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Nintendo Confirms Pikmin 3 Will Feature Off-TV Play

pikmin_3_wii_uLegendary Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed that Pikmin 3 will feature Off-TV Play. According to Miyamoto, you can play the forthcoming real-time strategy video game on the Wii U console’s primary controller, the Wii U GamePad, without the need for a TV screen, thanks to its 6.2-inch touchscreen. While it hasn’t been given an official release date yet, Pikmin 3 is scheduled to launch in the spring.

“You can play this game only with Wii U GamePad. If it is hard to imagine what it will be like, maybe you can recall the visuals of the original “Pikmin” for Nintendo GameCube and imagine how you can play it with the smaller but more detailed screen in your hands. The two control sticks of Wii U GamePad will let you play this game more comfortably and, with a TV screen, the gyro sensor inside Wii Remote Plus will further help your gameplay.”

152 thoughts on “Nintendo Confirms Pikmin 3 Will Feature Off-TV Play”

    1. considering i live in a house with 4 other people, it’s nice to be able to just switch the input from the console to the cable box and to be able to pick up where i left off rather than having to end my game entirely when someone wants to watch tv. so at my house, yeah it’s usefull, but i can TOTALLY see how some people could almost never use this feature.

  1. This is supposed to be a big feature for the Wii U? This will be something that the real next generation consoles will be able to do easily for all of its games. The fact that most of the Shit U’s games cannot do this off-TV feature is backwards and laughable. HAHAHAHA
    ~THE REAL Bill~

    1. Excuse me even if they couldn’t do off tv play on wii games then whats the big deal,The PS4 has been confirmed not to be back backwards compatible and the Xbox 720 sure as hell ain’t gonna be backwards compatible either fucking genuis. :P (Sarcasm)

    2. About that. Neither the ps4 are 720 are going to have this feature which puts the wiiu in a league of its own. The reason the Wiiu is impressive to me is because there is absoloutly no lag when playing on the gamepad. That’s incredible if you think about it. A TV has more latency than the Gamepad :S

    3. Halo and gears of war, that’s the ink two real exclusives the next dung box shall have, at least phony station 4 will have killzone 4 and 5, little sack boy, rachet and clunk, god of war SKIRT wars 4, uncharted 4 ” Drakes new shirt ” sony all stars MOVE edition and last guardian.

      While Nintendo has 20 first party exclusive they can unleash any time, don’t forget their second party MONOLITH SOFT projects, third party partnerships and the 3DS. Nintendo is king!

          1. Plus it seems they have Warner Bros coming on more and more too. It’s looking good, but it ain’t quite there yet.

            1. They’re really pushing for third party exclusives. Rayman legends ,, Monster Hunter Ultimate , Lego city , Bayonetta 2 , Wonderfull 101 , Shin megami tensei X fire emblem etc bodes really well.

              Personally I would rather have third party exclusives than third party multiplats. I kind of collect games or I keep the really good memorable ones ie – exclusives. In my Wii and Gamecube collection there is barely any multiplats at all.

              1. Yeah, if Wii U doesn’t get multiplats, it will have a hard time keeping me on there. Exclusives only last for so long with me.

                1. What ? :S ? As if anyone buys a Nintendo Home console mainly for multiplats. If that’s your goal with Nintendo or Wiiu , you’re in the wrong place xD!!

                  Don’t get me wrong , I want Nintendo to get all the multiplats they can get , But if they don’t get most of em , it’s no sweat of my back. I buy and follow Nintendo for the exclusives. 1st , 2nd and 3rd party exclusives

                  I buy other consoles to play Multiplats that I can’t play on my Nintendo. Is that a problem for Nintendo ? well yes , but their secret weapon is exclusives.

                  They are a self sufficient company. Sony and Microsoft pretty much depend on third party support. They do have some great , exclusives aswell though.

                  You don’t buy a 3DS for Multiplats do you ? It’s mostly 1st , 2nd and 3rd party exclusives. Same applies to Nintendo’s home consoles…..

                    1. Like what ? :) . There isn’t many , and they are usualy a unique version al together. For example the 3DS version of Skylanders is a different game to Skylanders console version. So it’s not really a multiplat.

          1. in my opinion i got really bored with gears 2 which i was hyped for, the 3rd one really didnt pull me in like the 1st gears..

