse rather than migrating and improving the lone Nintendo "social network." Surely it must have some value for Nintendo after all the years and capital invested in developing it?

 

Or despite the vocal minority, was it less successful than they had hoped and thus they are killing it? I will admit I thought it was cool but didn't use it much after the first year or two. It seemed like there were some people who dumped some SERIOUS time and effort into it though, and the art!

 

Thoughts and insights?

[Jess Ragan]

Angry. Frustrated. Those are my thoughts. To support a service like this which connects gamers only to drop it after five years is incredibly callous. People have built friendships with this service... how will they find each other after it's gone?

[Keatah]

This is so typical of any online service. They're all subject to unwanted changes or being shut down altogether.

[Rick Dangerous]

Angry. Frustrated. Those are my thoughts. To support a service like this which connects gamers only to drop it after five years is incredibly callous. People have built friendships with this service... how will they find each other after it's gone?

 

Is there no way to get emails or contact information from those you have befriended? I know you can now add "wii u" friends from your old Nintendo account to your switch.

 

Seems like Miiverse was less a democracy and more a totalitarian state run by Nintendo though. I think the limitations of the social aspect may have been what led to it's decline. It wouldn't surprise me if it blocked you from getting personal info and/or emails sort of like fleabay does.

[Flojomojo]

Angry. Frustrated. Those are my thoughts. To support a service like this which connects gamers only to drop it after five years is incredibly callous. People have built friendships with this service... how will they find each other after it's gone?

 

Jess, I literally can't tell if you're being serious or not.

 

Because we're talking about this.

 

 

My first reaction was that you were taking the piss. I heard young Ted Cruz's voice when reading your words.

 

I suppose I felt somewhat similar when USENET dried up, but the writing was on the wall. Miiverse is on a dead platform that didn't perform so well. If Nintendo left it alone for a day, I'm certain it would instantly be overrun with dick pics. Better to cut it off and put resources into where the users are.

 

Is there no way to get emails or contact information from those you have befriended? I know you can now add "wii u" friends from your old Nintendo account to your switch.

 

Seems like Miiverse was less a democracy and more a totalitarian state run by Nintendo though. I think the limitations of the social aspect may have been what led to it's decline. It wouldn't surprise me if it blocked you from getting personal info and/or emails sort of like fleabay does.

 

Nintendo accounts are linked between Switch and the mobile games like MiiTomo, and there's nothing stopping people from sharing friend codes privately or in forums like this. If they're really that tight, they'll find each other (or people with similar interests) online.

[Jess Ragan]

Travis: You aren't supposed to share personal information on Miiverse. I may do it anyway, but much closer to when the service is shut down, in case I'm suspended or banned for it.

 

Miiverse isn't an anything goes social network like Twitter, but you know what? It's actually kind of a relief to go to a place online that's not dripping with cynicism and rage. Feels like a vacation, almost.

 

Flojo: What's so hard to believe? I liked using Miiverse. Sometimes I want to draw, but don't want to put an enormous amount of effort into a silly idea. DeviantArt, et al isn't the best place for that kind of art, but Miiverse sure is. Or was.

[+MrBlackCat]

We never used MiiVerse before... but I was an addict to PlayStation Home for about three years. I took like 800 pictures before it closed to look back through. I had a lot of video also, but accidentally purged it... sad day. I was hoping something like that would come out for the PS4, but nothing yet that I know of. (don't have a PS4 yet anyway)

 

Anyway... I am guessing this is a similar feeling of loss. I have a Mii or two I use with the DS/3DS and Wii. I don't know why I never noticed this before. I suppose I am now glad I didn't get into it.

 

I would (did) really enjoy a visual social networking system like PS Home again... but I guess they cost money and are hard to market. I am amazed Second Life has done as well as it has, but I don't go there.

 

MrBlackCat

[Mulletino]

We never used MiiVerse before... but I was an addict to PlayStation Home for about three years. I took like 800 pictures before it closed to look back through. I had a lot of video also, but accidentally purged it... sad day. I was hoping something like that would come out for the PS4, but nothing yet that I know of. (don't have a PS4 yet anyway)

 

 

There is a "Four Kings Casino" thing which is similar to PS Home but set in a Casino, not sure if any of the PS Home users moved to it or not.

