Pikmin 4
| Pikmin 4 | |
|---|---|
| File:Pikmin4 Direct Logo.png | |
| The logo for Pikmin 4. | |
| Japanese name | ピクミン 4? |
| Console | Nintendo Switch |
| Developer | TBA |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Genre | TBA |
| Players | TBA |
| Release date | |
| Japan | 2023 |
| North America | 2023 |
| Europe | 2023 |
| Australia | 2023 |
| South Korea | 2023 |
|
This article or section is about an upcoming or recently released game. |
Pikmin 4 is the upcoming fourth mainline installment in the Pikmin series, planned for release in 2023 for the Nintendo Switch. The game was officially announced on September 13th, 2022, though its existence was hinted at several times prior to the official announcement.
Known information
Only one short trailer has been shown so far, from the September 13th, 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation. Red Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin, and Blue Pikmin can be seen, along with Dwarf Bulborbs, Bulborbs, and a White Spectralids. The presentation also included a still screenshot in which a leader is seen, who looks similar to Brittany but with unkempt red hair, a yellow antenna light, as well as a full red spacesuit with white gloves, boots, and no skirt.
In the first shot, a garden-like area with bricks and tiles can be seen, and for the rest of the trailer, a park[1] scene with various man-made objects such as a bench, and a malfunctioning pocket watch hanging from a nail are shown.[2] The screenshot displayed after the trailer showcases more man-made objects, including a water tap and a stepladder.
The game's logo was also revealed. The word "Pikmin" uses regular text rather than being made of Pikmin flowers (like in the previous main series games), albeit with a single flower in the letter "P," but the number 4 is still entirely made of Pikmin flowers, this time with yellow petals.
Shigeru Miyamoto said after the trailer that the Nintendo Switch's controls have made controlling the game simpler, allowing the player to focus more on strategic planning (or "段取り?" as the developers refer to it). He also said that players would be able to view the world from the Pikmin's perspective near the ground.[3]
History
Pre-announcement
Before Pikmin 4's official announcement in 2022, various pieces of information about the game were shared by Pikmin series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. This information was sparse and sometimes contradictory, and the lack of official statements by Nintendo made it difficult to work out what was actually happening with Pikmin 4. It is possible that some of these statements were referring to Hey! Pikmin.
The first of these mentions was on November 6th, 2014, when Miyamoto was being interviewed on the recently-released Pikmin Short Movies, during which he said “Continually launching campaigns after the release of software will lay the groundwork for the next iteration of "Pikmin" in the future. And needless to say, we want it to be one of the motivations for potential consumers to purchase Wii U. We are making a variety of different efforts.”, indicating the possibility of another Pikmin game on the Wii U.[4] Not long after, Miyamoto also mentioned wanting to make more Pikmin games in an interview with Smosh Games.[5]
On September 7th, 2015, Eurogamer unveiled that, in an exclusive interview, Miyamoto had confirmed the development of Pikmin 4, and claimed that “it's actually very close to completion. Pikmin teams are always working on the next one.”[6] In the same article, Eurogamer also revealed a separate statement from a Nintendo representative, which said “We can confirm that Pikmin 4 is in development but that is all we can confirm at present.” It is not known if the "Pikmin 4" mentioned in that quote is the actual name for the game that Nintendo used, whether it's a placeholder name or not, or if it's just the result of the quote's English translation.[note 1]
In interviews in 2015 and 2016, Miyamoto mentioned wanting to make more Pikmin and Star Fox games.[7] When asked about characters he wanted to develop further at an Apple Store event, he said “Yeah, I always wanted Fox McCloud to be a bit more popular than he is. But I think one more would be Pikmin. So I think these two, I'll need to put some more energy into.”[8]
On July 7th, 2016, Gamerant interviewed Miyamoto and asked him about the status of the game's development and why there hadn't been any news in the past few months. To this, he replied “Yes, you are right, and we’re working on [Pikmin 4]. So, you know, when we’re in development we have to create a list of priorities and it has been hard to kind of fit that into that list, but we’re hopefully starting to see that on the list now.”[9]
A second Eurogamer interview with Miyamoto about Pikmin 4 was conducted at E3 2017, during which he stated “I've been told not to share anything about this from PR, but I can tell you it is progressing.”[10] This was the last time Pikmin 4 was mentioned before its official announcement.
