Nintendo gives an update on Miiverse and new Miiverse features

Holy Miiverse updates Batman! Today's Nintendo Direct brought us the announcement of the Virtual Console and new games, like Wind Waker HD. But let's not forget that Satoru Iwata kicked off Nintendo Direct with Miiverse. Before I get to some new additions coming to Miiverse, let's cover what Iwata said.

Communication in Miiverse is a big deal. With Miiverse, what Nintendo was hoping for is actually happening — gamers are sharing their experiences and helping each other, no matter where they are located or what their skill levels are. Miiverse users are asking for helping and giving answers to others who need help.

There's so many posts and comments that Wii U owners can't begin to see all of them. In particular, Iwata made sure to show off some of the great hand drawings that can be found in Miiverse. The one I liked the most was the portrait someone drew of Iwata. MiiTV also released at the height of college football, forging a new relationship with the TV in living rooms and MiiVerse. Fans were able to capture screenshots and post it, and while I can't speak for Mr. Iwata, nothing makes me happier than the fact that Urban Meyer and his precious Ohio State Buckeyes went undefeated and couldn't be mentioned for a National Championship because of sanctions. Suck it, Ohio State!

Back to Miiverse, there are Mii characters that have a green checkmark in the corner of their picture. The green checkmark means that those are official accounts that have had their authenticity verified by Nintendo. People with these checkmarks are people in software development, providing new information and statuses about their games. These verified accounts can put links and embed YouTube videos into their Miiverse posts, as well.

Now for the new stuff!

Miiverse is expanding to smartphones! Starting this spring, people will be able to browse Miiverse from their smartphones. The experience will be browser-based, but an app will be developed in the future. You'll simply use your Nintendo Network ID and password to login.

Also coming to Miiverse is the ability to create user communities, there can be more than one official community per title, usability improvements and a filtering function will be added. Iwata made sure to mention that there are other areas of MIiverse to improve and they plan to tackle them one-by-one in the future, but these are definitely a step in the right direction.

Two games were specifically mentioned with new features that will be used in conjunction with Miiverse:

Pikmin 3

The upcoming Pikmin 3 game will have a feature that lets players use the Wii U GamePad as a camera. With this camera, you can share the same perspective as Pikmin and take close-up pictures of landscapes and creatures in the game; then, you can share them  in Miiverse.

Wii Fit U

With Wii Fit U, you will be able to create user communities on Miiverse from within the game. Using a unique community id number, you can access that community where you can discuss health topics, weight changes and BMI with other players as a way to encourage one another. This feature is also planned for other games.

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com