Amid a series of notable info drops, Nintendo revealed in a recent interview that the titular species in thePikminseries originally had radically different designs. It’s not the first timeNintendo has dropped surprise info via an unconventional method.
Ask the Developer is a developer interview series started by Nintendo in 2021, as the long-awaited successor to Iwata Asks, a series hosted by the late, great Satoru Iwata from 2006 to 2015. New volumes are usually dropped to coincide with the launch of new first-party hardware and software, and the tenth and most recent episode is a two-parter concerning the development of the fast approachingPikmin 4, but it also provides some insight on earlier entries in thePikminfranchise. The volume features appearances from Yuji Kando, Shigefumi Hino, Junji Morii, Masamichi Abe, and of course, Shigeru Miyamoto.
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Early on in the interview, Miyamoto reveals some insight on the development of the GameCube original. This included the game’s concept stemming from wanting to use the GameCube’s ability to render dozens of characters on-screen at once, and the original idea of Pikmin being AI-controlled creatures with customizable chips to dictate their role in gameplay. Notably, the Pikmin themselves also sported a massively different design than the one fans are used to, and compared tothe eight types seen inPikmin 4, there were only two variants shown.
The designs are a lot stubbier with no visible limbs, mitten-like hands, and Toad-like feet, and the only difference between the two variants are the blue or pink puffballs on their heads, signifying that they’re male and female respectively. According to Miyamoto, this distinction was in place because the original concept was forPikminto be a top-down game,much like severalZeldainstallments, as opposed to the more traditional camera angles seen in the final games. Hino described the design as “Yoshi-like,” but went on to explain that it was changed because it lacked personality. The final design would later be chosen unanimously following some rough sketches.
It’s always a treat to see game developers reveal concept artwork and scrapped ideas behind their products, especially in the social media age, in which companies are more transparent and intimate with fans than ever. Nintendo is a major exception to this, preferring to save its announcements and insights for special occasions, althoughit’s had notoriously back luck with leakersin recent years. Still, reveals such as this one should be just as pleasing to fans, always eager to learn more about their favorite games no matter how the information is revealed.
