Nintendo recently published an interesting roundtable discussion for the Pikmin franchise as the fourth entry is out this Friday. One of the things that Miyamoto has pondered is why the series hasn’t become a massive sales success, compared to some other key Nintendo games. Mr. Miyamoto concedes that the fear of losing your adorable Pikmin could be a key to this, though he also notes that he believes that this aspect is also one of the franchise’s strengths. Reading though a number of Pikmin 4 reviews you get the overall impression that the development team spent a long time looking at how to make the series more approachable by adding more quality of life elements and the reviewers all seem to agree that they have accomplished this with Pikmin 4.
Miyamoto: There have been three games in the series until now, from Pikmin to Pikmin 3, and personally I’ve always wondered, “Why haven’t they exploded more in sales even though they’re so much fun to play? Why do people think they’re so difficult?”
Many people seem to think the characters are cute, but that the games themselves are a bit difficult. Pikmin die if you make the wrong decision, so there may be some fear of losing them.
Miyamoto: I get that people find it more difficult when death is a factor. But I think the franchise’s strength lies in its relationship with mortality. If something is irreversible, you need to figure out a way to prevent undesired things from happening. To try to prevent Pikmin from dying, you need to practice “Dandori.” To me, that’s what makes this game unique. I think people find Pikmin difficult for two reasons: the controls and the depth of gameplay. I spent a long time mulling over how we could convey these points as “interesting” rather than “difficult.” A Japanese word that means “to think about planning and efficiency in advance to get things done smoothly.”
Kando: Yes, looking at players’ reactions to the first three games, I’ve also thought really hard about how to get more people to play this game. In the early stages of development, we prioritized ease of play and experimented with making the controls easy enough for those who aren’t used to playing games. We also tested improvements to the camera and AI. Also, it just doesn’t feel like a Pikmin game to me if it’s not like the first one. That is, if it doesn’t have this Dandori element where players learn and become more efficient through repetition.
Thanks to Greatsong1 for the news tip!
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Oh boy… Let me help you out here, Miyamoto.
Pikmin franchise isn’t as popular because you released 2 games on the Gamecube and then didn’t make a new entry until the Wii U era.
Oh, and the handheld Pikmin game you made for 3DS was a joke.
It’s all really that simple. Pikmin is a untapped mine imo of gameplay ideas so… just get crackin’.
ok boomer
This. 100% this. The first game was such a new concept it took some time to gain interest, and then they released the sequels on one end-of-life console and one failed one. If you set your product releases up like that, the game won’t do well.
I hope they immediately are working on Pikmin 5. It takes games 3, 5 or 7 years the longest to make a game. So while the Pikmin 4 design team are still together common sense tells them to immediately start the game before all the developers depart. Then 12 years later the producer wakes up and decides he wants to make a Pikmin 5 then have to hire a new team which can take years to find. Had they done it the moment Pikmin 4 was complete then the whole team is already there and can get started immediately. This is why Banjo-Kazooie franchise is dead. Had they made Threeie Immediately it could have debuted before stupid Nintendo gave up Rareware and sold them to Microsoft. Make one good a
franchise then don’t do nothing after that. Then 30 years later a developer from B-K says they not working on the project anymore. Now fans are just stuck was Kazooie and Tooie. Fascinating how Galaxy 2 and Tears of the Kingdom were made immediately. So they need to start on Pikmin 5 immediately.
Pikmin 4 has been more or less done since 2015 if I remember correctly. They’ve waited to relase it for a long time.
It’s because 1. It’s not marketed well and 2. The gameplay is not appealing to casuals.
This ^^
The RTS audience is on PC, a few console ports do decent, but console exclusive RTS rarely ever blow up. It might be M&Kb, but that’s where they reside. Even with Pikmin being babys first RTS, the switch just isn’t it’s audience.
I feel there are several reasons for it not blowing up. I will only focus on two however cuz I think those are the main contributing factors1 as has already been stated, RTSs don’t have a very big following on console, 2 the games haven’t been consistent enough to build a following. What I mean by this is not that the games aren’t good, but the fan base is divided on wether or not they want heavier RTS elements or if they want a more open approach with less constraints. So the series’ identity fluctuates some with each new installment. What you end up with is a title in an already (somewhat) niche genre as far as consoles are concerned, that hasn’t even fully solidified itself within that niche.
It makes me think of Fire emblem to a degree. Turn based strategy was relatively niche on console as well but I think adding social elements really etched out a special place for it with in the genre and respective platforms. I by no means believe that Pikmin should do the exact same thing, but I think the same principle holds. Commit to your niche and the audience will find you.
Pikmin games to me feel like doing chores rather than some great adventure. The worlds feel rather linear and gathering certain numbers of pikmin to have them complete chores to move on became dull really quick. I can see how some might find these games relaxing or enjoy the overall pace … but just not for me and maybe this is why they haven’t caught on with the masses.
I think the challenge of the Pikmin games is perfect. If they were easy, they’d be boring and feel pointless. Not everyone wants a game where you hit the boss 3 measly times and they’re defeated (like in past Mario games. Possibly current ones too). The fear of Pikmin getting killed makes the player strive to get better and form better strategies. That’s what got me hooked. That feeling of knowing that I could do better next time. And there’s no better feeling than when you finally defeat a major boss and see their treasure pop out. SO satisfying!
I think kids (or people in general) with ADHD (or just normally over-active people) might think the Pikmin games are boring just because they’re not non-stop action. Like my nephew for example. When he was younger, you couldn’t hold his interest if a game wasn’t non-stop action. I think that’s one reason he was obsessed with racing games. Because the action never stops. He never wanted to play games that my brother and I loved, such as Pikmin, Mario Party, Mario Golf etc. Because those were all too slow-paced for him. I’m not sure if he’s still that way or not.