Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto recently opened up on why he thinks Pikmin does not sell well.
During the latest volume of NIntendo interview series Ask the Developer, Pikmin creator Miyamoto pondered why the games haven’t exploded in sales compared to other Nintendo properties like Mario Kart or Pokemon. “There have been three games in the series until now, from Pikmin to Pikmin 3, “Miyamoto explained “[A]nd 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?'”
The interviewer suggests that the lower sales may have something to do with the difficulty found in the games, especially when there’s a chance that your Pikmin can die. Miyamoto explains that difficulty is part of the series’ identity, while also suggesting that people may think Pikmin is difficult for two reasons: the controls and the “depth of gameplay.” He adds that when developing Pikmin 4, the team had to strike the right balance of appealing to a wider audience while keeping the series’ core intact.
“We were talking about how we want as many people as possible to play Pikmin 4, but if it’s not Pikmin-like enough, we won’t meet the expectations of those who’ve enjoyed the series until now,” Miyamoto explained. “The first game provided a deeper challenge, while the second game was broader in terms of content, and we went back to something closer to the first one in Pikmin 3. But after thinking about it, I realized that we could do both. We could retain the depth of gameplay that makes Pikmin so interesting, while providing the functional support to address the challenges around controls.”
In our review of Pikmin 4, which we gave a 9 out of 10, my colleague Jada Griffin said, “Pikmin 4 adds variety to the series’ traditional gameplay by offering options other than the grab-and-throw formula of the past, and brings an extra helping of top-tier levels after the credits roll.”
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.