The Pikmin series is one of Nintendo's most recent franchises, and seemingly, its most overlooked--but Nintendo itself is seeking to remedy this with a new, improved Wii-make (I shudder at the terminology) of their cartoony take on the RTS. As a big fan of Pikmin, it's nice to see some attention given to a series that's really deserved more; and even hardcore Nintendo fans can admit that the GameCube was by no means a popular enough system to make Pikmin the hit it should have been. But if this new Pikmin is more of a remake than the Wii's Resident Evil 4, wouldn't Nintendo's time be better spent on making a new game? Note: I realize they don't normally solicit advice from gaming blogs.
Of course, we don't know if the "new" Pikmin Miyamoto casually mentioned at E3 is this remake--so things are still up in the air at this point. But if the only new Pikmin we see this gen is a slightly revamped version of a seven year-old game, you'll be able to taste the disappointment in the air.
I can definitely see why Nintendo's trying to remind the world of Pikmin; it's a Miyamoto franchise, and the GameCube controller practically felt like it was designed for the first game. However, both games in the series are compatible with the Wii(as are all GameCube games), and also cost much, much less than the price of a new game. As a consumer who can get a copy of the first Pikmin for 10-12 bucks--and let's not forget the kind folks at GameStop will no doubt recognize an opportunity to push a used game over a new one--Nintendo's going to have to do a lot to get me interested in this; and I assume others in my position feel the same way. The thing is, I don't necessarily want Nintendo to put a lot of resources into a remake; and that's kind of the entire point of this post. Maybe a re-release of the game in new, Wii-branded packaging would be nice (and I guess some hacked-in Wii-Mote support), but I'd still rather see Pikmin 3, or however else Nintendo decides to re-launch the series on its newest system. The funny thing is, I don't feel the same way about the Klonoa remake; and that's a series where I'd absolutely love to see a new game. The difference here is that the first Klonoa is so technologically distant and incredibly obscure that its Wii-make seems far more justified.
One thing to be happy about is that at least Nintendo isn't trying to pass off the Pikmin remake as an entirely new game--not yet, anyway. The new Animal Crossing represents how shameful and rehash-y the company can be; City Folk isn't even superficially different from the N64 game that started the series. Hopefully, Pikmin will be able to keep its dignity intact.
Related Links
Are You Buying Final Fantasy IV DS? Huh? Huh? Huh??
Would You Play a Final Fantasy VII Remake? Hmmm?
Klonoa's Truimphant(?) Return