Living The Dream could be Nintendo's first true live service platform.

Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream was a certified hit for Nintendo. Official sales figures for the wholesome and wicked life sim haven't been released yet, and probably won't be until the company's next official earnings report. All you have to do is look at social media and see the sheer volume of custom Miis and crude jokes to see that it's a huge deal.

The 3DS original was a cult classic in its own right, but it was always around and didn't have a social media presence that was active enough to garner attention in today's world. I struggle to think of a game better suited to the TikTok generation than Living the Dream, with millions of jokes per minute and an absurdist sense of humor that thrives as the wider audience becomes willing to embrace bizarre, boundary-pushing creations.

But it also raises valid questions about the longevity of the game and how long it will remain in the public consciousness before we inevitably turn to something else. We don't see experiences like this every day, so Nintendo would be wise to lay the foundation for the future so that Tomodachi Life can be a big player for years to come.

Tomodachi Life: The life of your dreams can become a live service masterpiece

One of the main criticisms I raised in my review was how quickly Living The Dream starts to get repetitive after playing it for a few hours. Once all the major buildings are in place and the focus shifts to creating Miis and building relationships, it doesn't take long until events like minigames, dreams, and hijinks start repeating themselves during normal conversations. During my review, I ended up skipping several of the events because I had already seen them, and many of the items I received through the minigames were so minor that they weren't worth my time.

The main indicator of progress is upgrading your island and unlocking new features, customization items, and travel tickets. However, once you progress past rank 80 you'll likely unlock most of the items you'll eventually use, and things become stagnant as the focus shifts instead to creating custom Miis and items that prevents eventual repetition. Don't misunderstand. These customizations are the pride and joy of the game, but it's hard to say how long they'll hold our attention if other elements don't make the experience stand out.

Even more so than Animal Crossing: New Horizons or Splatoon with Splatfest's evolving series, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream feels perfectly suited to seasonal events or special occasions where popular Miis join in the festivities, and the game features new items and island customization options designed to evolve and grow the life sim. It's limited in its current form, but that doesn't mean it can't continue to grow and become something special in the months and years to come.

I want Living the Dream to change when I log in with each new season, whether it's letting my Miis wander around in the snow, watching the leaves start to fall from a tree I planted months ago, or participating in festivities that come in the form of extensive updates that turn optimized routines into ones for surprises. Imagine a Christmas tree appearing right next to the village foundation and random groups of Miis, from Charlie Kirk to Doctor Robby, gather to sing carols and exchange gifts.

Expanding Living the Dream in this way might bring future conversations about in-game purchases to the surface, but considering Animal Crossing has avoided them for years, why can't they do that?

Things like this give us natural reasons to stay and stay engaged, while naturally leaning into the outrageous charm that Tomodachi Life is known for. In its current form, I think most players will find this game interesting and leave it within a month or two, if not sooner. But it doesn't have to be that way, and I don't want to see this become a brief moment that is immediately forgotten as we move on to the next big thing. There's more to it than that, but it can only be achieved if Nintendo is proactive and understands the community it needs to serve.

Fans are already begging Nintendo to bring back the concert hall and other features from the original game that didn't make it to Living the Dream. So why not start there? I want to keep checking on my Miis every day, and I don't want to have to constantly create new residents to follow their routines or keep things fresh. These days, new live services usually turn heads, but this one may have different results.