Mii

A Mii is a customizable avatar and character featured in a variety of video games. The avatar's design has simple facial features that can be changed or added to create a simplified version of a real person or a unique character. By default, they have a simple rounded body shape with large circles for hands, with some games removing their limbs and only featuring the hands or giving them a more human-like body. The name "Mii" is a combination of "Wii" and "me", often due to their creation as an avatar for the user.

Miis were first introduced with the release of the Wii in 2006, and could be created using the Mii Channel. On Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Miis have been used to represent the player on their user profile, and can be shared with other players online with a Nintendo Network ID or locally through the Nintendo 3DS's StreetPass functionality. They can optionally be chosen to represent a user profile on Nintendo Switch, and are currently used as a user profile on My Nintendo. Miis created for the Nintendo website can be featured in mobile games when connecting a Nintendo account.

Miis can appear as playable characters, non-playable characters, or background characters depending on the context of the game. They have been featured in many Nintendo games since the release of Wii Sports, and are primarily known for their appearance in the Wii series. Since then, Miis have spawned a franchise of Mii-related games featuring them as primary playable characters. The biggest series with Miis are the Tomodachi series and the StreetPass Mii Plaza series. Other notable Nintendo games revolving around Miis include Personal Trainer: Walking, Nintendo Land, Pilotwings Resort, Miitomo, and Miitopia. They are also featured as guest characters in many established series, including games in the Mario franchise such as the Mario Kart series, the sports games and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, as well as the Super Smash Bros. series and the WarioWare series.

The Mii trademark is also licensed to third-party companies for use in their games, and was most frequently used during the Wii generation. After the Nintendo 3DS launched, less third-party games incorporated Miis into their gameplay.

Development

The prototype made by Miyamoto for the Famicom Disk System

The development of the Mii Maker, as well as the Mii avatar itself, was a long and arduous process, taking about 20 years to reach fruition. The idea of players creating a personal avatar had already existed for quite some time, as prototypes had been made as early as the Famicom Disk System.

Famicom Disk System prototype

During a keynote speech at the Game Developers Conference of 2007, Shigeru Miyamoto revealed information regarding the ideas and development that led to the current Mii design, during which he stated the idea of a character creator has stuck in his mind for years.^[1] Multiple prototype screenshots were revealed, showing the many attempts at a Mii Maker that Miyamoto had made. A prototype made for the Famicom Disk System was shown during this interview. This prototype, while finished, was never released, due to multiple staff members at the time stating that there was no way to turn this idea into a game.

Nintendo 64DD

After the Nintendo 64DD was launched, Miyamoto once again brought up the character creator concept, with some of his original ideas being reused in the game Mario Artist: Talent Studio. The game featured a somewhat in-depth avatar maker, with the option of utilizing the Game Boy Camera and the 64DD's Capture Cassette to add a photo to the avatar's face.

Nintendo GameCube

Another character creator was planned for a game that would be the spiritual successor to Mario Artist: Talent Studio, titled Stage Debut. It would have utilized the e-Reader and a scrapped peripheral called the GameEye to add a photo to the avatar's face. The avater would then dance or interact with the environment around it.

This game featured various characters from the Mario franchise, Animal Crossing, and Pikmin. Miyamoto showed a short film made with Stage Debut at E3 2002. This software was later renamed to Manebito, and was cancelled due to multiple staff stating that there wasn't a way to turn it into a proper game.

Nintendo DS

A screenshot of the cancelled DS game Otona no Onna no Uranai Techou showing a Mii-like avatar of Satoru Iwata.

Around the Wii's development by Nintendo EAD, Nintendo SPD was working on a similar game involving avatar creation titeld Otona no Onna no Uranai Techou.^[1]. The character creator was said to be similar to Furukawai, a puzzle game about putting facial features onto a drawing ^{[citation needed]}. Iwata talked to Miyamoto about this project, who later decided to join Nintendo SPD to work on the concept.

SPD was unaware of Miyamoto's concept before he started working on it, but once Miyamoto joined, work on the project was much faster. More features were added to make Miis look more distinct, including the size and position of facial features.

