With a press release published this morning, Nintendo has announced that Miitomo – the free-to-start social app for iOS – will be launching on Thursday, March 31 in the United States and several European countries.

On March 31, Miitomo, the company’s first-ever smart device application, is launching in the United States and several other countries. Miitomo is a free-to-start social experience that lets users spark one-of-a-kind conversations with friends in a whole new way using Mii characters. The app recently launched in Japan and was downloaded more than 1 million times in its first three days of availability, while achieving the #1 most downloaded free app status in both the App Store and Google Play storefronts.

Alongside Miitomo, Nintendo is also introducing a web version of the eShop to browse digital games from any web browser. The eShop for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U was launched in 2011 without a web counterpart.

Featuring an expanded catalog of more than 2,000 games, this digital store can be accessed on personal computers or smart devices. The shop serves as an additional purchase option to Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, with all purchases being sent directly to users’ Nintendo 3DS or Wii U systems for download. Users can now easily find and purchase games that are new, popular and on sale, as well as use filters to search by genre. Purchases of games from this site, as well as Nintendo eShop, will earn My Nintendo Gold Points.

Leading up to the international rollout at the end of the month, users can pre-register for Miitomo here.

See also: initial details of Miitomo and the My Nintendo service, and Miitomo first impressions.