Miitomo launches in Japan on March 17

Miitomo is coming to Japan next Thursday, March 17, Nintendo announced today.

The Tomodachi Life-esque social networking game will be the first of five mobile applications Nintendo releases over the course of the next year as part of its partnership with social gaming giant DeNA.

Along with Japan, the iOS and Android app is expected to arrive by month's end in 15 other major markets, including the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia.

Prospective players can earn "Platinum" points for Nintendo's new customer loyalty program, My Nintendo, by pre-registering for Miitomo prior to the mobile app's launch.

Nintendo [Twitter]