The upcoming 3DS game Hey! Pikmin will not be made by Nintendo, the Australian Ratings Board revealed today.
Hey! Pikmin is a spin-off title of the main Pikmin series, all of which have previously been developed directly by Nintendo. In fact, the legendary Mario creator himself Shigeru Miyamoto oversaw Pikmin 1, 2, and 3, so it’s a bummer to learn he won’t be the mind behind this 3DS title.
Instead of Nintendo, Hey! Pikmin will be developed by Arzest, the studio behind the mixed-reviewed Yoshi’s New Island. The studio is comprised of several former Sega and Artoon members, the latter of which developed Yoshi’s Island 2 and Yoshi’s Topsy-Turvy.
We can already see some similarities with Hey! Pikmin and Yoshi’s New Island in the art style and the side-scrolling puzzle-solving platforming. Hopefully Arzest can incorporate classic Pikmin mechanics into a fun, platforming adventure without Mr. Miyamoto.
Fans have mixed feelings about this discovery, but it looks like it means one thing for sure: Hey! Pikmin isn’t the Pikmin 4 Miyamoto has been teasing for years. We assumed as much, since all mainline Pikmin games have been for home consoles and featured a 3D world.
Miyamoto never confirmed what platform Pikmin 4 would come to, but it was once believed to be in development for Wii U. Seeing as production has stopped on the Wii U, and it’s hardware is outdated, fans are crossing their fingers for Pikmin 4 on the Nintendo Switch. But with this spin-off title coming up, don’t expect any Pikmin 4 news any time soon.
Hey! Pikmin launches on July 28th for Nintendo 3DS.
