Wii U Tech Allowed Miyamoto to Make His Ideal Pikmin Game

Shigeru Miyamoto has said that moving Pikmin 3 from the Wii to the Wii U has enabled him to create a game that's closer to his original concept for the franchise, allowing him to better enjoy the development process.

"Originally, I was making Pikmin 3 to be launched on the Wii platform," Miyamoto explained in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Because the Wii U is capable of HD quality pictures, and will be accompanied by the subscreen on your hand. I thought that I would be able to make a Pikmin that was closer to my ideal. I am now actually enjoying myself, working on the game."

Pikmin 3 was first rumored to be in development for the Wii as far back as 2007. The project was finally confirmed in 2008, though no details were announced at the time. Following the announcement of the Wii U at E3 2011, Nintendo revealed that Pikmin 3 had been moved to the new console.

Last month, Miyamoto announced that he would be dialing back the amount of time he spends working on Nintendo's established franchises, instead opting to search for the company's next big hit.

The Wii U is slated to release worldwide sometime before the end of the year.