New Play Control! Pikmin Review

By Oli Welsh Published 28 January, 2009

Old Game Still Good!

Version tested: Wii

Nintendo's New Play Control! series will reissue some of the company's GameCube games for the Wii with tweaks to the game design here and there, and controls re-engineered to take advantage of the Wii remote. They're neither straight re-releases nor complete remakes, and they might seem a curious move when you consider that any of the originals can be picked up on the cheap and played on the backwards-compatible Wii if you have a GameCube controller.

You can justifiably call them a cynical attempt to plug the machine's release schedule with high-margin filler. You can just as easily rejoice at the restoration of some terrific (and actually, not so easy to find) games from an overlooked but very creative period in the history of one of the world's great videogame makers. Or you might welcome the introduction of those games to a huge new audience that missed them first time around - an audience that isn't interested in digging around in bargain bins, or manipulating strange purple controllers. At least, unlike last year's Wii version of Animal Crossing, they're honestly presented as embellished ports rather than new releases.

New Play Control! is just business, of course, but it's business that bridges the increasingly painful gap between Nintendo's specialised past and everyman present, and goes some way towards rounding out the selection of games on the Wii shelves in the shop. In reviewing these reissues, we're going to judge their quality against new Wii releases, see how they stand up today, and how they've been changed - for better or worse.

First up is Pikmin, Shigeru Miyamoto's surreal gardening-strategy-adventure from 2001 - a very early GameCube release. Nintendo fans at the time were baffled and heartbroken by their guru's seeming disinterest in a substantial new Mario or Zelda in favour of small-scale experiments like Pikmin and Luigi's Mansion. Over seven years on, with Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Twilight Princess relatively fresh in the memory, it's easier to appreciate these games for what they are, rather than what they aren't.

And Pikmin is, in its bizarre way, still the most successful realisation of multi-tasking, real-time strategy gameplay there has ever been on a console. Players take control of Captain Olimar, an inch-high spaceman stranded like Gulliver on a strange planet that looks oddly like an unkempt back yard, only populated with the strangest creatures imaginable: lumbering, strawberry-bodied Bulborbs; translucent fire-breathing Blowhogs; ethereal, floating Honeywisps. And Pikmin.

'New Play Control! Pikmin' Screenshot 1

To me, my diminutive vegetable homunculi!

Pikmin turn out to be a willing army of minuscule, colour-coded, flower-topped plant-men who live in onion-shaped helicopter tripods. Olimar can grow them, pluck them from the ground, throw them about, and command up to one hundred of them at a time to do his bidding: combat with other creatures, harvesting of materials, construction and demolition work - and most importantly, salvage. He needs their help to fetch and carry 25 missing parts of his spaceship in thirty "days" (about 15 minutes each) before his air supply runs out.

The point-and-click (or rather, point-and-throw) interface for assigning Pikmin to tasks makes the game an obvious candidate for a Wii makeover. The cursor is now directed just by pointing the Wii remote - in the GameCube version, both cursor and Olimar's movement were combined on the stick. Naturally, use of the pointer is extremely fast and intuitive. The remainder of the controls - dismiss and divide Pikmin, summon with whistle, throw, cycle between types - are roughly similar.

The only exception is direct command of your squad, who in the GameCube version could be moved around with the C-stick to keep them out of harm's way, or push them into nearby tasks. This is now accomplished by holding down on the d-pad and directing with the pointer. If anything, it's slightly more cumbersome than it was before, but then again the ease of pointer control means you'll be using it less.

The best thing you can say about New Play Control! Pikmin is that you'll have stopped thinking about its selling point within minutes of starting to play. The controls are so lucid and transparent, and the game itself is so absorbing, that your attention immediately goes elsewhere. Getting to grips with the original certainly wasn't this easy. But it's also fair to say that GameCube Pikmin did such a good job within the limitations of the pad - elegant control schemes and their synergy with game design being Miyamoto's chief genius, after all - that the difference between the two versions isn't as great as you might have thought.

Aside from the controls, Pikmin has been left virtually untouched by Nintendo. The controversial thirty-day time-limit remains, meaning it's possible to "fail" the game and have to start again from scratch if you don't find the 25 essential parts within that time. However, there is one important concession - progress (or lack of it) isn't set in stone, as it was in the original. You can now restart from an earlier day if a rampaging Bulborb or careless puddle-drowning causes a genocidal setback to your Pikmin populations, or if you simply feel you didn't make enough progress that day. In reality, that makes it highly unlikely that you'll need to restart.

With the pressure lifted and pointer in hand, Pikmin is a joy to rediscover. Visually it has aged a little, but not at all badly. The environments are plain, but they always were, the game's charm residing in its vast cast of bewitching and exquisitely animated creatures, the stylistic clash between the surreal and the mundane (clockwork space rockets and rusting tin cans), and best of all, the teeming swarms of the Pikmin themselves. Their naturalistic, funny and adorably eager crowd behaviour - from heedless bustle to panic, regimental order to slapstick stumbles - is as unpredictable and magical a sight now as it was in 2001.

