Pikmin 3 leads off Nintendo E3 presentation, snail reports

Nintendo’s E3 press conference (the real one) yesterday opened with a bang, as Shigeru Miyamoto walked on stage with some plant-like guests in tow. Pikmin 3, the long-awaited continuation of Miyamoto’s most high-profile original series on the Gamecube was indeed announced and shown off in trailer form for Wii U, kicking off Nintendo’s game reveals at E3. Miyamoto had previously stated that Pikmin 3 would be revealed at the show, and was quoted in an interview after the presentation as expressing his relief that he would not have to “fall on [his] sword back at the hotel room tonight after all.”*

Among the notable information revealed on Nintendo’s own page for the game:

● Supports Wii Remote + Nunchuk controls
● Replay feature upon level completion
● A Mission Mode challenging players to gather treasure in a limited time
● All five previous Pikmin types return
● The new Rock Pikimn are good for breaking barriers and enemy carapaces

Another notable thing about the Rock Pikmin is that they have pink flowers, much like the white and purple Pikmin from Pikmin 2, indicating that they will probably be acquired in much the same way. Also mentioned in the presentation but omitted from the E3 page is that the player controls four characters, each with their own Pikmin squads, and Olimar is mysteriously absent. Not mentioned at all was what appears to be a flying Pikmin at the end of the trailer (starting at about the 1:22 mark in the video on the game’s page.)

No release period was given

*I made that last bit up.** Seppuku jokes never get old. They just stop being funny for about a month after those rare occasions where some Japanese person actually commits seppuku. Iwata would still laugh.

**He will be missed.