Pikmin 4 is expected to make its debut soon, which means that it may launch on the existing Wii U console rather than the upcoming Nintendo NX.
The original Pikmin launched back in 2001. Pikmin 2 came three years later in 2004, while Pikmin 3 took nine long years to arrive, launching back in August 2013.
It's been more than two years since the popular Pikmin franchise got its latest title, and the hype is already building up in anticipation of Pikmin 4. The next entry in the franchise is expected to release soon, albeit no official date is available at this point.
Nevertheless, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto recently confirmed to Eurogamer that Pikmin 4 was indeed under development and the game was "very close to completion." At the time, Miyamoto also touted that Pikmin teams are always working on the next iteration.
Pikmin 4 should continue on the same note that made the franchise so enjoyable, mixing strategy and time-management tactics for a challenging and entertaining adventure as Captain Olimar is trying to survive on a mysterious planet while leading an army of tiny pikmins.
Miyamoto made no comments regarding potential upgrades or changes to the game with the next iteration, but the gameplay should not be too different.
At the same time, Miyamoto made no mention of which platform will see the upcoming Pikmin 4, but an imminent release suggests that it may arrive on existing Nintendo hardware. The previous Pikmin 3 launched on the Nintendo Wii U and the new Pikmin 4 may join the same platform, at least at first.
The highly anticipated Nintendo NX console may be on its way, but it's not expected to hit the market until sometime in 2016 at the earliest. If Pikmin 4 is indeed very close to completion, it will likely launch this year, so it should be on one of the platforms that are already available rather than wait for the NX console to launch next year or later.
While the Nintendo NX would likely generate even more hype for the game, the Pikmin 4 release is expected to spark plenty of interest even on the Wii U console. Nintendo's Wii U may be notably older than the new Xbox One or PlayStation 4 consoles from rivals, but it can still hold its own. With no official confirmation, however, the only certainty is that Pikmin 4 is on its way and it remains to be seen when and on which platform it will debut.