The music is superb - a relaxing, soundscape lullaby - and the design is hard to fault, too. The simple characteristics of the three Pikmin types - red are strong, blue survive in water, yellow can use bombs and be thrown higher - balance perfectly against the level designs and the pleasing checks and balances of unit production and management. Pikmin left in the ground grow stronger, but subtract from the total available for use in the field; this can be circumvented with a nectar-feeding evolutionary shortcut; a low population of one type of Pikmin can be corrected by having them harvest more, but that leaves fewer of them available for active duty, and so on.

'New Play Control! Pikmin' Screenshot 2

A Pikmin death is one of the most distressing events in videogames. And you'll witness hundreds.

The game's self-sustaining equilibrium means assembling an optimum Pikmin squad is always interesting, but never threateningly critical. Rarely has a strategy game been so approachable, or so subtle. It's just a shame that it's over far too quickly. This is a short game, and arguably the friendliness of the new save structure gives it even less longevity than it had before.

Pikmin is such a one-off that it's as fresh as a walking, squeaking daisy now; fresh enough to make this reissue an exciting prospect for anyone who's never played it, or remembers it fondly but only vaguely. The structure; the dreamlike, 'In the Night Garden' atmosphere; Olimar's endearingly eloquent log entries; and the inverse wonder of its scale, the exciting sense of discovering new life under the microscope. In the last seven years, there's been nothing like it.

Only, of course, there has: its sequel. And this presents us with the biggest problem by far with this release. Pikmin 2 is also due a New Play Control! reissue this year, and it's a better game in every respect. It's longer and more sophisticated, with more varied Pikmin and enemy types; it has co-operative and competitive multiplayer; it has randomised caves with finite Pikmin numbers, ideal for the game's challenge mode; it has no time limit. It represents much better value, and we're hard-pressed not to recommend you hold off and buy that instead. That's almost a shame - because in truth, Pikmin is a minor classic, and this is the best version of it.

7 / 10

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (84) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Rash' #1 3 years ago

    My cynic sense is tingling...

  • DFawkes #2 3 years ago

    An Oli review? I think my opinion has never, ever been in the same ball park as Olis, so I'm not sure if I should assume it's a 10 or a 4. Or ignore the number totally and just not buy it because I still don't fancy it. The last one, probably.

    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 14:05

  • penhalion #3 3 years ago

    Nintendo! Giving creedence to the two cubes strapped together rumours since 2007.

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #4 3 years ago

    An excellent review and one that seems to pave the way for a 8 or 9 out of 10 for what is generally regarded as the better sequel. I loved the original and never got around to picking up Pikmin 2 so will wait for that I think.
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 14:23

  • JohnnyWashnGo #5 3 years ago

    I won't be getting this as I haev the cube version and completed it a long time ago.

    However, the sequel came out during my year off of gaming so I never played it. When that is released, it'll be an instance purchase.

  • neonemesis #6 3 years ago

    The sequel will be worth it due to the fact that the GC original is really expensive to buy these days.

  • varsas #7 3 years ago

    Nintendo! Giving creedence to the two cubes strapped together rumours since 2007.

    Does that mean that the 360 and PS3 are just two Xboxes and two PS2s strapped together since they are also backwards compatible?

  • rock27gr #8 3 years ago

    "The only exception is direct command of your squad, who in the GameCube version could be moved around with the C-stick to keep them out of harm's way, or push them into nearby tasks. This is now accomplished by holding down on the d-pad and directing with the pointer. If anything, it's slightly more cumbersome than it was before, but then again the ease of pointer control means you'll be using it less."

    I would assume they would have done this throught the Nunchuck Stick? Are you sure there's no such option?

    EDIT:
    Scratch that, I just realised it's the Pikmin that are controlled with the pointer, not Olimar. Who is of course still controlled with the stick.

    Also, Pikmin 1 is just as good as 2 IMO, and both are excellent games.
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 14:34

  • udat #9 3 years ago

    There's nowt backwards compatible about most PS3s

  • Garulon #10 3 years ago

    "Does that mean that the 360 and PS3 are just two Xboxes and two PS2s strapped together since they are also backwards compatible?"

    Nope, as both of them are completely new tech. Calling the Wii 2x GameCubes is absurdly generous; The Wii's hardware is almost identical to the GameCube's, except with more RAM and a bit higher clock speed, it pushes the Wii's raw hardware's power to a bit under that of the XBox 1.

    N assumes that since you'll buy basically the same console again, you'll buy basically the same games again. I think they're right, but this is a breathtakingly cynical move from them.
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 14:41

  • HuggyAtHome #11 3 years ago

    ^or maybe a canny business move given a whole load of Wii users never played the Cube and might fancy something a little more like a game to play. We should rejoice as it could be a really smart way to get the Wii casuals into 'proper' gaming.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #12 3 years ago

    For some reason I found Pikmin more enjoyable than its sequel. I still have the cube version so I'm not sure if I will get the Wii version; I really want to but paying full price (or even the already reduced but still high prices) puts me off at the moment. Too many other games I never played that I have to finish.

  • TheChumOfChance #13 3 years ago

    I really think the 2 player competitive game in Pikmin has been overlooked. I have played it LOTS and trust me it is very well balanced. When you get two expert players the game is nuanced and exciting. Set each player to start only with 5 Pikmin and then compete on each level. Only one level is not very good (Dim Labyrinth).

