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MiiVerse is the King of Console Communities

MiiVerse is the King of Console Communities

I really like MiiVerse– I think it’s truly a fantastic place. MiiVerse does a great job of shedding the image of the stereotypical modern gamer. There’s no cursing, rampant sexism, appalling racism or scores of people telling you how much you suck. Instead, it really feels like you’re among some of the friendliest and most creative gamers around. It’s the only online video game network that manages to put a smile on my face every time.

Let me give you a brief explanation of MiiVerse, in case you haven’t experienced it. MiiVerse came to life on the Nintendo Wii U as a social network/community forum that’s broken down by software. Basically, if something has been released on the Wii U, there’s a MiiVerse community for it. People are free to post their thoughts, screenshots and experiences about specific games and apps with each other. Many people also post some really cool drawings they’ve created on the Wii U GamePad.

I’m constantly amazed at the amount of drawing talent the MiiVerse community has. This alone makes it very easy to lose track of time by simply browsing through all the posts. The best part is, it’s all civilized. Nintendo is serious about moderating, but there are plenty of people who feel their posts were moderated unfairly. It’s not a perfect science, but the end result is clear: MiiVerse is a place where everyone can feel welcome.

It’s not difficult to interact with people there either. Go ahead and post a screenshot from a game and give it a caption — there’s a good chance someone will either make a comment or give you a “Yeah!” (MiiVerse’s answer to Facebook Likes).

I also like how MiiVerse finds its way into games. In Super Mario 3D World for example, Miis can populate the world map. I’ve gotten a few extra lives by walking up to them and reading what they have to say. You can also race against Ghost Miis on levels you already completed. Features such as this encourage community interaction and friendly competition.

MiiVerse is the King of Console Communities

As of right now, MiiVerse is miles ahead of Sony and Microsoft when it comes to building a self-contained social network. The Xbox One is dabbling in this with its new activity feed that shows the Achievements and uploaded videos of your friends and followers, but it’s not interactive. You’re merely consuming. Social sharing on the PS4 involves already established networks such as Facebook and Twitter. MiiVerse depends on itself and is free to grow and change without worrying about third-party restrictions.

As time goes on, MiiVerse’s reach will extend even further. Earlier this year, MiiVerse was made available on the web via desktops and mobile devices, and it’s also coming to the 3DS very soon. I can’t wait to see what the 3DS can bring to MiiVerse.

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