Mr. Miyamoto, the inventor of Mii, himself has been saying that, “In a sense, licensing Mii is same as licensing Mario - Nintendo should grant the license when we can conclude that the proposed project is worthwhile. Should we allow any and all the licensees to use Mii license for whichever projects, Mii’s brand image will be hurt. Because we are not granting Mario license to any and all, we should not do so with Mii either.”
This is the current policy of Nintendo. So, at the software development stage, we are consulting with the developers as to how they would like to make use of Mii, and our Licensing Department handles on a case-by-case basis. - Satoru Iwata
I never knew that Mii’s had to be licenced on a game by game basis and if I’m honest, I’m annoyed and pleased at the same time.
It’s no secret that Mii’s are criminally underused, with just 23 of the 561 known Wii titles incorporating them. Out of these 23 games, only 13 let you actually play as your Mii’s. Since the ability to play as yourself was one of Nintendo’s big features with the Wii, I feel let down by the lack of support they allow. After all, such a slight change can personalize the game so much more.
Nintendo has a fair point doing this though. Mii’s are fun to use, and using them in every game might devalue their status. Also, looking at the vast amount of shovelware burying the Wii, it would be easy for Mii’s to change from fun and innovative to the equivalent of how a Z on the end of a game tells you its crap. Also, there are a large amount of games which might not fit with the Mii theme, or might alter the Mii’s family orientated image. Still, these games could incorporate Mii’s without tarnishing their image. Several games, such as Super Mario Galaxy use Mii’s as a way to determine who’s save file is who’s and Metroid Prime 3 has a bobble head bonus on the main screen. Neither of these interact with the gameplay enough to change the Mii’s perceived image, but add a little smile and personalisation into the game.
While the game by game licensing of Mii’s, does help protect them from shovelware and gore filled bloodbaths, its still true that Mii’s are criminally underused. It’s easy to see why the Mii channel and other Mii based channels are being used less and less as Nintendo isn’t offering a continuous stream of support for them. While some may say it makes those games with Mii support more special, I have to disagree, as people are beginning not to care about the brilliant Mii Feature and if unused enough, may even be seem as gimmicky. I sincerely hope that Nintendo loosen their Mii licencing, so we can enjoy more high quality titles using these features without the Mii becoming another piece of the shovelware map.