  • Chtulie #14 3 years ago

    You know, from a hardcore gamer point of view, this looks like a total cash grab. But from a new, casual gamer that got their first new console in a few decades with the Wii, it's great.

    But it's actually, genuinly honerable to the people who made the games that are getting republished like this. Even amongst the hardcore the GC sold for shit. Only Sould Calibur 2 and Smash Bros Melee sold like PS2 games. But all those other games, not just cult games, but also big franchises sold terrible. Metroid Prime and F-Zero GX spring to mind especially. ICO or Rex sold better on thei initial release then F-Zero GX did in the entire GC lifespan.

    And rather then to be completely forgotten except by a few specialists, these games are allowed another chance to find an audience, one they deserved their first go 'round.

    And it's not like the ones who did buy it the first go 'round have to buy it again.

  • bigbadbeasty #15 3 years ago

    "It would be nice to see Nintendo putting the money into creating an all new Pikmin game with this control system"

    They are ^^

  • justMe #16 3 years ago

    I prefer Pikmin 1 too, loved them both very much, will not buy them again.

  • iago71 #17 3 years ago

    I loved Pikmin and have never played two so I may well wait..... Is there anywhere that has a line up of the other titles for New Play Control! ?

    EDIT: Ive just found one on wikipedia - http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Play_Co...
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 15:12

  • Daikon #18 3 years ago

    Never really did get far in the first one, never played the second one.
    Might just pick up Pikmin 2 Wii in a couple of months then if the price is right...

  • Garulon #19 3 years ago

    "Garulon of course misses the entire point of the Wiii. Bless him. "

    If it's "Basically sell the GC stuff again" then I disagree, I think I captured that rather well.

    If it's "provide great value to your customers" then I'm unsure how exactly this is doing this, unless this is £10 or something? I can see it in ShopTo discounted to £25 which is shockingly expensive for a six year old game. Is this the retail price or is it even more than that?

  • varsas #20 3 years ago

    Garulon
    28-Jan-09 14:40:48

    "Does that mean that the 360 and PS3 are just two Xboxes and two PS2s strapped together since they are also backwards compatible?"

    Nope, as both of them are completely new tech. Calling the Wii 2x GameCubes is absurdly generous; The Wii's hardware is almost identical to the GameCube's, except with more RAM and a bit higher clock speed, it pushes the Wii's raw hardware's power to a bit under that of the XBox 1.

    N assumes that since you'll buy basically the same console again, you'll buy basically the same games again. I think they're right, but this is a breathtakingly cynical move from them.

    I assume you've actually analysed the circuit board and microchips in the Wii and compared them with the Gamecube?

  • Sean.Aaron #21 3 years ago

    Never played the original; not interested in dragging out the Gamecube controller/memory card unless absolutely necessary, so I did pre-order this and am looking forward to it.

    Used my GAME points (error on their part means I got £20 worth when I should have gotten £2), so it's costing me a whopping £2.49.

    I cannot imagine I'll be dissatisfied.

  • Dan234 #22 3 years ago

    If it's "Basically sell the GC stuff again" then I disagree, I think I captured that rather well.

    So more than two years into the console's lifecycle we're seeing the release of the first "sell the GC stuff again" game. As you rightly point out this means the entire point of the Wii was to sell the GC stuff again. Those Japanese are cunning, waiting over two years before unleashing their master plan.

  • Garulon #23 3 years ago

    "I assume you've actually analysed the circuit board and microchips in the Wii and compared them with the Gamecube? "

    The Wii's internals are generally known, check out Beyond3D or google for any one of a number of teardown sites. If you have any information or correction then obviously I'm all ears, I love learning new stuff!

  • Garulon #24 3 years ago

    "So more than two years into the console's lifecycle we're seeing the release of the first "sell the GC stuff again" game"

    You don't count Zelda Twilight Princess which IIRC was a launch release and a basic GC port? What about all that VC stuff that's just basically ROMS piled up on a server - so no online leaderboards , no corrections for PAL users, not even a demo.

    I'm not against re-releases of games, as long as they're either adding value or cheap. Spending a weekend adding Wiimote support and widescreen then flogging it for £25 is quite shocking to me, but people ain't forced to buy them.
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 16:37

  • canIdoyabombsforya #25 3 years ago

    Jesus there are some thick fu###s on here arn't there.
    Only approx 10 million GCs were sold, the Wii market is already double that, these are AA games that at least 10 million Wii owners havn't played before.
    I don't want to play them again and neither do you, so stop f##king whinging and let the new market enjoy them, providing they can get passed the lower review scores that the snobbery industry is likely to dish out.



  • Burkey123 #26 3 years ago

    I never played this on the cube. I will definitely be picking this up.
    Btw, this review read like an 8 or 9.

  • BadBoyBonner #27 3 years ago

    canidoyourbombsforya

    Wii has sold over 35 million - not just over 20 million - which means you point caries even more merit obviously.

  • BadBoyBonner #28 3 years ago

    Burkey123

    The review was an 8 or a 9 - reading between the lines it seems they wanted to leave room to manoeuvre for Pikmin 2's review score and differentiation.