          2. I say they’re about equal. I can play them, but neither of them are doing anything interesting. It’s just releases for the sake of money, same way i feel about GOW Ascension, the whole series was building up to get your revenge, and killing Zeus, then you do it, and it feels like a satisfying end, then its just like “oh hey, here’s so story that doesnt matter or make sense, with no real enemy, money please”.

    4. What? I can seriously only think of 1 Wii U game that cannot do off screen play, and that’s ZombiU. Even Nintendo land can do some stuff off tv. You do realize that it’s up to developers to decide if they want to have off tv play to begin with, right? That it has NOTHING to do with the power of the console?

      Good luck buying a PS4 AND a Vita to do the same thing as the Wii U does, when you can buy a Wii U for the same price as a new 3G Vita alone. Also, good luck playing a “Nextbox” game off tv using smartglass on your tablet that has no buttons or analog sticks.

      You are the worst troll ever dude.

  2. Well , I’m glad I can play it on the Gamepad! But this bad boi is shaping up to be so pretty I think I’m gunna finish and admire it on the Big HD TV , then when I’m messing around with it after I’m done I will play with it on the Gamepad. Some games I actually prefer the way they look on the Gamepad or am at least very satisfied with the way it looks. Assassins creed 3 is one that looks immense on the gamepad.

        1. Don’t make me laugh. Look at all of the bright colors. Look how happy and carefree the game is. Barney is more manly than Pikmin, and that’s very pathetic, little fanboy.

            1. Jimmy…. Nintendo isn’t a disgrace. The only disgrace I’ve seen right now is Sony walking away from their developer SuperBot Entertainment (makers of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale).

    1. Why does this need to be confirmed? Isn’t off-TV play the main feature the main feature of Wii U? Miyamoto must be going crazy with old age.

      1. No, Jimmy Neutron. One of the main features of the Wii U is the GamePad. Not all Wii U games that play off-screen… it’s up to the developers whether they use both screens or off-screen.

              1. Whenever there’s off-TV play… there’s also asymmetric gameplay. One player uses off-screen using the GamePad while a second player uses the HDTV screen.

                      1. I have played alot of games, both video games and board games, that uses asymmetric gameplay. Done well it is wonderful. It makes multiplayer deeper and also gives interesting co-op possibilities that could not be possible otherwise.

                      2. You say Nintendo has no good games. Lets be brutally honest here. Say Microsoft or Sony bought out Nintendo and Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Smash Bros and such went to the other system. You would buy it in a heart beat. You for some reason hate NINTENDO the company not the games.

                  1. That’s not a complete list. I have Nano Neo Assault, Mighty Switch Force HD and I think 1 or 2 other games that use it. Those were launch games, so it’s definitely not a complete list.

                    I love when people use this site as fact. It’s a work in progress, that doesn’t always have 100% facts. I’m sure the editor(s) don’t know each and every game and only those that people own the Wii U and make their modifications add them in.

                      1. Nowhere did I state all the games were launch games, all I referenced was that some of the launch games were missing from this “complete” list.

                  2. Ya, and Wikipedia surely has every single game listed.. Oh, wait, it’s WIKIPEDIA, and it’s not accurate. Shocking. Nano Assault Neo isn’t listed, Pikmin 3 isn’t listed, and you probably didn’t notice that every virtual console game will also be available for off screen play. I’m sure there are more to list as well. You do also realize that developers pick and choose whether they WANT to use off tv play, right? That it’s not based on any kind of limitation?

                    I’d love to see you do that with PS4-Vita, considering you can buy a new Wii U for the same price as a new 3G Vita, or, if you go to Costco, the Wii U can even be cheaper than that Vita, or get you the deluxe Wii U for the same price. The Vita may have a nicer screen, but the gamepad is better suited for controlling the games.

                    The Nextbox – smartglass is an even bigger joke. Tablets are fairly pricy as well, if you don’t already have one, not to mention, they have NO physical inputs. No buttons, no sticks, no triggers. Have fun playing COD on that.

                    Fail trolls fail.

                    1. Yeah, Mighty Switch Force HD is missing, Puddle is missing, Balloon Fight is missing, so it’s 4 games right there. I didn’t check the list (again), but COD, Transformers Prime are also supposed to be on the list. Pretty much the only one I know that doesn’t have it is Nintendo Land. Sonic Racing may not have it unless it just wasn’t in the demo, other than that; seems like all other titles have it.

