STACK #258 April 2026

GAMING FEATURE

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fighting and having arguments to making up, and relationships from dating to getting married, and even having kids.

Miis could be further customised, including their voice, accent, and personality, while 3DS features StreetPass and Spotpass could be engaged to have visitors from other islands, and to receive souvenirs from visits and bonus items from Nintendo.

DYK? “Tomodachi” is Japanese for “friends”.

GENRE: Simulation MULTIPLAYER: No

FORMAT:

The latest! This month’s new Nintendo Switch entry in the series – Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream ( Tomodachi Collection: Exciting Life in Japan) – is set to expand on the world of the Miis even more.

Get ready for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream , the latest in Nintendo’s hit – and wonderfully bonkers - social simulation series, arriving on Switch this month. Let’s take a quick look back at the history of the series – and find out what we can expect in this exciting new entry. Words Amy Flower Beginnings LIFE IS FOR LIVING!

As controller of the in-game island, you once again get to create Miis with various tailored characteristics – from body parts to personalities - and let them get on with their lives, prompting them every so often just for fun, or to perhaps help them along their way. Yes, once they’ve moved in – up to eight in an apartment - you can help your Miis shape their personalities, and form relationships by introducing them to each other, which can lead to conversations, friendships, and sometimes even unexpected drama – it’s like having your very own gamified soap opera! The island also features all manner of shops and services where Miis can buy items like food, clothes, and décor, as well as catching up on news and even taking photos. Players can create pets, design items, and invent custom objects for the island.

The original Tomodachi Collection was a Japan only release for the Nintendo DS, which came out in June of 2009. The idea was originally arrived at by junior Nintendo employees, aiming to imitate the character creation in fortune-telling video game Tottoko Hamtaro: Tomodachi Daisakusen Dechu . While the idea of user-designed game characters was posited as far back as the 1980s by Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto, this is seen as the birth of the Mii. As one of the only DS games that featured Miis, which could be imported from the Wii console or other peoples’ handhelds, Tomodachi Collection let players interact with their very own Mii by taking on various in-game activities. From touching their thought bubbles to reveal their desires, to feeding, clothing, and teaching them short sentences via the inbuilt microphone, it was all happening in the Mii apartment building! Tomodachi hits the world! What had proved a sensation in its native Japan was let loose the world over with the arrival of Tomodachi Life on the 3DS –

GROUND ZERO In 1985, game designer/programmer David Crane, Activision cofounder and creator of Pitfall! , unleashed Little Computer People . The conceit of this “house-on-a-disk” was that it let you watch a little person that lives inside your computer – unique on each machine it ran on - go about their daily business. It’s considered to be the first video game social simulation. Our LCP was named Parker.

Customisation options continue, with the ability to change the landscape by rearranging buildings and facilities, adding scenery, and more. Time in Tomodachi Life:

initially in Japan (as Tomodachi Collection: New Life ), then following worldwide in June of 2014. Set on an island, the principles

Living the Dream echoes that of our real world, so the idea is that you drop in regularly to check on how your little friends are getting along in their island world.

of the original continued with more abilities added to increase player engagement. These included the making of friends, interpersonal relationships that ranged from

• Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is out Apr 16

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