  • ChrisS #29 3 years ago

    Pikmin mightn't be as long-lasting or as feature-packed as its sequel, but for me it's the better game. The second loses a lot of the charm of the altruistic first, being a rather mercenary trawl for money, while the random underground sections don't hold the same appeal as the gorgeous outdoor locations. And the loss of the time-limit means it loses the emotional weight - Olimar no longer worries about getting back to his family, while Pikmin feel slightly more expendable because hey, you've got plenty of time to replace 'em. And there's not the same level of strategy as the first game. Enemy encounters are all about lobbing as many Pikmin as you can - particularly if you're carrying Purples - while the former had foes like the Giant Armoured Cannon Beetle, where you had to chuck a Pikmin when he inhaled and then run around to lob 'Min onto his now exposed back.

    The best thing about 2 is the Piklopedia, which was a stroke of genius, and the two-player was a good - if fleeting - laugh.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #30 3 years ago

    Can you play it with a GC or classic pad if you want to?

    (searches online) hmmm... 25 quid or 30 from the shops. I'd have bought it at 20. For some reason, I missed this first time round.

  • Burkey123 #31 3 years ago

    @ BadBoyBonner

    Ye I see what you mean. They were praising Pikmin 2 at the end. Ill be expecting a higher score for that.

  • Garulon #32 3 years ago

    "Only approx 10 million GCs were sold, the Wii market is already double that, these are AA games that at least 10 million Wii owners havn't played before."

    I think the final tally was 25m GCs, but your argument doesn't hold water as they could have easily already played these games by buying the GC edition for way way less than the £25 N is charging. Trying to pass these things off as new games is shocking; play what you want, but I can't work out why trying to silence people shocked at the price N is charging for these is a good thing.

    "Jesus there are some thick fu###s on here arn't there."

    Indeed.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #33 3 years ago

    The game easily is a 9.

    It's true though that the sequel has to offer more and is also announced to be released this year (more doesn't necesserily mean better; I like the first one more than the second one). Then again these days you can count on pretty much every big title to get a sequel which somewhat nullifies that point. However, I still don't think this should have had any influence on the review score as it doesn't make this game any worse. If you haven't played it then by all means buy it. It's a fantastic game and the sequel on the horizon should not put you off.
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 17:08

  • Der_tolle_Emil #34 3 years ago

    Garulon: They are not marketed as new games. And I wish you good luck finding the GC one for under 25 pounds.

  • Garulon #35 3 years ago

    [link url=h ttp://www.play.com/Games/GameCube/4-/101973/Pikmin/Product.h tml?cm_mmc=Froogle-_-VideoGames-_-Action-_-Pikmin+(Playe rs+Choice)&source=5063&engine=froogle_videogames&keyword=Pik min+(Players+Choice)+(GC)
    ]http://ww w.play.com/Games/GameCube/4-/10...[/link]

    £12 from playtrade. What do I win? :)
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 17:16

  • CallousB #36 3 years ago

    Skip this and buy Little Kings Story instead.

  • PodlingJuice #37 3 years ago

    Widescreen?

  • Der_tolle_Emil #38 3 years ago

    I meant new. It's 29 pounds for a sealed copy (unless you count the foreign language import).

  • Tyedyed #39 3 years ago

    Easily a 10/10 game regardless of its sequel, its utterly charming in every way. I would definitely double dip on this if it was widescreen + 60hz?

  • smelly #40 3 years ago

    Why shouldn't they re-release games at a budget price that many many people didnt buy the first time around?

    It's not as if the wiimote controls are unecessary for a game like this? I can immediately see how this game would be improved no end by a pointing mechanism. I never played the 2nd pikmin.. when it comes out on the wii- i'll be buying!

    Besides.. After playing Fable 2 recently - which was a near identikit of the original (right down to the part you go to a jail).. or any number of 360 fps sequels which play exactly like the original games albeit with shinier graphics - i fail to see the problem?

    Sure - you COULD maybe pick up the original cube version.. but why would you want to go back to the old control method? Just in the same way as you COULD maybe pick up the original xbox fable - but why would you want to go back to the old graphics?

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #41 3 years ago

    Why shouldn't they re-release games at a budget price that many many people didnt buy the first time around?

    £29.99 is full price for wii software, though. That does seem cynical.

  • stevetuck #42 3 years ago

    I wonder how many mums buy this for their kids then realise that just because it looks cute doesnt mean its easymode :) it happend to plenty of my family on the gamecube :D

  • sneetch #43 3 years ago

    @smelly
    Why shouldn't they re-release games at a budget price that many many people didnt buy the first time around?

    They should, however it's not really budget. Obviously, that depends on your opinion of what a "budget" game is but a new 360 or PS3 game is usually £50 and their budget lines cost £25 and £20 respectively (these consist of older 360 and PS3 games, not Xbox and PS2 games, the "Xbox Originals" range is much cheaper at about £10 and I don't know if you can buy PS2 games through PSN(?)). Basic maths will tell you that MS and Sony consider a budget range to be half-price or less of the original and I tend to agree with them, that's what it should be. However, a new Wii game is £40 and these "New Play Control!" games cost £30 which is only a quarter less than a full-price game, more expensive than either of the 360 and PS3 budget ranges and certainly a lot more expensive than the "Xbox Originals" range.