      2. bow before the core gamer

        and wii motion plus and wii remote pointing can further expand the experience YA DONT SAY NINTENDO

        THATS WHY ONLY NINTENDO FANS ARE CORE GAMERS

        CORE EMBRACE CUTTING EDGE TECH THEY DONY MASH DUALSHOCKS FOR TWENTY YEARS LIKE DOW SYNDROME GAMERS

        WII MOTION PLUS AND WII REMOTE MOUSE POINTING UTTERLY DESTROYS ANYTHING MS OR SONY WILL EVER OFFER ADD GAMEPAD AD DUALSCREEN INTERATION D LAG FREE TOUCH SCREENS

        THERES ONLY ONE PLACE TO “”””CORE GAME””” ITS ON HARDWARE LABELED NINTENDO END OF DISCUSSION

        KEYBOARD AND MOUSE IS OBSOLETE DUALSHOCK IS OBSOLETE AND KINECT IS A JOKE

      3. bow before the core gamer

        the wii motion plus ball passing in wii sports resort basketball is simply AMAZING AND SHOULD BE IN FULL BLOWN TEAM PASSING GAMES

        NINTENDO IS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD LOL PRESS A BUTTON TO PASS YOU RETARD GAMERS MAKE ME GIGGLE

      4. I love Nintendo and I own almost everything they ever made, but I don’t understand Pikmim. It’s not fun. I don’t get it. Who cares about Pikmin. Has it even sold a million?

          1. I hope so, Wii U needs something that attract people to console gaming. I’m sick of people talking about PC gaming and mobile phone or tablet gaming. I don ‘t like them and Nintendo seems like they are holding back or something. I just am confounded that they bring out Pikmin now, when we need something that ignites the imagination and motivates people to play Nintendo.

        1. You really just need to give it ago. I got Pikmin 2 : NEW PLAY CONTROL and its really fun. Granted, I have the intelligence of a 5 year old so i had alot of trouble doing some stuff, but seriously, its a very interesting concept, and is a very unique series. I hope nintendo keeps it back for good, unlike kid icarus which is gone for years.

        1. I agree. Sony and Microsoft fanboys are being ignorant about its glory , But once you go off tv , there is no going back…. Well there is , but off tv play is just !!!!!! too good.

            1. Not in my opinion it’s not! It is glorious. Playing games whilst watching TV at the same time or playing in Bed away from your wiiu , having the freedom to do that is a game changer.

                1. Well to me they shouldn’t. It tethers you to one location in your house. The wiiu can play on the big screen with every single game. But being able to watch TV at the same time or take the gamepad to bed with you is awesome. I can no longer look at my ps3 or 360 in the same way.

                  Just my opinion!

                  1. Meh. Most of the time if playing a game alone I wan to be immersed so the TV show would just serve as a distraction and if I’m playing with others I have no choice but to use the TV.

                    1. Well that’s not how it works with me. There is no denying that Off screen play is a major advantage compared to other consoles. When someone else wants to watch TV you can carry on playing for another example.

                        1. Well there is that , but it’s not as practical.

                          Cmon man , You can keep swerving all you want :P , but off screen play is a major bonus. I love watching TV in my living room and playing on the gamepad at the same time or just playing on the TV. Then if i want to play in bed , which I do most nights , I just take my gamepad to bed with me. Or I sit in the kitchen playing Wiiu on the gamepad whilst I cook!

                          You can’t use the ”I prefer TV argument” as the wiiu does indeed connect wonderfully to the TV and then you have touch screen inventory , maps or even cooler things depending on the game.

                        2. Why can’t i use the I prefer TV argument? I’m not hating on the off play, I think it’s pretty cool, just I doubt I’d use it that much.

                        3. Yeah , fair enough :) . It’s all a matter of opinion. I must be playing 50% of my Wiiu gaming on the gamepad though….

      5. Nintendo and Sir Isaac Newton have this in common, they took what was unseen and made it ever so creative and refined. Then came copycats and chancers, and as those lot Thomas Edison, Sony and especially Microsoft do, the don’t give credit when the copy from geniuses like Shigeru Miyamoto.

                1. Kid? Lol no.

                  And no I’m not in the wrong place. I just said I don’t agree with alot of what fanboys say. Also aren’t you the idiot who thinks he can have a “private” conversation on a public forum? I think you yourself are in the wrong place.

