Pikmin Was Almost on The 3DS

A portableversion of Pikmin 3 was scrapped due to difficulty with controls.

The DS, and it’s successor the 3DS, have been a godsend for fans of portable strategy games. Turn-based strategy titles like Advance Wars, and tactical RPGs like Fire Emblem have been perfect fits for the device, with the touchscreen offering a level of precision we’ve never seen on handhelds before. So why is it that Nintendo’s flagship strategy series, Pikmin, never made it to the system? Shigeru Miyamoto tells 4gamer that a portable Pikmin game was scrapped due to difficulty with controls.

“The truth is we were doing prototype tests of Pikmin for the DS and 3DS,” said Miyamoto, “but it turned into unit management with only the touch pen and no matter what it just didn’t seem like Pikmin.” He said that the company’s original goal with Pikmin on the GameCube was to create the “easiest to control 3D game around,” a goal that they just couldn’t get to gel with Nintendo’s portable systems.

“We concluded that Pikmin is a game that revolves around action based on its controls and the strategy sits on top of that. Although there are elements that are built on the strategy, there are other overall things that have to be well considered. This complete experience is an important element of Pikmin.”

In the interview, Miyamoto also commented on the newly released Pikmin 3 for the Wii U, the first new Pikmin title since 2004’s Pikmin 2.

“This game may seem difficult on first glance but once you try the controls, it’s easy,” he said. “Even if you find using the pointer difficult, there is a control method using the GamePad similar to the previous GameCube titles that we’d like people to ultilise.” He says allowing players to customize their control methods is a very important part of the new Pikmin game.

Source: 4Gamer (Japanese) via CVG