Nintendo has released a new video guide explaining Pikmin, on the leadup to the release of Pikmin 4.
For some fans, it may seem strange that Nintendo feels the need to make an introduction video at all. Pikmin has definitely proven itself as one of Nintendo’s top tier game franchises, particularly when it comes to critic reviews.
But actually, Pikmin is in that strange space that Metroid, Star Fox, and so many other Nintendo games find themselves in. Nobody is going to question the legacy and popularity of these games, for sure.
However, if we’re talking about Nintendo’s top games, that top tier is dominated by very few of Nintendo’s franchises. Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, and newcomers Splatoon and Animal Crossing, have emerged as Nintendo’s biggest titles. While many of these other games have received fine new sequels, such as Metroid Dread, they exist in a different level than the company’s top reliable franchises.
As we know, Pikmin is one of Shigeru Miyamoto’s pet franchises. However, he himself has struggled to come up with ways to make Pikmin more popular, thereby justifying more sequels, and those sequels coming more often.
As we have seen in the past, that meant, at one point, making Pikmin 3 and extreme graphical showcase for the Wii U. Nintendo’s accomplishments in this regard are somewhat obscured because Pikmin 3 received a port on the Switch, but the Wii U version in particular would feature details that could make Polyphony Digital developers water their mouths.
That has also meant Miyamoto making Pikmin short movies. These movies were also originally available only on the Wii U, but can now be viewed on YouTube here. What one can gleam in these videos is not only Miyamoto’s real enthusiasm for these characters, but also their potential outside of video games, as a considerably less obnoxious Minions or Rabbids.
But the push to go mainstream has also meant Pikmin Bloom, a mobile game with no less than Nintendo’s partner on Pokémon Go, Niantic.
You may have already guessed this, but none of these projects really made inroads to making Pikmin more mainstream than they already are.
So, given Nintendo’s new ties with the Illumination Company, that they could make a Pikmin theatrical movie? That might really be in Miyamoto’s docket, but in the meantime, Nintendo has a new game to promote, and there’s still a lot of potential in swaying fans who bought into Splatoon, Pokemon, and Animal Crossing, that they could get into Pikmin too.
Pikmin 4 is releasing on July 24 exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. You can watch their new trailer named: Pikmin 4 – Your First Expedition With Pikmin, below.