 

I had some fun times on PS Home, since the very first closed beta. I had a few characters, some based on film stars, one female and a big ugly one I used to switch to from the female whenever she was getting hassled by d1ckheads.

[spacecadet]

Nintendo's business is to sell games and services. Obviously they just decided they weren't making money from this. I mean, it didn't help sell Wii U's or Wii U games, did it?

 

I don't like to see stuff stripped out or pared back; it feels like going backwards. But games are a business, and the Miiverse just didn't seem to do a whole lot to add to Nintendo's bottom line, while probably costing them a fair bit to maintain and police.

 

The Switch seems a whole lot more like a barebones game console than the Wii U did. That's probably not a bad thing. It certainly worked for Sony against the Xbox One. I think people have a point at which they just get oversaturated with stuff. We really just want to play games, don't we? The OS and UI including the social aspects are only good insofar as they enable us to do that. Anything beyond that is actually detrimental.

[Bill Loguidice]

Besides the lack of a stylus on the Switch, it seems like Nintendo might be transitioning their social efforts to smartphones, which is why there's no integrated chat from the console. It's an odd choice, but one that probably helps keep the system leaner and require less maintenance. At the same time, it won't do much to grow their online usage, particularly in comparison to what's going on on the Xbox and PS sides.

[Good_Times]

Had to Google 'miiverse'......seriously, guys?

 

 

Looks like a kiddie/'educational' thing from the 90s, lol. Wtf?

[Flojomojo]

Looks like a kiddie/'educational' thing from the 90s, lol. Wtf?

 

It's more than that ... think interactive bulletin board where people can draw little messages for one another. Yes it's friendly for children, but it was a neat creative outlet and an interesting social experiment. It was neat, and I'm sure we'll see lots of "best posts from the lost Miiverse feature" online. Think of it like a live stage performance -- great if you were there, will live on in memory, but now is lost to time.

[Bill Loguidice]

 

It's more than that ... think interactive bulletin board where people can draw little messages for one another. Yes it's friendly for children, but it was a neat creative outlet and an interesting social experiment. It was neat, and I'm sure we'll see lots of "best posts from the lost Miiverse feature" online. Think of it like a live stage performance -- great if you were there, will live on in memory, but now is lost to time.

 

I have to admit, I never really grokked the concept. I mean, I messed around in there and drew a picture or two, but never really GOT it.

[Flojomojo]

I thought it was neat, but when Jess said this,

 

Angry. Frustrated. Those are my thoughts. To support a service like this which connects gamers only to drop it after five years is incredibly callous. People have built friendships with this service... how will they find each other after it's gone?

 

I felt the same say as you, Bill.

 

Maybe I've been hardened by the world. I've seen kittens killed by cars. I've seen whole cities wrecked by floods. I've had ingrown toenails. Stuff happens.

[+remowilliams]

If Nintendo left it alone for a day, I'm certain it would instantly be overrun with dick pics.

 

It would be wall to wall dicks within hours. Or less.

[spacecadet]

 

I have to admit, I never really grokked the concept. I mean, I messed around in there and drew a picture or two, but never really GOT it.

 

Yeah same here. I only got a Wii U a little while ago (one of the Nintendo "refurbs") but I knew about the Miiverse from when it was first announced. I never saw the appeal or what it really did for people. And after getting a Wii U, I still don't.

 

I'm not saying nobody else could get into it, but I just can't see how it really sells games.

[+MrBlackCat]

Ok, I went and watched several videos of this... I REALLY don't get it at all. Maybe you just have to be there? Maybe I picked the wrong videos? I feel like I missed something...

 

MrBlackCat

[moycon]

I think it's safe to say different people think different, and like different things, and doggone it...That's ok.

Although, watching the news these day, apparently a lot of people don't feel that way, so I might be WAY off.

[Austin]

As an early Wii U adopter, I enjoyed Miiverse the first year it was around. I didn't use it much after that but came back to it more when Mario Maker was big. It had its place and overall was a neat little service.

 

That said, I am completely OK with the Switch acting more as a traditional game console than anything. It's refreshing, not to mention straight to the point.

[omegadot]

I actually really enjoyed it. It was easy to use and I could have quick topical posts where I was pretty confident it wouldn't devolve into a cesspool. I never made any effort to connect very directly to users but I liked it for what it was. Borderline twitterboard that was aggressively administered.