    Incidentally, Pikmin was re-released as a budget title on Cube for £20.

    It's not as if the wiimote controls are unecessary for a game like this? I can immediately see how this game would be improved no end by a pointing mechanism. I never played the 2nd pikmin.. when it comes out on the wii- i'll be buying!

    Besides.. After playing Fable 2 recently - which was a near identikit of the original (right down to the part you go to a jail).. or any number of 360 fps sequels which play exactly like the original games albeit with shinier graphics - i fail to see the problem?

    Sure - you COULD maybe pick up the original cube version.. but why would you want to go back to the old control method? Just in the same way as you COULD maybe pick up the original xbox fable - but why would you want to go back to the old graphics?

    No, I think you'll find that Fable II is a different game with new content, a new story and has had an awful lot of new development work, the gameplay is very similar but as the first played so well that's not an issue. So it's not really an either-or choice whether or not to play Fable or Fable II unlike whether or not to get the Cube or Wii version of Pikmin. I'd suggest that anyone who enjoyed Fable II and hasn't played Fable should pick it up as it's only 1200 MS points but be warned: it is shorter than Fable II.

    Either way the Cube control method was absolutely fantastic, worked brilliantly and was pretty much perfect for the game (using the best controller ever used by a console IMO). This new system, although probably better for throwing pikmin has its own shortcomings: I'm referring to not being able to sweep pikmin away from danger as easily because the second stick is missing. Pushing down on D-pad and directing with the point definitely sounds more cumbersome than sweeping with the C-stick (and, using the GC controller, you could sweep and throw at the same time which saves Pikmin lives :) ). It's more of a case of personal preferance; for me and others like me it wouldn't be worth it, for others who either didn't like the old control scheme or didn't get to play it it'd be a different story.

    The second Pikmin is brilliant and I really recommend it to anyone who hasn't played the GC original. Allowing you to restart from any day is a good addition to Pikmin but I preferred the sequel for the simple reason that the 30 day time limit was completely removed so you can play around and enjoy it more at your leisure. Some days you can just wander around harvesting Pikmin, no rush.

    In summation Pikmin is great, and you should consider buying it if you haven't played it before and you don't mind being overcharged for it but in all seriousness you should probably just wait for Pikmin 2.

    Edit: "Xbox Priginals" what the hell are those? :)
    Edited by 6 at 28/01/09 @ 20:47

  • yagisencho #44 3 years ago

    Maybe they should have...oh...I don't know...released both games TOGETHER instead of going for the cynical cash grab with separate releases? Doesn't matter for me, as I've got the originals, but this qualifies as disdain in my eyes.

  • Lemming81 #45 3 years ago

    TBF, this is shameless money grubbing. Anyone who is a Pikmin fan knows that Pikmin 2 made the first Pikmin completely superfluous. Yet here Nintendo are, like with their VC, trickeling the shit no one wants.

    Pikmin 2 with Wii controls would have been welcome to me, but this is just a waste of time.

  • Fletche #46 3 years ago

    Got no problem with this remake, I love Pikmin and much prefer the first one to the Pikmin 2. Only issue I have is the price, these remakes should have been about £14.99 or similar, I really don't think Nintendo can justify the price they are charging, so whilst I think it is a great idea to re-do GC classics I just wish they would have been a little more generous with the pricing.
    Edited by 1 at 28/01/09 @ 20:25

  • smelly #47 3 years ago

    (note to the idiotic - the fable 2 comment wasnt being half serious.. merely pointing out that a lot of games look and play like nothing more than remakes.. so why not)

    .. back on topic.. Nintendo have a problem. They're the only ones making good games (Well apart from "de blob";) for the system.. But it takes them a while to make said games because they like to take their sweet assed time and make sure games are good before pumping them out.. .. Of course they'll release the odd casual game like mario party or wii music.. But their big titles always take them a while to make. (and when you look at the quality of them - its not hard to see why).

    .. However microsoft/sony dont need to rely on their own games studios to make games for their consoles.. they can rely on 3rd party studios... Unfortunately for nintendo - third party studios seem to look at the wii and go "meh.. we'll put 5 trainees on a title for it - no wii owner cares about quality anyhow".. followed quickly after launching said pile of crap "well 3rd party wii games dont sell.. so why bother making them?". (while ignoring the obvious flaw in their argument that they've only released shit onto the system - and perhaps THATS why it doesnt sell?).

    So nintendo have to fill the gap.

    Hardly anyone bought a cube... and hardly anyone played these games (even people who owned a cube).. so why no re-release them? They're STILL good games.. And it fills the hole in the market while they work on the new mario/zelda/kid ikarus/or brand new ip (like pikmin was last gen).

    Especially if they're planning a "bells and whistles" pikmin 3 soon - this way they can introduce people to the series.

    Sure it may be overpriced - and wouldve been better if they put both games in 1 box.. But who's to say games SHOULD de-value over time?

    For example, i bought burnout paradise on the weekend.. When the latest download comes out for that - it'll be like a brand new game! But yet i paid $15 for it (about 7 quid) BRAND NEW! But yet criterion are planning to re-release this game with all these free downloads as a boxed product for the full price soon.

