Several years ago, Nintendo of America closed down their NSider Forums, which left the users homeless. It was quite obvious from the backlash that gamers desired a place to call their Nintendo-home. They began to flock elsewhere on the web with the goal of finding a place to “belong” and talk about Nintendo. One of forums that benefited, in part, was our own NintendoFuse Forums, then called WiiFuse.
With the launch of the Wii U, Nintendo took a step into previously untouched online territory with MiiVerse. The simplest way to explain this feature is a forum. As of right now, there is a community for each Wii U game, where users can post questions, thoughts, screenshots, and even drawings. They have stated they will add additional communities in the future.
As I have begun experiencing the MiiVerse, though, a thought instantly popped into my head. Is this the continuation of NSider? While it is definitely a different approach, I can see striking similarities. One of the main differences involve it being tied to a gaming console.
However, many of you might remember Nintendo saying, on several occasions, that MiiVerse will eventually break out from its ties to the Wii U. In the end, it will also be available from future Nintendo consoles, but more importantly to this point, it will be accessible from a web browser and mobile app. This is where the game changes players.
So, my question is: What do you think this will do to the many Nintendo-related forums that are out there now? Surely, many will point to the fact that the internet forum time has already passed or will soon pass. Others may declare loyalty to their friends and online home. Still, I cannot help but think that the MiiVerse might become what the NSider Forums once were and possibly never could become. Yes, MiiVerse definitely has its issues, which are setbacks in this theory. Nonetheless, Nintendo has stated their goal is to continually evolve and improve MiiVerse. I guess only time will tell, but I cannot help but wonder.
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What do you think about the future of MiiVerse and Nintendo-related forums? Post your thoughts in OUR forums, or in the comments below.