Pre-release
Pikmin 4 was officially announced in a Nintendo Direct presentation on September 13th, 2022.[11] This announcement was in a section presented by Shigeru Miyamoto, which also promoted Pikmin Bloom and the upcoming Mario movie. A short trailer was shown, featuring a few scenes in a garden-like area and announcing a release window of 2023. Miyamoto provided some more basic details of the game after the trailer, and also showed off a new Pikmin T-shirt design based on the game's logo, which was made available to buy shortly afterwards.
Gallery
- P4 Reveal Garden 1.jpg
The first shot from the announcement trailer.
- P4 Reveal Garden 2.jpg
The second shot.
- P4 Reveal Garden 3.jpg
The third shot.
- P4 Reveal Garden 3 Logo.jpg
The third shot with the logo.
- Pikmin 4 Logo White Flowers.png
The logo before the 4 turns gold.
Videos
- Announcement trailer
- Nintendo Direct (Contains one screenshot not present in the announcement trailer at 30:40.)
See also
Notes
- ^ Of note is the fact that the URL for the Eurogamer interview's page starts with "2014-07-20". Since the URLs of all news article pages on eurogamer.net begin with the article's publication date, this could possibly mean that the article was meant to be revealed shortly after the interview, but was held until September of 2015. The article for the second Eurogamer interview states that this interview took place in July 2015.
References
- ^ https://www.nintendo.com/my/news/article/kjDcScGvXjsWifClMDoQL
- ^ YouTube video of the Pikmin 4 announcement trailer, published on September 13th, 2022, retrieved on September 13th, 2022
- ^ YouTube video of Miyamoto talking a bit about the game's new features (at 0:30:28), published on September 13th, 2022, retrieved on September 13th, 2022
- ^ Miyamoto Hints That Pikmin 4 Could Be In Development on My Nintendo News, published on November 6th, 2014
- ^ YouTube video of the interview with Smosh Games in which Shigeru Miyamoto talks about developing Pikmin games (at 04:35), published on January 6th, 2015
- ^ Pikmin 4 in development and "very close to completion" on Eurogamer, published on September 7th, 2015
- ^ YouTube video of an interview of Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka by YOGSCAST Kim (at 11:55), published on September 8th, 2015
- ^ Miyamoto Confirms Star Fox and Pikmin Will Continue on Gamer Splash!, published on December 11th, 2016
- ^ Miyamoto Updates Fans On Status of Pikmin 4 on Gamerant, published on July 6th, 2016
- ^ Miyamoto: Pikmin 4 still "progressing" on Eurogamer, published on June 14th, 2017, retrieved on June 14th, 2017
- ^ YouTube video of the Nintendo Direct on September 13th, 2022, published on September 13th, 2022, retrieved on September 14th, 2022
| Games | |
|---|---|
| Main games | Pikmin • Pikmin 2 • Pikmin 3 • Pikmin 4 |
| Spin-off games | Hey! Pikmin • Pikmin Bloom |
| Re-releases | New Play Control! Pikmin • New Play Control! Pikmin 2 Pikmin 3 Deluxe • Pikmin 1 (Nintendo Switch) • Pikmin 2 (Nintendo Switch) |
| Web games | Pikmin.com SpaceForce • Pikmin Treasure Hunt • Pikmin Finder |
| Super Smash Bros. series | Brawl • for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U • Ultimate |
| Others | Pikmin Adventure (Nintendo Land) • Stage Debut |