    I guess my point is (going back to the fable 2 thing) a lot of games MAY have extra content, etc etc.. But at the end of the day they dont really play or change much from their older counterparts.. They may as well be remakes. And no, before some idiot pipes in and accuses me of being a fanboy.. check out my gamerscore for all my fable 2 achievements.. It IS a good game - it's just the most recent game i played so its stuck in my mind.

    You also have to understand that consumers are idiots. If you had the best 100% game in the world.. and sold it in a store for $10 .. with big stickers on it saying THIS IS THE BEST GAME IN THE WORLD - Most people will pass it up because it's cheap and therefor it must be shit. Just like a lot of gamers will only buy new release games - anything over a couple of weeks old is seen as "old hat" and not worht bothering with - when there's the "next best thing" to get excited about and pre-order (which is a strange thing to do when you really think about it.. and yes - im guilty of it too!).

    So it's a tough one to price.

    You may know it's an old game.. i may know it's an old game (i completed it in a week off work when i had shingles years ago). But to the average joe in teh game store - they may not know it's an old game, may never have heard of it before - and may buy it and love every minute of it. Are they "wrong" for enjoying a game which is "old" and therefor (in your eyes) not worth the money? It's STILL a good game.

    I just dont understand why people seem to think that games devalue over time. Sure I wouldnt pay full price for something like destruction derby on the ps1 (dunno why i picked that example) nowadays - because it wont hold up against modern games (although back in the day it ROCKED!). But pikmin plays just as good - if not better than 99% of the games on the market.. And STILL (imho) looks absolutely stunning and can hold a candle to a lot of 360 games (note to idiot fanboys: I didnt say "all";).

    So why not?

    Going to the "xbox downloads" argument - i agree they're much more fairly priced. But to me, they dont offer anything much "new" to warrant me buying them again (or even buying them for the first time). Even if they had spruced up graphics - that's not enough to warrant me buying them. But pikmin 2 with a control screen where i'm pointing at the screen instead of using the pad? That's something i want to buy! (strange isnt it?)

    I'd still have preferred a pikmin 1 & 2 double pack though.

    Also - i'll be first in line to buy mario smash tennis wiimake when that comes out with new controls. Wii sports + mario tennis sounds like a win to me (not played a mario tennis game since the cube). So yeah.. I guess having a new controller DOES matter.. Widescreen would help too!

  • Pasco #48 3 years ago

    Pikmin 2 is WORSE than part 1. There are too many kind of Pikmin which almost makes you need to manage them. The randomly generated dungeons are ugly and boring, save points are too far apart and obstacles like fire demand more than the inexact controls can handle. One of the few games I didn't play through after I bought them.

  • smelly #49 3 years ago

    >I really don't think Nintendo can justify the price they are charging

    Depends how much work/man hours/etc was involved in doing the port really dunnit?

    "Xbox originals" downloads are just the 360 running an emulator - no-one had to do any extra coding to get them to work.

    New control system, support for widescreen, 480p (i presume)? etc would take SOME time to code up/test/etc etc.

    I'm not going to hazard a guess how much exactly.. but it certainly isnt free... Then you have the duplication/distribution/etc costs that a downloadable game doesnt have also.

  • Dan234 #50 3 years ago

    @Garulon

    You don't count Zelda Twilight Princess which IIRC was a launch release and a basic GC port? What about all that VC stuff that's just basically ROMS piled up on a server - so no online leaderboards , no corrections for PAL users, not even a demo.

    And launch titles used the new console's abilities to the fullest on the PS360?

    If VC games came out with online leaderboards, corrections for PAL users, etc... the complaint echoing around here would be much like Pikmin, i.e. who the feck do Nintendo think they are spending a weekend adding online leaderboards and removing the border and re-selling it.

    I'm not against re-releases of games, as long as they're either adding value or cheap. Spending a weekend adding Wiimote support and widescreen then flogging it for £25 is quite shocking to me, but people ain't forced to buy them.

    If they're not forced to buy them but do then the new audience must be interested and Nintendo must have done something to improve the original game.

    EG, noted for supporting the Wii (cough), recognised that the new controls were done well and allow you to concentrate on the gameplay.

    Odd how slapping a HD version (i.e. re-rending the same assets at a higher resolution) up for download gets more praise than integrating new controls and other tweaks into the gameplay mechanics. Arguably the second is more difficult to do right and will end up ruining the game if done wrongly.

    I won't be buying it and I recognise it's a stop gap. However if Nintendo do the New Play Control range carefully they can fill the gap in the current catalogue of games, improve old classics, and build up demand for the true Wii sequels. Terrible, isn't it?

  • sneetch #51 3 years ago

    @smelly
    (note to the idiotic - the fable 2 comment wasnt being half serious.. merely pointing out that a lot of games look and play like nothing more than remakes.. so why not)

    Oh sorry, should I have picked that up from the non-existant tone or inflection of your post? When you're purely communicating through text all that is lost, smelly, so I have to fall back on your previous posting history and I think we've seen some pretty outrageous claims from you in the past.

  • figaro7 #52 3 years ago

    I just wonder how many of us played these games back in the day, i wont be buying this ofcourse. What id like to see though is that when chibi robo gets the new play control how many people will actually buy it. Will people argue about the price of a game that never saw a PAL release? Other games like metroid and mario tennis could have valid arguement but we're hoping the new control schemes will justify these games re-release.

