''Tomodachi Collection'' is a

social simulation Social simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in computational law, psychology, organizational behavior, sociology, political science, econom ...

video game for the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

, released exclusively in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on June 18, 2009. A sequel, ''

Tomodachi Life ''Tomodachi Life'' is a social simulation video game developed by Nintendo SPD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game follows the day-to-day interactions of Mii characters (referred to as "islanders") as they build friendships, ...

'', was released for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

in Japan on April 18, 2013, and in North America and Europe on June 6, 2014.

Gameplay

The cast consists entirely of user created

Mii A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices. Miis c ...

s. Players can transfer Miis directly from their

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

console to their

or create new ones using the in-game Mii Maker. The player can choose the personalities of the Miis with up to 16 combinations of personalities. The player can then help their Miis with their problems, such as making friends and performing everyday tasks, as well as giving them clothes, food, and special items to help them gain experience. The Miis can interact with each-other in relationships, such as friendships. When a Mii gains enough experience, they level up and collect rewards. New areas and shops are unlocked on the island by playing the game and meeting various conditions, such as the Question Hall, where you can ask your Miis anything as well, as making them vote on a certain choice.

Development

Because the Nintendo DS didn't have Miis in the first Nintendo DS Games (Miis were released on November 19, 2006, on the Wii), the Miis were only shown in various Wii games, like ''

Wii Play ''Wii Play'' is a party video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. It was released as a launch game for the console in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and was released in North America in February 2007. The game features ...

'', ''

Wii Sports ''Wii Sports'' is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The 1.0 (pre-release) version of the game was released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and the 1. ...

'', ''

Wii Music ''Wii Music'' is a music video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in Japan and North America in October 2008, and in Europe and Australia in the following month. ''Wii Music'' is part o ...

'' and other games. Miis first appeared on the DS two years later in 2008, in Personal Trainer: Walking. Tomodachi Collection was released one year later, only in Japan, on June 18, 2009. Although it was only released in Japan, it was fan-translated and released on November 9, 2013, in

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...

by jjjewel. Tomodachi Collection was developed by a small team at Nintendo SPD Group No.1 with

Yoshio Sakamoto (born July 23, 1959) is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. He has worked at Nintendo since 1982. He has directed several games in the ''Metroid'' series. He is one of the most prominent members of Nintendo's former Research ...

as a producer. According to a Japanese ''Iwata Asks'' interview, it was conceived as a “version that adult women can play” of the 2000 Japan-only fortune-telling

Hamtaro ''Hamtaro'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga and storybook series created and illustrated by Ritsuko Kawai about a hamster. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's "Second Grade" magazine in April 1997; more ''Hamtaro'' stori ...

video game "'' Tottoko Hamtaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu"'', and was originally titled . In the same interview, it was revealed that the

fukuwarai is a Japanese children's game popular at the Lunar New Year. Players are led to a table which has a paper drawing of a human face with no features depicted, and cutouts of several facial features (such as the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth). Wh ...

-inspired character creation originally developed for ''Tomodachi Collection'' became the foundation for

s. A western release was considered, according to an interview with Gamekult.fr. However, issues with localizing the vocal synthesizer software to handle English words (which was resolved in ''Tomodachi Life'') caused the release to be cancelled. There is a function only found in the Japanese version of ''Tomodachi Life'' that allows you to call the Mii from the ''Tomodachi Collection'', and you can copy and transfer the Miis onto the 3DS, but the newly created Miis are added in the Mii Studio. It is not possible to send the Mii to the ''Tomodachi Collection'' from Mii Maker.

Sequel

A sequel for the game on the

, titled ''Tomodachi Collection: New Life'', was released in Japan on April 18, 2013, and on June 6, 2014 in North America and Europe as ''Tomodachi Life''. The game was the best-selling game in Japan during the week of its release, selling about 404,858 units.

Reception

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave ''Tomodachi Collection'' a rating of 29 out of 40. It was a best-selling game in Japan during the week of its release, selling about 102,000 units. By September 28, 2009, it sold 1.15 million copies in total, making it the fourth-best selling game in Japan in the first half of the 2009 fiscal year. At the end of the 2009–2010 fiscal year on March 31, 2010, Nintendo reported that the game had sold 3.2 million units.

Notes

References

External links

Official Site
{{Portal bar, Video games, 2000s, Japan 2009 video games Life simulation games Social simulation video games Nintendo DS games Nintendo DS-only games Nintendo games Japan-exclusive video games Video games developed in Japan Video games set on fictional islands Fan translation