Cubed3 Attends Nintendo 3DS MeetMii Event

Facebook’s rise has clearly had an effect on Nintendo’s strategy. The exchanged data can be your Mii character, what music you have been listening to in the 3DS Sound application or even information from certain StreetPass-enabled games. While you have walked to your bus stop you might have had an instant Ridge Racer 3D race against a passer-by, met their nintendog, or just spared each other a little blocky loose change in LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, with the results waiting to be discovered when you next check your system. These simple meta-games, plus built-in titles such as StreetPass Quest and Puzzle Swap, seem more closely related to the small, social experiences found on Facebook than anything else. With basic Mii profiles swapped, there is also perhaps the stalker-lite curio of seeing who has been walking around you...There is a chance, though, that you may even make some new friends!

The first such event took place in Manchester’s Trafford Centre on Saturday 2nd April, 2011. Near to, but thankfully separate from, the throbbing crowds of the mall’s gigantic Orient Food Court. A few dozen gamers turned up over the course of two and a half hours - over-running the estimated 2pm end time by at least half an hour by the time Adam and I had to leave, such was the popularity. It was clear that the MeetMii team were overjoyed with how well things had started off, considering that this was, more than anything, a test event to gauge reaction to the idea.

Keith, Michael and fellow MeetMii man Paul were very happy to talk about anything relating to their idea and, though this was only a relatively small event to kick things off, it is clear that they have a lot of ambition to take things to a higher level. They have already opened communications with GAME, Nintendo and Ubisoft in an attempt to gain more credibility, and plans are afoot to expand across the UK and beyond, with similar events in Nottingham, Leeds and even Europe being considered. As well as the StreetPass hook, they are also keen to host tournaments and other interactions.

MeetMii's Keith (left) and Michael Davidson (right) strike a pose.

Cubed3's Adam Riley (foreground centre) and Mike Mason (background centre) talk to MeetMii fans.

Keith and Mike, the founders of MeetMii, were on-hand in their branded T-shirts to meet and greet those with their 3DS in tow, whilst the Cubed3 troop did their best to work the crowd, talking to gamers that had travelled far and wide especially to attend this unique gathering (Blackpool and Derby, for example - word had definitely spread far and wide!). Cubed3’s Mike busied himself speaking to people, playing Street Fighter IV and explaining how wonderful our humble website is, while I chatted about future plans for more events with MeetMii’s Mike, discussing ideas about selling personalised T-shirts with Mii characters on, organising competitions or even hosting multiplayer gaming tournaments to build on the already strong foundation of this first meet-up session.

Other than a few kinks that need ironing out (easier-to-reach locations, clear signage for finding the meeting place, attaining the help of more people to ensure attendees are not left isolated from the group, for instance), this first StreetPass event by the team at MeetMii was the perfect way to advertise Nintendo’s 3DS feature, proving more popular than initially expected.

Will Nintendo UK agree to get involved in the future, though? The question is definitely going to be posed to the right people…
- Adam Riley, Senior Editor.