Swapnote

Swapnote is a free-to-install messaging application for the Nintendo 3DS similar in premise to PictoChat for the Nintendo DS.^[2][3] Swapnote allows users to create hand-drawn messages and illustrations, called "notes", using the 3DS' stylus, as well as attach comments to other users' notes. Notes can be distributed to others using online or local wireless connectivity. Messages can be given to registered 3DS friends online via SpotPass or other 3DS owners locally via StreetPass.^[4][5][6][7]

Users can create a maximum of four pages per note and add photographs taken with the 3DS' camera, voice clips, and miscellaneous stationery. Unique to Swapnote is the ability to draw with a "3D pen" to create three-dimensional pictures.^[7][8] The software features a mascot known as Nikki, a Mii character dressed in a green jacket who is featured in tutorial messages as a guide.^[9][10]

Swapnote was revealed in a Nintendo Direct presentation on October 21, 2011 centered on 3DS software.^[11] The app was first released in December 2011 on the 3DS eShop.^[12] On July 5, 2012, Nintendo updated Swapnote to add six new colors of ink, with only one color being available per message.^[13] On April 11, 2013, Nintendo updated Swapnote yet again, including the ability to take photos or record audio directly through the application, undo drawings, and use different colors on each page of a message.^[14] Nintendo of America released a software update on December 15, 2020, titled "Swapnote Remastered"; the patch notes state that the update "fixed some problems" with the application.^[15]

James Newton of Nintendo Life applauded Swapnote's online functionality, and its 3D drawing feature as "tremendously powerful" for creative expression, but critiqued latency issues regarding the speed of sending and receiving notes.^[8] Mikame Yukiyomi, reviewing for Inside Games, complimented Swapnote's commenting feature and its requring of users to hand-write their messages, perceiving it as a digital evolution in the analog practice of exchanging letters.^[7] An anonymous writer for Inside Games appreciated the ability to upload photos, which they felt compensated for their lack of writing or drawing skills,^[23] while a Famitsu contributor called the service a fun and casual experience.^[6] Samit Sarkar and Jeff Ramos, writing for Polygon, commended Nikki's inclusion, finding that her writing to the user on special events was a charming addition.^[24]

Journalists responded unfavorably towards the complete removal of SpotPass features and Nintendo's rationale for doing so. Kyle Orland of Ars Technica personally deemed Nintendo's limiting of the service even for "consenting adults" unnecessarily severe. Emphasizing that the 3DS itself has an unfiltered, built-in web browser, Orland believed that preventing children being exposed to offensive content online should be the responsibility of parents rather than Nintendo.^[25] Hollander Cooper of GamesRadar+ echoed the sentiment of Orland by calling attention to the fact that pornographic imagery could be readily accessed in the 3DS' web browser.^[26] Thomas Whitehead, writing for Nintendo Life, criticized Nintendo's attempts to fix the problem as overbearing. He rationalized the company's actions as a fervent effort to maintain the family-friendly and accessible nature of their products, but remarked that Nintendo "should ensure [content moderation] serves the majority and punishes the minority".^[27] Destructoid's Steven Hansen called Nintendo's content limitations overly paternalistic and unfair to Swapnote users, such as himself and his friends, who utilized the platform for harmless artistic expression.^[18] Hansen and Cooper considered Swapnote as a service useless due to the restrictions,^[18][26] and Orland remarked that while local wireless features remained intact, "at that point it’s probably just easier to, um, talk to the person in the real world".^[25]

Following the release of Swapnote, Nikki attracted popularity among Nintendo fans.^[9] Nintendo distributed an official QR code for users to download Nikki's Mii onto their consoles.^[10] A standalone 3DS game featuring Nikki was released titled Nikki's Travel Quiz,^[b] exclusive to members of the Japanese Club Nintendo rewards program.^[28] Nikki has made cameo appearances in future Nintendo titles, particularly in Nintendo Badge Arcade (2014), Super Mario Maker (2015) as an unlockable costume, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) as an Assist Trophy.^[5][29]

Swapdoodle (Illustrated Diary Exchange^[c] in Japan), the successor to Swapnote, was released as a free-to-start downloadable title in North America and Europe on November 17, 2016. The application retains several features from the original Swapnote, with the exception of photo and sound attachments and StreetPass sharing, while adding new features including Doodle Lessons, stamps, secret pages.^[30] The application could be expanded with purchasable downloadable content, which adds new pen colors, stationery, note capacity and lessons.^[31]

In some regions, downloadable content for Swapdoodle was available as rewards on My Nintendo that could be redeemed in exchange for Platinum Points.^[32][33] After the closure of the 3DS eShop, the downloadable content for Swapdoodle is no longer available.^[34] SpotPass sharing and other online services connected with the Nintendo Network have been discontinued as of April 8, 2024.^[35]