The software was ported to the Wii and enhanced further, adopting the name "Mii Channel".

Usage

The main usage of Miis is as characters in Nintendo games, either as the main characters, such as in Wii Sports, or as extra customizable characters, like in the Super Smash Bros. series. Sometimes, their faces can be used as masks, like in Animal Crossing: City Folk.

Miis have also been used as ways to identify Nintendo users. For example, Nintendo Accounts use Miis as a form of profile picture. Additionally, the Nintendo 3DS requires a Mii to represent the owner of the console. A Mii can also be tied to an amiibo to identify its owner. For the Nintendo Switch, users can use pictures of select Nintendo characters and images as profile pictures, but they have the option to create a Mii and select a pose for it. Tickets to the Nintendo Museum can also be customized to feature a Mii on them.

Mii creation and storage

Since the release of the Wii, every Nintendo platform has featured ways for creating, storing, and sharing Miis.

Wii

The first Mii creator was the Mii Channel. Miis stored on the Wii console walk around a white, tiled void and sometimes interact with each other. When the player selects the Create Mii button, they are taken to another screen where they can begin with choosing the gender and appearance of their new Mii.

Users have an option to "favorite" Miis, giving them dark red pants.

Nintendo DS

While the Nintendo DS does not have a built-in Mii creator, two games on the console still included them.

Personal Trainer: Walking

Main article: Personal Trainer: Walking

Personal Trainer: Walking allowed users to either create Miis in the game or import them from their Wii. These Miis are used to represent the player in the walking exercises featured in the game. The Mii creator is set in an yellowish area this time, with the customization features selected on the bottom screen.

Tomodachi Collection

Main article: Tomodachi Collection

Tomodachi Collection allows players to create Miis that can live on an island. The Mii creator is very similar to the one in Personal Trainer: Walking, but now options for voice and personality are added.

Kuruma de DS

Main article: Kuruma de DS

Kuruma de DS allows players to create Miis that can be seen throughout the game. The Mii creator is very different from the one seen in Personal Trainer: Walking and Tomodachi Collection.

Nintendo 3DS

Mii Maker is essentially a smaller version of the Mii Channel: Miis stand on a similarly tiled void and can walk around, but they do not interact with each other. Additionally, to accommodate for a smaller screen, only up to 10 Miis can be shown at a time, with the bottom screen having arrows to scroll between different slides of Miis.

Mii Maker adds several facial features that are not available on the Mii Channel. Additionally, users can use the 3DS camera to automatically make Miis based on one's image or to scan a QR code to make a copy of someone else's Mii.

An example of a Mii QR Code created with Mii Maker.

New colors for pants were introduced with the 3DS.

• Red: can mean the Mii is...
  • the user character of the system
  • the user character of someone else's system
  • a favorited Mii
• Blue: the Mii is received from another system
• Gold: the Mii is a character distributed by Nintendo

Miis are also used as profiles in StreetPass Mii Plaza.

Tomodachi Life

Main article: Tomodachi Life

Being the sequel to Tomodachi Collection, Tomodachi Life has the same Mii creator with the same music. However, the option to share Miis via QR codes is introduced. Miis could be imported from the Nintendo 3DS' Mii Maker as well.

Miitopia

Main article: Miitopia

For Miitopia's Mii creator, the Mii is placed in a yellow void with animated waves flowing all around, similar to selecting a Job. 24 additional colors were added for hair, eyebrows, eyes, and lips, many of which can be considered unnatural or dyed colors. The song that plays appears to be a remix of the original Mii Channel theme with elements of the Wii Sports motif. Miis can be imported through multiple means: Mii Central (a built-in database of popular Miis), the 3DS Mii Maker, Tomodachi Life save data, friends' systems, or from QR codes. Miitopia also has a personality system like Tomodachi Life, but it is much simpler and consists of 7 instead of 16 personalities.

Wii U

The Wii U's Mii creation app is very similar to that of the 3DS. For starters, it is also called the "Mii Maker", and it allows users to create Miis from photos or import them from QR codes. They can also be sent and received to nearby Wii and 3DS systems. The Mii is in a greenish-blue void this time, and are placed on the left while facial features are on the right.