  • Gaol #53 3 years ago

    Pikmin is a classic, I totally recommend it to Wii owners who haven't played it before. Hell, I sold my GC one, I might get the port when it's a little cheaper (£20rrp selling for £15-£17 would have been nicer to see with these, but I think it'll fall to those levels anyway).

  • smelly #54 3 years ago

    >And launch titles used the new console's abilities to the fullest on the PS360?

    Yeah.. lets forget Kameo (cube game)

  • smelly #55 3 years ago

    "and I think we've seen some pretty outrageous claims from you in the past. "

    like? (in context? ..)

  • smelly #56 3 years ago

    @Dan234: Well said.. i wish my written skills were up to scratch.. i might then be able to make a decent argument and get whats in my head down in print :-)

  • floppylobster #57 3 years ago

    So games like this really are the test to see whether developers can really use the Wii controller to make games better. The answer seems... slightly.

    PIKMIN LOVE SECTION
    Pikmin is one of the most memorable games I've played in years. So short but satisfying. Such memorable characters, why did they never port something to the DS? Pikmin 2 is good but feels like a game, whereas Pikmin feels like an experience.

  • smelly #58 3 years ago

    If more people get to play this great game.. then more people may learn that there's more to gaming than endless fps games..

    Which can only be a good thing (imho)

  • smelly #59 3 years ago

    BTW - completely off topic.. But are we going to get a re-review of burnout paradise when the last free download comes out next week?

  • JinTypeNoir #60 3 years ago

    Credit where credit is due. Since I just picked Simon's crappy elitist article apart, I have to spend some time praising this one for how good it is. The way Oli perfectly describes the atmosphere and appeal of the title is great. Also, I really agree with comparing this re-releases for how they would function today and not going on and on about false dichotomies of old releases and new. Oli almost always writes good stuff though, but this one in particular is a great example.

  • Eraser #61 3 years ago

    It seems like I have not a single excuse left not to get Pikmin. I never played it on the cube and heard from so many people that I should. So this release will finally get me the Pikmin action I should've had years ago.

  • lasermink #62 3 years ago

    I bought Pikmin 2 after loving the first one, only to be bitterly disappointed. It is only better on the surface, on the inside it isn't half the game, at least as a single player experience. Why reviewers keep touting it as the better game I will never understand. Oh wait, I DO understand, it's because they're idiots.

  • charliemouse #63 3 years ago

    Pikimin was a beautifully crafted game and I might see my way to playing through again. I liked the stress of a time limit, it added some much needed challenge; when did the gaming community (not all of it) become so bad at games?

    Pikmin 2 can fuck off as far I'm concerned, what a tedious load of random dungeon grinding with no joy to be found underground at all.

  • robson_wii #64 3 years ago

    Quite a few comments suggesting P1 was better than P2 and I agree. Reviews suggests otherwise. Fortunately I have both cube games to check to see if I rated P2 down purely on fact it took away the time incentive so there was no pressure to complete.

    Not sure if I will re-buy...my Wii has had a lot of action in January and I still have about 3 Wii and 2 PC games to complete.

  • varsas #65 3 years ago

    Garulon
    28-Jan-09 17:16:44

    [link url=http://ww w.play.com/Games/GameCube/4-/10...
    ]http://ww w.play.com/Games/GameCube/4-/10...[/link]

    £12 from playtrade. What do I win? :)
    I very much doubt that the majority of Wii owners would go and look online or in the shops for second hand GC games. Of course there is a question about whether they would be interested in playing quality ported games but I guess we'll see.

  • beep #66 3 years ago

    At least these Gamecube reissues give Wii owners more choice other than the few Nintendo first party titles amongst the sea of shite (bar one or two decent third party games).

  • HEAVYface #67 3 years ago

    totally agree that pikmin 1 is the better game of the two pikmins. the second ones not bad, just over complicated...

    pikmins worth more than 7/10 to IMHO

  • sneetch #68 3 years ago

    @smelly
    [/i]"and I think we've seen some pretty outrageous claims from you in the past. "

    like? (in context? ..) [/i]

    Off the top of my head there's your frequent and sweeping "all Xbox owners wants is grey and brown shooters" claims (normally because they don't fall head over heals over some game you like). Or your claim that games only get high scores if they contain guns. No doubt they were all half-serious too? Good, I'm delighted to find out that you're not that irrational.

    If you want others check your own posting history because, as your knee-jerk reaction is name-calling, I frankly can't be arsed (I couldn't back when I was a child and I can't now). However, as I said you might want to remember that people only see the text of your posts they can't see your light-hearted smile or hear the mirth in your tone as you type (that's why smilies were invented, btw, you might consider using them), they only see what you type and so I think, in general, people can be forgiven for assuming that you actually mean what you type.

    Sad how nettiquette seems to be even further on the decline. From now on I pledge to try to put a few more insults, slurs, name-calling and more general hostility in my posts. Just to fit in.

