Miitomo was released on March 31 to great fanfare as Nintendo’s first smartphone app. Within five days of its U.S. launch, Miitomo reached 1.58 million downloads (via app store optimization company Sensor Tower). However, the app has not had the same success in two other important statistics: it faces low engagement and high user churn.
This data comes via a SurveyMonkey Intelligence report comparing Miitomo to King’s Candy Crush Jelly Saga and Supercell’s Clash Royale. While Miitomo initially peaked at No. 1 on both iOS and Android, putting it in the same company as those blockbuster mobile games, the report showed that Miitomo is used only half as often as Clash Royale.
Weekly churn (the number of users who use an app one week, but don’t return the next week) was also alarmingly high for Miitomo at 48%, compared to Clash Royale’s 20% and Candy Crush Saga’s 23%.
On top of that, Miitomo’s weekly active users are 74% lower than at their peak, compared to the 22% for Clash Royale and 32% for Candy Crush Jelly Saga.
“Miitomo’s rise and fall makes it clear that downloads aren’t enough to guarantee a successful product. It’s a great metric to gauge interest but only shows a narrow slice of the picture. What matters is building an app that captures users’ attention and keeps them coming back,” said the report.
This news is no surprise to any Miitomo user. The app is more like a very limited Facebook app than the kind of gamified experience that will keep players coming back week after week. The only things that change are the randomized daily clothing selection in the shop and the limited themed clothing offerings that require either a hefty 500 gold or an elusive game ticket to use. With other players abandoning Miitomo in droves, the social aspect that’s intended to be a major component of Miitomo’s appeal is also rapidly fading.
And nobody likes candy anyway.
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