Nintendo is best known for franchises like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, but fans the world over have fallen for any number of its endeavors. One smaller name with a cult following is Pikmin, a real-time strategy (RTS) series created by Shigeru Miyamoto that sees miniature extraterrestrial explorers try to survive on Earth with an army of adorable plant-like creatures. Only three main entries have been released since Pikmin on GameCube in 2001, but the announcement that Niantic is working on a Pikmin mobile title could be a game-changer.
Though the Pikmin series has never been a break-out hit for Nintendo, its characters have become a big part of the developer’s pantheon. On top of three Pikmin games – with the enhanced Pikmin 3 Deluxe coming to Switch last year, there has also been a 3DS spin-off called Hey! Pikmin alongside a number of animated short movies, meanwhile protagonists Olimar and Alph have been included in Super Smash Bros. Hidden Pikmin can even be spotted at Super Nintendo World, despite the Universal Studios theme park primarily centering around Mario.
The idea of handing this particular Nintendo property to Niantic is really smart in a lot of ways. Niantic is known for augmented reality games in which players physically travel around their community to complete tasks and collect resources. While the company began with Ingress, it became a household name thanks to Pokemon GO in 2016. That game offers a window into what Pikmin fans may be able to expect with this upcoming mobile game, though its full scope is unclear as of this writing.
It’s hard to overstate how successful Pokemon GO was when it first released. The summer of 2016 had many people out and about catching Pokemon including fans of the series, older gamers nostalgic for the original Game Boy titles, and even non-gamers who wanted to get in on the exercise-heavy fun with their family and friends. News stories came out talking about Pokemon GO players who discovered dead bodies or got hurt not watching where they were going, and then-US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton referenced the game as an infamous voting slogan: “Pokemon GO to the polls.”
Perhaps the most miraculous part of the game’s success is that it did not dissipate like other fads. It remains popular, in-part thanks to frequent updates adding in new collectible monsters and other unique events. Even after the widespread outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020 put much of the world into lockdown, Niantic changed its systems to facilitate playing from home. During Pokemon GO Fest 2020, Pokemon GO player spending reached its highest peak since 2016.
It’s hard to say a game based on the Pikmin franchise will match this enthusiasm. Niantic’s follow-up to Pokemon GO, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, was never a phenomenon in the same way. Pikmin also doesn’t carry the same cultural recognition as Pokemon, with fewer non-gaming folks likely able to recognize a red Pikmin compared to something like a Pikachu. Even so, the way Pokemon GO built upon its source material is something the upcoming Pikmin game can no doubt replicate.
The core gameplay of the Pikmin series is simple: Players use their Pikmin to collect resources so they can sprout additional Pikmin, and those armies are used to collect prizes from puzzle-like restrictions – for instance, an underwater piece of fruit needing water-breathing blue Pikmin. Gathering Pikmin at Onions seemingly maps perfectly onto the PokeStop system where Pokemon GO players visit landmarks to gain more Poke Balls. From there, group activities like Pokemon Gyms could be swapped out for tasks requiring huge sums of Pikmin, like moving massive boulders to uncover treasure.
One reason why Pokemon GO players keep coming back is because Niantic iterates beyond the boundaries set by mainline games. It has its own unique version of Team Rocket that utilizes shadow Pokemon, for example, and costumed Pokemon have appeared during holidays. Mainline Pikmin games have relatively smaller amounts of lore to build out by comparison, so while fans will come to Niantic’s game to see how it incorporates treasure or fruit collecting, they may stay to see what original ideas the developer injects. However, a three-team system may already be apparent thanks to Pikmin 3‘s protagonists Alph, Brittany, and Charlie.
Perhaps the biggest reason for fans of the smaller Nintendo franchise to rejoice is that the Pikmin mobile game thriving could be a test for future projects. Pokemon GO‘s success stands on its own, but the formula also proved to be so huge that Game Freak developed Generation 1 remakes called Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee in which players caught all wild Pokemon using mechanics popularized by Pokemon GO.
It’s difficult to tell exactly what the bar for success will be for this new Pikmin venture in the aftermath of Pokemon GO, but the RTS series has been on a hot streak as of late. On top of the aforementioned appearance at Super Nintendo World, Pikmin 3 Deluxe became the fastest-selling installment for the series in Japan despite being a port. Granted, some of this success may be because many missed out on the game when it was stuck on the failing Wii U, but its return means a larger audience is primed to pick up Niantic’s upcoming game.
If Niantic’s Pikmin game is a success, the long-awaited Pikmin 4 may have a better shot at getting fast-tracked through Nintendo’s development pipeline. For all its individual successes, Pokemon GO has also been excellent for marketing purposes, as it adds new monsters based on releases like Pokemon Sword and Shield or even events based on media like Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle. Having that avenue to hype up future Pikmin projects could be another boon for the series.
Whether or not this upcoming game kickstarts a new Pikmin renaissance will have to be seen. After all, only the game releasing sometime in 2021 is confirmed as of this writing. However, even if it doesn’t, fans of the franchise should no doubt have something interesting to look forward to if Pokemon GO is any indication.
A Pikmin mobile game is in development, set to release in 2021.
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