Normal Miis are stored in the systems Mii Maker, with over 300 Miis being able to be stored on the system at once. User Miis are placed in WaraWara Plaza, the home menu of the Wii U. Additionally, popular Miis from Miiverse communities would show up when the service was still active.

Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch Mii creator is the first and only Mii creator in a Nintendo console that does not feature a plaza. Instead, Miis can be viewed via a menu that can be located in the System Settings. It is also the first creator to not have any music.

The Mii creator is a lot more simplistic than previous installments. The Mii is placed in a light grey, sparkly background. To the left of the screen, the customization features are listed with words and icons this time. When the colors for hairstyle, eyebrows, eyes, mouth, and facial hair are selected, there is an option to show 100 more colors, many of which are unnatural for humans.

When choosing a look-alike to start from, the user must select the gender of the Mii first and then 18 seemingly randomly generated Miis will be shown.

Retiring the usage of QR codes for Miis (likely due to the lack of a camera or appropriate peripheral), the Nintendo Switch allows users to send and receive Miis by connecting the console to nearby users. Currently, the only way to share Miis online is through Miitopia's access key system. Miis can also be transferred from Wii U and Nintendo 3DS using amiibo.

Miitopia

Main article: Miitopia

While the Switch version of Miitopia has a creator that is identical to the console's, there are two new features introduced: Makeup and Wigs. Makeup allows the player to add up to 100 shapes to their Mii's face, allowing for even more customization. Wigs replaces the Mii's hair with a wig the player can create by combining bangs, backs, and cowlicks, along with a two different hair colors and accessory colors when applicable.

Replacing QR codes from the 3DS version, the Switch version allows players to share Miis via access codes. Each code is unique for each save file, and by sharing it other players can have access to all the Miis from that file (except for ones made private), along with any wigs and makeup they have on. Players can also import shared Miis from the game into the Nintendo Switch itself, however makeup and wigs will not carry over.

Other platforms

Making a Mii in Mii Studio

Miitomo

Main article: Miitomo

In Miitomo, players could create Miis via camera or from scratch. QR codes from the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, and Tomodachi Life could imported as well, and Miis from My Nintendo could be added too. This time, the Mii was placed in a light blue gradient background. It used a similar personality quiz to Tomodachi Life, albeit a bit more advanced. While the game focused on the player's Mii, additional Miis could be made and stored on the app as well, which were referred to as Sidekick Miis.

Mii Studio

Mii Studio is the Mii creator for My Nintendo, and the first official browser-based Mii creator. It was made to replace the now defunct Miitomo.^[2] Mii Studio is very similar to the Nintendo Switch Mii creator due to fact that users can import their Mii from their Nintendo Network ID and it features no music. No new facial features are added.

Pikmin Bloom

Pikmin Bloom Mii selection screen

Miis are featured in the Nintendo and Niantic mobile game Pikmin Bloom. The Mii maker in this game is limited compared to others, as there are only 20 preset Miis to choose from. Players can change their Mii's skin, hair, and eye color, with only natural color options available. To access more options, players must edit their Miis via the online Mii Studio, and then import them into the game. If the player signs into Pikmin Bloom with their My Nintendo account, the Mii associated with their account will be the first available to choose from, and they cannot edit skin, hair, or eye colors within the game. There are also 10 free outfits available to choose from for the player's Mii to wear.

When the game first launched, there were only 8 preset Miis to choose from, and only 9 free outfits available to choose from. Since the game launched, 12 more preset Mii options have been added, and hundreds of different individual clothing options for the player's Mii have been made available.

For in-depth information on Miis in Pikmin Bloom, see this page on Pikipedia.

