Deluxe version rumored
It looks like 2020 will be light on Nintendo Direct streams, but there’s still plenty of news to look forward to over the sleepy summer. This morning, Nintendo dropped an out-of-nowherePaper Mario: The Origami Kingannouncement with a July 17 date. Soon, we might hear aboutPikmin 3on Switch.
That’s according toVentureBeat‘s Jeff Grubb, who reports that “other Nintendo studios will have games ready for release soon,” not just Intelligent Systems. “That includes the 3DMarioremasters [which have beenheavily rumoredfor Mario’s 35th anniversary], but it should also includePikmin 3 Deluxe.”
“This is one of the things I was actually expecting at the March Direct,” Grubb said on theGaming Ride Homepodcast. “I don’t think Nintendo originally planned that to be aDirect Mini. I’m pretty certain that this game,Pikmin 3– and then alsoPaper Mario– were supposed to be announced at that event. But then COVID happened.” Nintendo is reportedlystrugglingwith the work-from-home transition.
Nintendo’s “not planning to have another Direct – at least for many months – so it’s figuring other ways to announce these games,” he said. “I think the way that it did withPaper Mario, I think it’s gonna do the same thing withPikmin 3, where it’s gonna just say, ‘Hey, this game’s gonna be ready pretty soon.'”
During the show, Grubb said he believes the Nintendo Switch version ofPikmin 3will “work in the same way” as other former Wii U titles likeNew Super Mario Bros. U DeluxeandMario Kart 8 Deluxe.
I hope so! The list of Wii U exclusives is dwindling. While I’m still waiting forPikmin 4(what’s the holdup?), and I already ownPikmin 3, it’s one of my favorite Nintendo series. I’ll double-dip for sure.
