Report: Nintendo's Miitomo has 4 million users, earns $280,000 per week

According to a new report, Nintendo’s first foray into the mobile app segment, social networking app Miitomo, has managed to accumulate 4 million users since it was released last month. The news comes via SurveyMonkey, who notes the following:

1. Since last week, over 2.6 million downloads have taken place between iOS and Android platforms, due in no small part to the app being featured on the front page of both ecosystem’s respective stores. This translates to an average of 370,000 downloads per day. The report ones does state, however, that 2/3 of these figures are iOS users.
2. There are now nearly as many monthly active users than there are people in New Zealand. Specifically, Miitomo is estimated to have 4 million users who login at least once a month, and 1 million who log in daily. New Zealand currently has a population of 4.5 million citizens.

3. The average Miitomo user logs-in two or three times in a typical day and spends 7-8 minutes with the app.

4. The app is estimated to be pulling in $280,000 per week. This breaks down to roughly $40,000 per day split between iOS and Android users, though of that figure, 80% comes from iOS. Additionally, Nintendo’s social networking software is estimated to average 3-4 cents per day, spent by active users.

Although initially released exclusively in Japan, within mere weeks Miitomo was avaliable in multiple countries around the world, and in multiple languages at that. The app quickly scored a million downloads within its first three days of debuting in Japan, something Nintendo itself took the time to Tweet.

On Matters of Mii

Nintendo is no doubt pleased with its app’s initial performance. The one million mark in an of itself was an accomplishment, however it looks like the coming weeks and months will see Miitomo’s user base increase and expand. How much it will expand will be an interesting story to follow: clearly things have slowed from the first milestone, and some have raised the question of how many non Nintendo fans would potentially be interested in the app.

The bigger questions, however, are related both to money and long-term viability. While SurveyMonkey’s estimated daily earnings are a promising start, they seek to suggest a different trend than, say, something like that of Kim Kardashian‘s app, which generated a staggering $43 million in its first three months of release.

The other issue is just how long the app can continue to attract attention, and for the matter, ensure long-term retention of users. If people quickly tire of the whimsical SNS, they may be quick to dump it. In it’s current incarnation, Miitomo is all about random questions and answers, changing clothing, and a ball-drop mini-game. As a result, Nintendo may need to develop more advanced features or a larger variety of in-game content.

At the very least, Miitomo is off to a great start. What do you think?