  • smelly #69 3 years ago

    >£12 from playtrade. What do I win? :)

    As a pikmin 1 lover (never played the sequel owing to playing too much xbox at the time).. I dont personally care how much the original costs.. if i can get the new game in 480p, widescreen withnew controls.. then i'd rather have that than the 480i normal screen equivalent using a cube pad (which i no longer have)

  • smelly #70 3 years ago

    "
    Off the top of my head there's your frequent and sweeping "all Xbox owners wants is grey and brown shooters" claims (normally because they don't fall head over heals over some game you like). Or your claim that games only get high scores if they contain guns. No doubt they were all half-serious too?"





    Erm.. and you;re SERIOUSLY denying either of those?

  • sneetch #71 3 years ago

    @charliemouse
    Pikimin was a beautifully crafted game and I might see my way to playing through again. I liked the stress of a time limit, it added some much needed challenge; when did the gaming community (not all of it) become so bad at games?

    Pikmin 2 can fuck off as far I'm concerned, what a tedious load of random dungeon grinding with no joy to be found underground at all.

    I don't think the gaming community is bad at games some just don't like being rushed, particularly in a game like Pikmin. I'd have loved to be able to stay on after the 30 days once I got the essential life support elements. To have the choice of scouring the place for missing parts or treasure.

    I thought Pikmin IIs dungeons were great, reminded me of Rogue/Angband but with a horde of pikmin.

    That said, it was all a long time ago and maybe time has given it a rosey tint.

    I'm not sure which is better anymore but Pikmin and Pikmin 2 are two of the best Cube games and them and Overlord are the only good console RTSs I've played (mind you, I haven't played many as RTS games tend to have terrible controls on consoles and I own a PC).

    Edit: double-negatives, they ain't, no good, no more, none
    Edited by 1 at 29/01/09 @ 11:34

  • sneetch #72 3 years ago

    @smelly
    Erm.. and you;re SERIOUSLY denying either of those?

    Ah, more of your half-serious commentary I take it? I think I'm getting better at spotting it. It's the posts with words isn't it? I could post a list of obvious exceptions that debunk your ludicrous theories but then I'd be playing into your hilarious trap.

  • CallousB #73 3 years ago

    I thought Nintendo were really ripping us off with the price initially....but when you look at the current value of the pound we're lucky all our stuff hasn't gone up 50% to be honest.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #74 3 years ago

    They never put our prices down when the Pound was stronger than the yen or US$. Lets see what happens, if prices go up its robbery pure and simple.

  • macmurphy #75 3 years ago

    I have Pikmin 1 and 2. They are fantastic.

    Why the hell would Nintendo not release games that never made much impact in their first iterations due to poor gamecube sales? It has a huge audience now, people want good new games, the Pikmin series is perfect. This IP is also perfectly tailored to the new audience. My missus would not touch games with a pooey stick in general, but we spent hours on teh Pikmin 2 co-op.

    These are genuinely wonderful games, you miss them at your peril. Looking forward to number 3.

  • TheChumOfChance #76 3 years ago

    These comments have confirmed it: not enough people have played the 2 player mode in the second Pikmin game! It is not 'fleeting fun', it is awesome.

  • spacenugget #77 3 years ago

    The only ting that "bugs" me.... cough... is the fact that Pikmin 2 took me so long to track down in new condition and cost me a fortune. :(
    oh well, more people ned to experience these games. Hopefull y a new one is (B)looming on the horizon. he he

  • Grayvern #78 3 years ago

    I really want to buy an SD crapper to play my wii on cause on a 40" HD it burns the eyes, to the point where I find it hard to play

    Which has meant Ive never been able to play pikmin again.
    Edited by 1 at 30/01/09 @ 22:53

  • smelly #79 3 years ago

    "I really want to buy an SD crapper to play my wii on cause on a 40" HD it burns the eyes, to the point where I find it hard to play"


    Either you need component cables.. or your HD tv is shite.

    Wii games look fine on my 52" at 480p.

    Afterall.. 480p isnt THAT much lower than some of the more popular 360 games (*cough*halo3*cough*)

  • merkdot #80 3 years ago

    resolution doesn't really matter too much... when you have AA.

  • Sean.Aaron #81 3 years ago

    @merkdot: "resolution doesn't really matter too much... when you have AA. "

    Problem is that most gamers have ADA, so it does...

  • canIdoyabombsforya #82 3 years ago

    They should have made the Wii's pointing device a mouse, much more manly

  • macmurphy #83 3 years ago

    'In your dreams
    Pikmin 3 would take to much money to develop for to little income
    Why would they make a low selling game, when they can make mini game crap for the large 90% casual audience ?'

    You're a knob. Pikmin 3 is well in development, it's been known about for some time. Wikipedia:

    'A new Pikmin game was eventually confirmed at E3 2008 during Nintendo's developer roundtable, in which Miyamoto stated that his team were working on a new entry in the series.[6][7] However, details concerning gameplay and development were left unmentioned.[8] In an interview with Nintendo's Official Latin American Magazine, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that Pikmin 3 is going to be on the Wii. He also stated that the Wii's controls were 'working well' with the game.'

    If you're going to be a stroker and whine at least get your facts right.

  • robg #84 3 years ago

    Or your claim that games only get high scores if they contain guns.

    This is either because most game players are male, or because guns are awesome.