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| Tomodachi Life | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo SPD |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Noriyuki Sato Ryutaro Takahashi Eisaku Nakae |
| Producer(s) | Yoshio Sakamoto |
| Designer(s) | Mai Okamoto |
| Programmer(s) | Takuya Yokota |
| Composer(s) | Daisuke Matsuoka Asuka Ito |
| Series | Tomodachi |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Social simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Tomodachi Life, known in Japan asTomodachi Collection: New Life[a], and in South Korea asFriend Gathering Apartment[b], is asocial simulationvideo game developed and published byNintendo for theNintendo 3DS. It is the sequel to the Japan-exclusiveNintendo DS titleTomodachi Collection. The game follows the day-to-day interactions ofMii characters, referred to as "islanders", as they build relationships, solve problems, and interact with the player.
The game was released on April 18, 2013 in Japan; June 6, 2014 in North America and Europe; June 7, 2014 in Australia; and July 17, 2014 in South Korea. It sold over 400 thousand units in Japan in its debut week and has sold 6.72 million copies worldwide, making it the eleventhbest-selling 3DS game of all time.
The game received mostly positive reviews; it was praised for its gameplay and overall charm, but criticized for its simplistic minigames and lack of user control. It introduced features for Mii customizability that were expanded upon in future Nintendo games, such asMiitopia andMiitomo, which allow for more complex outfits for Miis, and in theNintendo Switch port ofMiitopia, makeup that is customizable.
A sequel for the Nintendo Switch,Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, is scheduled for release in 2026.
Tomodachi Life begins with the player naming their island and creating their "lookalike", which is intended to represent the player. The Miis are given unique personalities based on the player's choices for their stats, such as walking speed, speech, and quirkiness.[1] The player is prompted to give their lookalike food to eat and a friend to interact with. The Town Hall allows the player to create more Miis. Miis can perform various actions, including interactions such as friendship, romance, conflicts, and other social events. Over time, the player unlocks more locations, clothes, food, and things for the Miis to interact with, such as items to give them and special interiors for their apartment.[2][unreliable source]
The player is rewarded with in-game currency by interacting with the islanders, resolving their problems, and giving gifts. In-game currency can be gained by going to the Fountain for donations from the islanders and selling items gained from Miis at the Pawn Shop.[3]
Tomodachi Life is set in real-time and encourages players to play at different times of the day to observe different interactions with islanders. Over time, the islanders will interact and develop friendships with each other at random intervals. If two islanders of the opposite gender and similar age interact, one can confess their love to the other, which, when successful, sets them as their "Sweetheart", or "Special Someone" in the European version. This can lead to marriage between the two islanders after further interactions.[4] Eventually, if a married couple is on the island and the player allows the feature, the player will receive a phone call from either the mother or the father, informing them that they had a baby, and allowing them to name it and edit its face. After this, the married couple can ask the player to babysit the child, which will start a minigame that changes depending on the child's age. After the child grows up, the player can either move them to the apartments or send them off viaStreetPass to appear on other players' islands as an explorer.[5][unreliable source]
The player can unlock special items and transport islanders usingSpotPass and StreetPass. Nintendo would release free SpotPass items monthly to all players that had SpotPass enabled, which would be purchasable in "Import Wear".[6][unreliable source] On May 16, 2016, the last "Import Item" was released, discontinuing the service.[7][unreliable source] Using StreetPass, the player can choose a specific item to give to players nearby their Nintendo 3DS System, which is also used to transport a married couple's child to other islands as a traveler.[8] Using the Nintendo 3DS Image Share service, players could share screenshots taken in game to social networks such asTwitter orFacebook.[9]
Tomodachi Life was originally released asTomodachi Collection: New Life in Japan as the sequel toTomodachi Collection. On March 13, 2013, Nintendo announced in their latestNintendo Direct that along with two new special edition3DS LL[c] colors, a sequel toTomodachi Collection was going to be released. The first color showcased in the direct was a mint white edition 3DS LL,[10] and the second was included as a part of a hardware bundle withTomodachi Collection: New Life included, designed with the game in mind.[11] In another Nintendo Direct broadcast on April 3, 2013, Nintendo revealed more details related to the 3DS sequel and introduced software used to transfer Mii data from the original game to the sequel calledTomodachi Collection: New Life Mii Moving Software, which could be downloaded from theNintendo eShop.[12][13] On April 18, 2013, the game was released in Japan.
