In an interview from July, Eurogamer revealed today, word of Pikmin 4‘s development was fed exclusively to them from Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto himself. The interview, conducted by Eurogamer, was meant to pick the brains of Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka regarding Mario’s 30th anniversary, but the most interesting news may have been what Miyamoto let slip about Pikmin 4.
Miyamoto mentioned that the next installment in the Pikmin series is not only definitely under development, but he specifically stated that “it’s actually very close to completion.” He added that “Pikmin teams are always working on the next one.” In a separate statement on the subject, Miyamoto explained:
We can confirm that Pikmin 4 is in development but that is all we can confirm at present.
Self-contradiction comments aside, this is the first word of a Pikmin game since the launch of Pikmin 3 in July 2013. Also up in the air is what console the game will potentially launch for. While a Wii U version is practically certain, Nintendo does intend to reveal its mysterious new console under the code name Nintendo NX.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Pikmin is a game that puts the player in the role of Captain Olimar who befriends, cultivates, and utilizes little bipedal turnip-like humanoids that grow underground, called Pikmin. There is a handful of different varieties of Pikmin that have been added and expanded upon with the second and third installments, and each different variety has strengths and weaknesses out in the world. Olimar has the tiny radish people do his bidding, and under his command they work together like ants to lift objects and defeat enemies that would be impossible to overcome alone.
Pikmin‘s origin story is also a unique one. In a tech demo showing off the capabilities of the hardware found in the Gamecube, one hundred Mario clones were shown on screen simultaneously, each with its own individual AI and acting separately of the group. Miyamoto admitted later that this demo inspired him to try to use this capability not on Mario but on a new intellectual property. Thus, Pikmin was born.
While there is no ETA on Pikmin 4, keep eyes peeled for its official announcement. It can’t be long now.