While attending the E3 expo last month, I had the pleasure of test driving Nintendo’s upcoming new 3DS handheld during a twenty minute closed demonstration on a raised platform above the show floor. A bushel of fembot looking boothbabes held 3DS handhelds for us geeks to drool over and even play with, each with a different game or demo to display. I heard rumblings that a brand new Mario Kart title was on hand, so like a headless chicken on safari, I scrambled to find it.
Sure enough, a shiny new Mario Kart title was being shown on a nearby 3DS. About 4 or 5 screenshots of the new title played on a loop for me to see, mainly showing off the 3D effects of the game. Noticeable however were a group of Mii characters off to the side of a level reminiscent of Wuhu Island, a piece of property featured in several of Nintendo’s key Wii software titles. This marks the first time Mii characters have left the Wii for a DS title, something I thought was quite telling.
There are a few things this could mean for Nintendo’s plans. First, it could be nothing more than a few familiar Mii characters that reside on Wuhu Island. But the Miis could bring something so much bigger to the 3DS. What if Mii customization fully extends to the 3DS? Imagine players can now create new Mii characters via their handhelds, adding to the hundreds of millions of avatars already created. Then there’s the idea of Mii transfer. What if Nintendo allows users to transfer their Wii Miis to their 3DS handhelds?
So, theoretically, if Nintendo allows you to transfer your Miis, then it seems they may have developed a way to control “your” console data. Nintendo’s Wii and DS handhelds currently suffer from a ridiculous limitation that locks your content not to a username or account, but to a console. If say, a gamer wants to get a new DSi XL, their downloaded DSiWare titles on their previous DSi handheld will be locked to that device. No content transfers are allowed. This has forever frustrated those that like the idea of upgrading their gaming systems.
If Miis are transferable from a Wii console to a DS console, then it sounds likely that Nintendo may have implemented a way to transfer data from one console to another, opening the door for an account system to be created. Ideally, a user could create a username and account for which all their created and purchased content is stored, and will now be accessible or transferable to another console or handheld. Possibly, Miis in Mario Kart 3DS could mean that Nintendo is ready to implement such new policies.
Of course, this could all just be nonsensical chatter. Still, the sight of a few Miis did open up the floodgates of possibilities for what Nintendo plans to do with the 3DS. As stated time and time again by Nintendo themselves, the 3DS is not just a new edition of the current handheld lineup. It’s a new entity, set to bring with it a whole new set of abilities. Account management and data transfer doesn’t seem that far out of the realm of possibilities. Then again, neither did an external Wii hard drive. And, well…