A release forTomodachi Collection: New Life to other regions was heavily considered during and after the game's release in Japan. On January 29, 2014,Satoru Iwata toldThe Wall Street Journal that "the company is now working on the right balance of localizing Japan-oriented games just enough so that foreign audiences can enjoy them", hinting directly at an overseas launch for the game.[14][15] Although Nintendo still had not announced the release ofTomodachi Collection: New Life for regions outside Japan at the time, in late March 2014, Nintendo of Europe launched a survey containing multiple screenshots of what appeared to be localized versions of the game in English, French, and Spanish.[16]
On April 10, 2014, Nintendo announced in aNintendo Direct thatTomodachi Collection: New Life's localization would be releasing asTomodachi Life in North America and Europe.[17] In May 2014, a playabledemo of the game was distributed to Platinum members ofClub Nintendo in North America, the data of which could be transferred to the final version to unlock a bonus in-game item.[18] The game was bundled with two Nintendo eShop download codes for a 'Welcome version' demo, which could be given to friends.[19]
ProducerYoshio Sakamoto, best known for his work on theMetroid series, stated "development began when we started thinking about if it was possible to make a DS game which players could not only enjoy inside of the game, but one which could also trigger communication outside of it".[20]Bill Trinen, senior director of product marketing for Nintendo, described the idea ofTomodachi Life's interaction system in an interview withPolygon by using the following scenario: "What if everybody you say [sic] in those funny videos onYouTube were actually people that you knew, and those crazy things that were happening were happening to people that you knew?" Trinen also said that Nintendo is "always looking for ways to create gameplay that appeals to the entire world".[21] One of the most difficult challenges for the game was localization, with minigames such as sumo wrestling being replaced with football in the US. According to Ryutaro Takahashi, director of the project, "the dialogue of the characters for example is not just simple translation from Japanese; we have reviewed it so that it feels more natural." Trinen remarked that the idea behind developingTomodachi Life was similar toAnimal Crossing's development, in which the question "How do you bring those key moments to live in a way that's relevant to the American consumer?" led the development process.[22]
On April 10, 2014, Nintendo released aTomodachi Life Direct to their YouTube channel, featuring the Mii characters of Nintendo's staff, such as Bill Trinen,Reggie Fils-Aimé, and Satoru Iwata, in the style of the game's "Mii News". The Direct goes into detail aboutTomodachi Life and the idea of creating Mii characters of anyone.[23][better source needed]
On the AmericanTomodachi Life website, certain Miis of celebrities were shown that could be added into the game with theQR codes attached to them, such asChristina Aguilera andShaquille O'Neal, each including their own custom clothing.[24]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 72.36%[25] |
| Metacritic | 71/100[26] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 9/10[27] |
| Edge | 7/10[28] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7/10[29] |
| Eurogamer | 5/10[30] |
| Game Informer | 7/10[31] |
| GameRevolution | 3/5[32] |
| GameSpot | 7/10[33] |
| GamesRadar+ |   [34] |
| GamesTM | 5/10[35] |
| GameTrailers | 6/10[36] |
| IGN | 8.4/10[37] |
| Joystiq |  [38] |
| Nintendo Life | [39] |
| Nintendo World Report | 9/10[40] |
| Official Nintendo Magazine | 80%[41] |
| Pocket Gamer | [42] |
| Polygon | 7.5/10[43] |
| USgamer | 4/5[44] |
Tomodachi Life holds a rating of 71/100 on review aggregate siteMetacritic, (72.36% onGameRankings) indicating "mixed or average reviews".[25][26]IGN gave the game a score of 8.4, calling it "a surprisingly funny and rewarding experience", andThe New York Times calledTomodachi Life "comedic".[37][45] Polygon gaveTomodachi Life a 7.5 out of 10, praising its likeability despite certain aspects being repetitive.[43]GamesRadar gave the game 4 out of 5 stars, praising its weird humor and relaxing gameplay, whilst criticizing the minigames for being too simple.[34]GameTrailers gave the game a score of 6.0, stating "the pervasive sense of quirkiness inTomodachi Life works, but can't sustain the entire game."[36] Similarly, Martin Robinson withEurogamer noted "Tomodachi Life is a simple, throwaway toy, then—one with plenty of cute tricks, but not quite enough of them to stop you from tossing it aside after a handful of hours."[30]
The game introduced unique mechanics that were noted for its charm and humor, such as a "dream" state that players could enter when an islander was asleep. According to Takahashi, this would have been difficult to implement in the west without the westernization.[20]
Tomodachi Life was a best-seller in the Japanese video game market during the week of its release, selling about 404,858 units.[46] By September 2014, its global sales reached 3.12 million units.[47] As of March 31, 2023[update], Nintendo has sold 6.72 million units of the game worldwide,[48] which made it one of thebest selling games on the 3DS.[49]
Following the announcement of a worldwide release, controversy arose concerning the impossibility ofsame-sex relationships. In May 2013, a rumor emerged that a bug in the original Japanese version of the game that enabled such relationships was patched by Nintendo.[50] This was refuted by Nintendo in a statement made April 2014, explaining that same-sex relationships were never possible, and in fact a different issue was fixed.[51] In reality, fans had been making their Miis appear to be a different gender, which, while a workaround, did not change the Miis' pronouns.[52] They were angered by the lack of such relationships, starting campaigns to add in the option.[53]
Despite this, Nintendo stated that it would not be possible to add same-sex relationships to the game, as they "never intended to make any form of social commentary with the launch of the game",[54] and because it would require significant development alterations which would not be able to be released as a post-game patch. The company later apologized and stated that if they were to create a third game in the series they would "strive to design a gameplay experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players."[55][56]
A stage based onTomodachi Life appears inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, featuring remixed music tracks and Miis as background characters.[57][unreliable source]
Assets fromTomodachi Life are featured in other games. InStreetPass Mii Plaza, a puzzle based on the game can be collected inPuzzle Swap. InNintendo Badge Arcade, food from theTomodachi series is featured as collectible badges.WarioWare Gold features aTomodachi Life–themed microgame, as a fast-paced minigame.[58] The microgame is based on picking a foreign object, like a leaf, off a Mii's face. The items picked off the Mii's face are similar to the actual items that can be found on a Mii. The game'stext-to-speech voice is also similar to the one used inTomodachi Life.
Miitomo, asocial networkingmobile app foriOS andAndroid devices, was released in March 2016. The app was created by the same core team who developedTomodachi Life, and features very similar ideas.Miitomo was discontinued on May 9, 2018.[59]
Miitopia, arole-playing video game which similarly uses Miis as in-game characters, was released for the 3DS in Japan in 2016, followed by a worldwide release the next year.[60] In a Nintendo Direct on February 17, 2021, it was announced that an enhanced port ofMiitopia was being made for on theNintendo Switch.[61] This port was later released on May 21, 2021.[62]
On March 27, 2025, Nintendo announced a sequel, titledTomodachi Life: Living the Dream, via aNintendo Direct presentation. The sequel is scheduled for release on theNintendo Switch family ofhybrid video game consoles in 2026.[63][64]
