Iwata Asks: How 3DS Was Made, Pikmin 3DS

Itoi: Well…you know…this is really… Oh, that’s Pikmin! Great!

Miyamoto: Doesn’t Pikmin look great? (laughs)

Iwata: It seems like Pikmin is perfect for 3D.

Miyamoto: I like the way they scurry around.

Itoi: Pikmin is a game with a peculiar 3D effect as if you’re getting down on hands and knees to look at something small. Man, I want one of these! I’ll buy one, Prez! How much is it going to cost me, Prez?

So, while this isn’t an official announcement, Shigeru Miyamoto, Shigesato Itoi, and Satoru Iwata have already been talking about Pikmin in 3D, and how perfectly it would fit on the 3DS system. Itoi in particular seems to comment as if he is actually looking at Pikmin on the 3DS in this interview, as this appears in the first part of the feature where they are showing off the 3DS system. In other words: If I was a betting man, Pikmin 3 is coming to the Nintendo 3DS. Now we may truly understand why it’s been so long, as it may seem Pikmin was always planned to come out next on a 3D system.

Of course, that wasn’t all we learned in this four-page interview. Here are some of the key points:

• Miyamoto and Iwata have been working on 3D products as far back as 1988, with the game Famicon Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally. It required the use of special crystal glasses and was made for the Famicon Disk System.
• Commercial Failure of Virtual Boy lead to new thinking in 3D design, which ultimately lead to the concept of 3D without glasses.
• Slide Pad is now referred to as the Circle Pad.
• 3D effect on videos cannot be adjusted – it’s either turn it off or turn it on. Only the effect on the games you are playing can be adjusted in intensity.
• Miyamoto was a big idealist behind much of the 3DS design. The so called “idea man” needed to take Nintendo to the next level of 3D, as he was not previously involved on the Virtual Boy project.
• Yes folks, the 3DS’s visuals still look stunning.

In the end, the interview ends up being very informative when it comes to how all the different ideas of the past came together to form what may be the best product released this year. Sure it’s most likely going to be pricey in the states. Yeah, it’s battery life may not last more than 2 or 3 hours without a car charger or a some sort of portable backup battery. However, you can’t deny just how great the hardware is, and how widespread the support for the system has become. Along with the usual support we’re seeing companies who have been holding their material away from Nintendo now stepping forward. The future of gaming is upon us. Be sure to read the full interview.