It won't be long now until North American Wii U owners will have the chance to play the game they've been anticipating since the console's launch last November. Yes, Pikmin 3 was originally supposed to sprout on store shelves near the format's initial launch, but development delays kept the title from arriving within the launch window. Given the Wii U's severe drought of must-have titles, Pikmin is a product that Ninty is hoping will help grab the attention of consumers.
While fans in N.A. envy the likes of Europe and Japan for getting their hands on Pikmin 3 first, the game's inventor, Shigeru Miyamoto, has revealed that his team actually had the game running on Nintendo 3DS before switching it over to the Wii U.
During an interview with 4Gamer, Miyamoto confirmed that Nintendo developed prototypes of Pikmin for the 3DS, but opted out of pursuing the game's development in favor of the more powerful Wii U. According to the famed gamer designer, the game "just didn't seem like Pikmin" on the Big N's 3D-enabled handheld, but the company's newest home console offered better control options — something that Miyamoto has been adamant about Pikmin featuring since the original hit the GameCube.
"The truth is we were doing prototype tests of Pikmin for the DS and 3DS but it turned into unit management with only the touch pen and no matter what it just didn't seem like Pikmin. We concluded that Pikmin is a game that revolves around action based on its controls and the strategy sits on top that. Although there are elements that are built on the strategy, there are other overall things that have to be well considered. This complete experience is an important elements of Pikmin."
"The truth is when we made 1, we were trying to make the easiest to control 3D game around. The focal point was Olimar walking around on screen but the majority of the interface was those controls. They didn't interfere with anything else. There weren't many 3D games that were that simple to move around in since you could play without even having to control the camera."
It's alarming to think that the Wii U could have been lacking yet another key game in its lineup if Miyamoto had gone forth with Pikmin for 3DS. Thankfully the handheld didn't need the title and has found a strong following thanks to an incredibly solid foundation of games. Whether or not the Wii U can do the same remains to be seen, but having Pikmin 3 on the platform is a good start.
Are you relieved Miyamoto opted to bring Pikmin 3 to Wii U instead of 3DS? Would you still like Pikmin on the 3DS?
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Pikmin 3 launches on August 4th, exclusively on Wii U.
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