Tomodachi Life
| Tomodachi Life | |
|---|---|
North American cover art | |
| Developer | Nintendo SPD |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Directors | Noriyuki Sato Ryutaro Takahashi Eisaku Nakae |
| Producer | Yoshio Sakamoto |
| Designer | Mai Okamoto |
| Programmers | Masanobu Nakagawa Masanori Unno Takaomi Ueno Masaki Wada |
| Composers |
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| Series | Tomodachi |
| Platform | Nintendo 3DS |
| Release | |
| Genre | Social simulation |
| Mode | Single-player |
Tomodachi Life, known in Japan as Tomodachi Collection: New Life, is a social simulation game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the sequel to the Japan-exclusive Nintendo DS title Tomodachi Collection (2009). The game follows the day-to-day interactions of Mii characters residing on an island as they build relationships and solve problems, all overseen by the player.
Much of Tomodachi Collection's staff returned to produce the sequel, including directors Ryutaro Takahashi and Eisaku Nakae. The directoral foundation for Tomodachi Life was set to be a more focused and grounded process compared to its predecessor. The team sought to establish a sociable and warm atmosphere, wanting to inspire players to observe their real-world relationships more positively through the Miis, who are intended to represent friends and family. Art director Mai Okamoto wanted to elevate the series' visuals, and worked closely with returning programmers Nakae and Masanobu Nakagawa to develop the game's surreal situational comedy.
The game was initially released as Tomodachi Collection: New Life on April 18, 2013 in Japan. Unlike its predecessor, Nintendo rereleased the game overseas, and undertook major localization efforts to appeal to differing regions. Under the title Tomodachi Life, it released on June 6, 2014, in North America and Europe; June 7, in Australia; and July 17, in South Korea. It sold over 400 thousand units in Japan in its debut week and sold 6.72 million copies worldwide by March 2025, making it one of the best-selling 3DS games. The game received generally mixed reviews; it was praised for its humor and overall charm, but critiqued for its repetitive gameplay and lack of user control. An inability for Miis to have same-sex relationships was criticized by reviewers and the subject of online controversy.
A sequel for the Nintendo Switch, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, is scheduled for release on April 16, 2026. Among other customization additions, the player can manually select their Miis' romantic preferences, permitting same-sex pairings.