              1. You are saying a Fanboy is never right in anything they say? If so thats not true. Sure they may say stupid shit from time to time. But they get stuff right every now and again.

          1. I know xD

            I mean, to an extent, i get the idea, but its just like, is he seriously comparing possible the greatest mind ever to exist, and a guy who makes video games? xD

          1. If the LSD is knowledge of what is true even in gaming sense, then I am prescribing it to every gamer out there lol. Let’s enjoy gaming, and but a Wii U plus a PS4 or Xbox720 as you second console.

              1. Sir Isaac Newton and Shigeru Miyamoto are men of similar mental and creative dispositions. The dared think outside the collective, and grey matter constrictions; while remaining humble.

                  1. No he isn’t. Isaac Newton wise by far a greater and wiser man than miyamoto will ever be. Gamer is basically insulting Isaac by saying a video game developer is on basically the same level.

                    1. I think what he means is that Nintendo simular to Newton dares to think outside of the box. That is what I get out of it, but as you and alot of people says: He is taking an over the top example. I want to call a form of Godwin’s Law on this one. But we can not deny that he has a point in what he says.

          1. Am as calm as a young man that just recently married a wise intelligent woman could ever be. What is wrong with stating that Shigeru Miyamoto, Pikmin 3 and his other legendary IPs are master pieces? Is that not what sets nintendo apart from the elite Sony and Microsoft xbox fold? Nintendo gives us games with massive entertainment and replayability. Also innovation abounds on their systems, I for one want Sony to re-aweken to their gaming days :).

      6. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. If you don’t like Nintendo why come to a blog that’s dedicated to them? Surly a person who always complains about Nintendo can fine better things to do with their time??

      7. Sickr, please ban Amy. She constantly makes irrational statements on how hardcore games are better than Nintendo’s games. What a lulzy fangirl.

      8. bow before the core gamer

        pikmen wm+ pikmen gamepad two ways of play both SUPIERIOR to ms and sony and pc BY A COUNTRY WANKING MILE all otherformats are in the past

      9. Pingback: NewsXpress – Édition du 04 février 2013 | Facteur Geek

      10. Wow, that escalated quickly.

        Anyways, back on topic!
        It’s good to hear that the game will have off-TV play. That’ll make it so that I can take the game with me into another room if I need to step out for a second for any reason.

      11. GUYS BEYOND3D AND NEOGAF IS MELTING DOWN IDIOT ASUMPTIONS GOING ROUND AS FACT AND FACT BEING IGNORED

        THEY DONT UNDERSTAND THE SHADER ARRAY SO IMIDIATLY CALL IT WEAK LOL @ WEAK IGNORE ALL THE CUSTOM LOGIC AND IGNORE THE——

        32MB EDRAM 2048BIT 140PLUS GB BANDWIDTH LOL @ FANBOYS

        WIIU GPU HAS 32MB EDRAM @ 140GB PLUS BANDWITH VS X360S 10MB EDRAM AND 32GB BANDWIDTH

        THERES A HUGE AMOUNT OF SRAM AND A ADITIONAL 4MB OF EDRAM

        LOTS OG VERY HIGH SPEED CONNECTORS ALSO

        THERE ANTI WIIU SHADER COUNT IS BASED ON NOT BEING ABLE TO COUNT THEM

        TO INFORMED EYES IT LOOKS LIKE 320 PLUS SHADERS THERE CALLING IT 160

        BECAUSE THERE SCARED LITTLE FANBRATS

        140GB PLUS BANDWIDTH 32MB EDRAM VS 10MB 32GB IS LOL WEAK

        THERE LOOSING IT THERE ALL DERANGED FANNY BOYS

      12. Surpassed 1000 signatures on the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Petition!!! Its still not much, but it is a great start! Keep on promotin this thing!

      13. The off tv play for this game will be nice, considering I’ll still be in Afghanistan when it comes out, and I haven’t committed myself to buying a tv just yet for the deployment. However, I’d much rather see this back home on the projector and the 90″ display I get out of it! I miss home lol

      14. Pingback: Nintendo Charged » Pikmin 3 Will Feature Off-TV Play

      15. Pingback: Miyamoto Explains Why Pikmin 3 Works Best With Wii U | My Nintendo News

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