Tomodachi Life facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tomodachi Life
Packaging artwork used in North America
Developer(s)	Nintendo SPD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Noriyuki Sato Ryutaro Takahashi Eisaku Nakae
Producer(s)	Yoshio Sakamoto
Composer(s)	Daisuke Matsuoka Asuka Ito
Platform(s)	Nintendo 3DS
Release date(s)	April 18, 2013 NA/EU
Genre(s)	Social simulation
Mode(s)	Single-player

Tomodachi Life (which means "Friend Life" in Japanese) is a fun social simulation video game made by Nintendo SPD. Nintendo published it for the Nintendo 3DS handheld system. In this game, you get to watch and interact with special characters called Miis. They are like little digital people who live on an island.

These Mii characters, also called "islanders," build friendships and solve problems. They also talk to you, the player! Tomodachi Life is the second game in its series. The first one, Tomodachi Collection, was only released in Japan.

The game first came out in Japan in April 2013. Then, it was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in June 2014. South Korea got the game in July 2014. Tomodachi Life was very popular, selling over 6.71 million copies around the world. This made it one of the best-selling 3DS games ever!

People had mixed feelings about the game. They liked its unique gameplay and charming style. However, some thought the mini-games were too simple. They also wanted more control over the Mii characters. Still, with over 400,000 copies sold in Japan, the game was a big success. Tomodachi Life also brought new ways to customize Miis. These ideas were later used in other Nintendo games like Miitopia and the app Miitomo.

How to Play Tomodachi Life

The game starts when you name your island. Then, you create your own Mii character or bring one in from another game. Each Mii gets a special personality. This depends on choices you make, like how fast they walk or how quirky they are.

You will then give your Mii some food and help them meet a friend. After this, the Town Hall opens up. This lets you create even more Miis to live on your island!

Mii Interactions and Island Life

Your Miis can do many different things. They will interact with each other in various ways. They can become friends, fall in love, or even have small disagreements. As you play, you will unlock new places to visit. You will also find more clothes, food, and other items for your Miis to enjoy.

A married couple in their home playing with their baby

You earn in-game money by helping your islanders. You can solve their problems or give them gifts. The game happens in real time, just like real life. This means you can play at different times of the day. You will see new and fun interactions between your islanders.

Over time, your islanders will become friends. If two Miis of different genders and similar ages like each other, one might tell the other how they feel. If it goes well, they become "Sweethearts." After more time, they might even get married!

Family Life and Travelers

If a married couple lives on your island, you might get a phone call. One of them will tell you they had a baby! You get to name the baby and design its face. Sometimes, the parents might ask you to babysit their child. This starts a fun mini-game that changes as the child gets older.

Eventually, the child will grow up. You then have two choices. You can let the child move into the apartments on your island. Or, you can send them off as a "traveler" using Streetpass. This lets them visit other players' islands!

Connecting with Others

Tomodachi Life lets you connect with other players using Streetpass and Spotpass. These features help you unlock special items and send islanders to other games. Nintendo used to release free Spotpass items every month. Players could buy these items in the "Import Wear" shop. This service stopped on May 16, 2016.

With Streetpass, you can choose an item to share with other Nintendo 3DS systems nearby. This is also how you can send a married couple's child to other islands as a traveler. You can also share screenshots from your game on social media like Twitter or Facebook using the Nintendo 3DS Image Share service.

Making the Game

Tomodachi Life was first released in Japan as Tomodachi Collection: New Life. It was a follow-up to the first Tomodachi Collection game. Nintendo announced the new game in a Nintendo Direct on March 13, 2013. They also showed off new special edition 3DS LL colors. One of these was a special 3DS LL bundle that came with the game.

Another Nintendo Direct on April 3, 2013, shared more details. They introduced a special software to move Mii data from the first game to the new one. This "Tomodachi Collection: New Life Mii Moving Software" could be downloaded from the Nintendo eShop. The game then came out in Japan on April 18, 2013.

Bringing Tomodachi Life to the West

Nintendo thought a lot about releasing Tomodachi Collection: New Life outside of Japan. Satoru Iwata, who was the head of Nintendo, said they were working to make Japanese games enjoyable for players around the world. This was a hint that the game might come to other countries.

In March 2014, Nintendo of Europe sent out a survey. It showed pictures of the game translated into English, French, and Spanish. This made players excited for a worldwide release.

On April 10, 2014, Nintendo officially announced it! Tomodachi Collection: New Life would be released as "Tomodachi Life" in North America and Europe. In May 2014, a playable demo was given to special Club Nintendo members. If you played this demo, you could get a bonus item in the full game. The game also came with two demo codes to share with friends. A different demo was later released for everyone on the Nintendo eShop.

Tomodachi Life was released in North America and Europe on June 6, 2014.

Challenges in Development

Yoshio Sakamoto, a director for the game, said they wanted to make a game that players could enjoy both inside and outside of it. He meant a game that would make people talk about what happened to their Miis. Bill Trinen from Nintendo explained it this way: Imagine if all those funny videos you see on YouTube were about people you knew!

One of the hardest parts was changing the game for different countries. For example, a sumo wrestling mini-game in Japan was changed to "Football" in the US. Ryutaro Takahashi, another director, said they didn't just translate the words. They made sure the dialogue felt natural for each language.

Promoting the Game

Nintendo released a "Tomodachi Life Direct" video on YouTube on April 10, 2014. It showed Mii characters of Nintendo staff, like Bill Trinen and Reggie Fils-Aimé, acting like they were in the game's "Mii News." The video explained the game and how fun it is to create Miis of anyone you know.

The American Tomodachi Life website also showed Miis of famous people. You could scan a QR Code to add them to your game. Celebrities like Taylor Swift and Shaquille O'Neal were featured, each with their own special outfits!

Tomodachi Life's Impact

Tomodachi Life has left its mark on other Nintendo games.

• A stage based on Tomodachi Life appears in the fighting games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• The game WarioWare Gold has a quick mini-game based on Tomodachi Life.
• Miitomo, a social networking app for phones, was made by the same team. It had similar ideas to Tomodachi Life. Miitomo was available from March 2016 until May 2018.
• Miitopia, a role-playing game that also uses Miis, came out for the 3DS in 2016. An improved version of Miitopia was released for the Nintendo Switch on May 21, 2021.

See also

• Miitomo
• Miitopia
• Animal Crossing - Another Nintendo game series where you live with animal characters, which has some similar ideas but a more relaxed feel.