Nintendo‘s mobile strategy has seen mixed results since Miitomo. Games like Super Mario Run have failed to connected, whereas others like Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp have raked in money. But while Nintendo’s smartphone efforts have seen varied reception, they’ve all shared the same goal: advertise the company’s existing series and upcoming games. However, Nintendo has largely employed this strategy for franchises that are already successful. With the upcoming Niantic Pikmin project, Nintendo is finally using its mobile pillar to prop up a franchise that truly needs the help.
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Unlike Animal Crossing or Mario Kart, Pikmin is far from a top seller. As of the Nintendo’s latest financial briefing, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, the best-selling Pikmin title, had sold just under two million copies. Since the original Pikmin on GameCube, the franchise has been a critical success but commercially underwhelming, meaning it has never been truly discovered or appreciated by the wider community. As such, the upcoming Pikmin mobile game is in a unique position of potientially creating millions of new fans.
While there is clear potential for Niantic’s Pikmin to be a great experience by its own merits, its primary function should be to grow Pikmin‘s player base. After all, the series is in dire need of a sales boost. Many thought that Pikmin 3 Deluxe could be the shot in the arm that the series has been waiting for, but it really wasn’t. While it’s already the best-selling title in the series, Deluxe was a marginal increase. Even with a demo and great review scores, the game isn’t even close to the level that it should be. Luigi’s Mansion also launched on GameCube within weeks of Pikmin, and by the time its third game hit Switch, the sales have appreciated to over ten million.
Selling Players on Pikmin
While it’s apples to oranges since Luigi’s Mansion is tangential to Mario‘s huge popularity, it shows how far behind Pikmin is. Since the series is one of Shigeru Miyamoto’s favorite projects, it should be much more popular. Admittedly, Pikmin‘s real-time strategy-lite gameplay is a harder sell than many of Nintendo’s simpler franchises, which tend to be immediately understandable from a gameplay perspective. However, the Pikmin themselves are so endearing and the game’s worlds are so beautiful that it should be able to attract fans. A full-priced RTS-lite simply may not be the right context for introducing people to Pikmin.
By contrast, a free to start mobile game is much more attractive. Pikmin‘s lack of brand recognition is made up for by the resonance that Niantic, Nintendo and Pokémon GO have. That can pull people in, and the cute, wacky Pikmin will keep them engaged. The accessibility of the app and the magnetism of the character designs is sure to entice players who have never touched a Pikmin game. If more players are familiar with Pikmin and the app offers a surface level glimpse at Pikmin‘s gameplay, converting people to the core titles will be exponentially easier — although, that task still will be challenging.
Bringing New Fans to Nintendo Switch
In a post-Niantic landscape, Nintendo should release a bridge Pikmin game that offers an accessible entry point into the series. For as much as the community wants Pikmin 4 now, it shouldn’t be the next Switch title. Instead, Nintendo should release a non-numbered Pikmin game on Switch that is integrated into the Niantic title with less intimidating mechanics. Essentially, Nintendo needs Pokémon Let’s Go, but for Pikmin. This could complete the circuit from Niantic’s Pikmin to Pikmin 4.
This pipeline could take Pikmin from the niche corners of Nintendo’s community to the mainstream. While this multi-step process is necessary, Niantic’s Pikmin title is most important. A bridge game between the smartphone title and Pikmin 4 would nice, but it’s not essential as long as the smartphone title can generate excitement, revenue and new fans. With Nintendo and Niantic backing the project, those three are not guaranteed, but they’re likely. If even a fraction of Pokémon GO‘s success translates to the Pikmin title, the franchise will be in a very healthy place. Those sorts of results greenlight sequels; that’s what Pikmin deserves, and that’s what Niantic can provide.
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