Nintendo restricts Tomodachi Life image sharing ahead of April 16 launch

Nintendo says it will limit certain image-sharing features in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, a change announced around the dedicated Nintendo Direct on Jan. 29.

A statement on Nintendo’s official site notes that “[Nintendo] have decided to place restrictions on certain image sharing features,” but the company did not give specific details about which features would be affected.

Living the Dream is a sequel to 2013’s Tomodachi Life and emphasizes player creativity, including extensive Mii customization, face painting, and pattern design for clothes and house exteriors. Polygon noted the potential for inappropriate creations and compared the situation to pattern-sharing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Nintendo of America told Polygon that players can share created Miis and items only via local communication, that received Miis/items cannot be passed on, and that the game has no online communication features. It also said Tomodachi Life will not enable system image transfer to smart devices, direct posting to social media, or the automatic image upload function (the latter only on Nintendo Switch 2).

Those limits mean players can only share Miis or islands in the same room or by photographing the screen with an external device. It’s unclear how the restrictions will affect streamers or whether they will influence the game’s reception at launch on April 16.

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