Voice and portrayals

Miis are usually silent in their game appearances, although they will occasionally speak in a gibberish language. When speaking in gibberish, they are usually given a high-pitched voice such as their appearances in the Wii Play series, WaraWara Plaza, and Miitopia. In the Tomodachi series, Miis are given voices in the game's Mii Maker, and will read phrases with a text-to-speech function. Due to the implementation of Miis speaking full sentences in Japanese, Tomodachi Collection was not released in other regions because of language complications.^[3]

Occasionally, Miis have been given voices in games. This can be seen primarily in the Mario Kart series and Super Smash Bros. series, both featuring multiple voices for the characters depending on their weight, height, or player input. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate contains twelve customizable voices for the Mii Fighters, along with the ability to make them silent as they were in the previous installment. Games that feature Miis with voice actors include Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, Mario Tennis Open, Mario Golf: World Tour, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Additionally, certain individual Miis created by Nintendo have received voices. Matt from Wii Sports was given grunt sounds for his role as the Boxing coach in the Boxing Training mode. Ray from the Wii Fit series was given full voice lines as the coach in Rhythm Boxing, telling the player what actions to perform and commenting on their performance. Miguel from Wii Sports Resort was given voice lines as the coach in Cycling. Finally, Rie and an unnamed male coach ^{[citation needed]} were given voices in Wii Fit U as instructors for the newly introduced Dance activity, performing and explaining each Dance exercise.

Miis have been voiced by the following people:

Female Miis

• Yūko Kaida
• Hitomi Hirose
• Tomo Adachi
• Ayumi Nagao

Male Miis

• Tomoyuki Higuchi
• Fumihiro Okabayashi
• Takuya Sato
• Koki Harasawa

Mii Fighters

• Yūji Kishi (Voice 1)
• Umeka Shōji (Voices 2 and 12)
• Takashi Ōhara (Voice 3)
• Ayumi Fujimura (Voice 4)
• Ryōtarō Okiayu (Voice 5)
• Makiko Ōmoto (Voice 6)
• Michihiko Hagi (Voice 7)
• Minami Takayama (Voice 8)
• Hideo Ishikawa (Voice 9)
• Kimiko Saitō (Voice 10)
• Kiyoyuki Yanada (Voice 11)

Gallery

Main article: Mii/artwork gallery

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  A Mii wearing yellow from Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree.

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  Matt playing the güiro in Wii Music.

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  A group of Miis exclusive to Wii Music.

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  Alisha and Takumi playing Time Bomb from Wii Party.

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  Millie, Skip, and Alice as Toads chasing Yuji as Mario in Mario Chase, a Nintendo Land attraction.

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  Vanessa dressed as Link in The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest.

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  A married couple holding a Baby in Tomodachi Life.

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  Cheng-Han, Haruka, Marius, and Ilka in Wii Party U.

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  Marit rolling dice in Highway Rollers from Wii Party U.

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  The Mii Fighters from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

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  Three Miis from the Tomodachi Life: Club Nintendo Fashion Catalog in Miitomo.

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  Nikki from Swapdoodle greeting three Miis who were mascots of the Miiverse service.

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  A Mii with the Warrior Job in Miitopia.

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  Guillermo transforming into an Amiimal in Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers.

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  The Mii Fighters from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Trivia

The Mii silhouette displayed on Luigi's phone in The Super Mario Bros. Movie

• The shape of the Miis were based on Kokeshi dolls, traditional Japanese toys with round heads, cylindrical bodies, and no arms or legs.^[4]
• The Play Nintendo page for the Miis lists Mario as their one and only friend.^[5]
• It has been seen that the word "Mii" cannot be written in either all uppercase or lowercase letters in official contexts. The former can be seen in the StreetPass Mii Plaza game Mii Force, where a line from the Mii Force Captain is written as "Mii FORCE, ASSEMBLE!" A notable case of the latter was seen in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where an in-game notification was written in character as Sans promoting his own Mii Fighter costume. "Mii" is capitalized in this notification despite Sans' dialogue in the Undertale series being written almost completely in lowercase.
• Miis are referenced in The Super Mario Bros. Movie via a silhouette in Luigi's phone when he receives a call from the Brooklyn Couple early on in the movie.
• Some Miis make a cameo in Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge in Universal theme parks. They appear in the pre-quede to showcase ride mechanics and safety precautions.

See also

• List of official Miis

References