Pikmin 3 announced

[E3 2012] Nintendo has a strong collection of intellectual property, and at their E3 press conference this morning, Pikmin 3 was announced by none other than Mr. Miyamoto himself – with the help of a translator, of course. Needless to say, Pikmin 3 will play nice with the new Wii U controller (Miyamoto was demonstrating using the black colored controller, although a white one should be in the market as well). The Wii U looks set to be a game changer, although it takes a different leap of faith compared to how the original Wii introduced “waggle controls”, as the Wii U’s controller sports its own built-in display that shifts the importance of gaming machines, since you can use that display before the TV is even powered on.

Pikmin 3 offers improved graphics (which is obviously a must in order to keep up with the Joneses, as great gameplay remains a staple in any worthy game), and the game will involve Pikmin finding materials required to build bridges, while the way that they carry each object would make the gamer feel as though he is in command of an army of ants. Or lemmings, except that Pikmin are smarter and do not opt to walk off a cliff as they please. The characters still look rather dated (in terms of being blocky), but I guess it is offset with some stunning background visuals. Do read on more about Pikmin 3 after the jump, and enjoy the photo gallery as well.

A new kind of Pikmin has also been introduced – Rock Pikmin. No, we are not getting anywhere near a Pokemon stereotype, but Rock Pikmin do have the ability to break hard objects, where you can use the Remote Plus to aim at specific targets.

As for the Wii U controller, the sub-display there shows you an overall map for easy reference, and you are able to touch the screen to drag across the map as though you were playing a RTS title. Interestingly enough, if you want to play with the Wii U controller only, you are also able to do so, now how about that?

There is no word on availability, but patience always bears much fruit, and the very same applies here. Good times are definitely ahead of us!