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(ND Jan 23rd 2013) New Pikmin 3 Screenshots

mattchuuu

Neo Member
For the graphics people are wanting, wouldn't it have to be built on the Wii U from the ground, up? If so, this would probably be a 2015 release, no? It's been 9 years already since Pikmin 2.

I wonder what the financial trade-off was in bringing it over to the Wii U. How many more copies would have sold on the Wii as opposed to how many will sell on the Wii U as well as convince people (mostly Pikmin fans) to buy the console? Perhaps even given the quiet death of the Wii, pikmin on the Wii U will, in the long-run, outsell what its wii sales would have been.

Personally, I can play pikmin 1 and 2 today and still adore the visuals. The designers focused on the details that matter to me, and it looks like that hasn't changed with Pikmin 3.
 

DashReindeer

Lead Community Manager, Outpost Games
I have this fear that not only are we gonna get pikmin 3 exceedingly late in the year, but also that the game is just not going to live up to our lofty expectations. The game is going to continue looking like an up-rezzed Wii game. The only items we'll collect in the game will be fruit. There won't be a full co-op mode. Online will never make it into the game.

I guess it's still up in the air cuz Nintendo has yet to show off any more of this game. It's just worrisome, cuz why haven't we seen or heard more about this game if it's really supposed to be coming in the next three months? If this game was feature-packed like a lot of us expect you'd think we'd be seeing that by now.

Currently I'm feeling like this game is not necessarily going to provide anything close to the pikmin experience I have wanted the past 9 years. It almost seems like I'd be better served just picking up NPC pikmin 2 and playing that instead.

Nintendo needs to start ramping up the hype machine for this game. But beyond that, the company really needs to prove that it isn't actually 6 years behind the rest of the marketplace. Where are the ground up Wii U titles? Is X really the only technologically impressive game they've got brewing?

I don't mean to repeat the same tired arguments, but I guess I expected pikmin 3 to wow me. Sadly at this point the only reason I have to look forward to this game is that it's a new pikmin. Nintendo has said and done nothing to help get people excited about this one.
 

Amir0x

Banned
I have this fear that not only are we gonna get pikmin 3 exceedingly late in the year, but also that the game is just not going to live up to our lofty expectations. The game is going to continue looking like an up-rezzed Wii game. The only items we'll collect in the game will be fruit. There won't be a full co-op mode. Online will never make it into the game.

is the expectations REALLY 'lofty' if you expect something more than an up-rezzed Wii game or an online competitive mode? Man, we really are at some juncture when these wishes are too lofty :(
 

mattchuuu

Neo Member
Currently I'm feeling like this game is not necessarily going to provide anything close to the pikmin experience I have wanted the past 9 years. It almost seems like I'd be better served just picking up NPC pikmin 2 and playing that instead.

I enjoyed the NPC pikmin 2 myself, and support this idea. If anything, it might lower your demand for high graphical fidelity - if you can enjoy a pikmin game that looks worse than pikmin 3, you can no doubt enjoy Pikmin 3.

If the pikmin 1/2 scenario happens again with the Wii U, I would also expect that pikmin 4 would be released 3-4 years from now (depending on Pikmin 3's success and Wii U's success) and would use the same engine and most of the same assets as pikmin 3 rather than being from the ground, up. Just seems like a case of awful timing in starting pikmin 3 development right before the Wii crashed in the market.
 

DashReindeer

Lead Community Manager, Outpost Games
I enjoyed the NPC pikmin 2 myself, and support this idea. If anything, it might lower your demand for high graphical fidelity - if you can enjoy a pikmin game that looks worse than pikmin 3, you can no doubt enjoy Pikmin 3. If the pikmin 1/2 scenario happens again with the Wii U, I would also expect that pikmin 4 would be released on the wii U and would use the same engine/assets as pikmin 3 rather than from the ground, up. Just seems like a case of really bad timing in starting pikmin 3 development right before the Wii crashed.

It's not just graphical fidelity that makes me say this though. Pikmin 2 was packed to the brim with awesome features, and for me personally was one of the most astoundingly awesome games in the GameCube era. I just wanted Pikmin 3 to take everything done with Pikmin 2 and expand upon it. So far, all Nintendo has shown us about this game is that you do the same things you did in the first Pikmin game, but with more types of Pikmin. That is not what I was hoping to see honestly.
 

mattchuuu

Neo Member
I've refrained so far from digging into the game play details of Pikmin 3, but hopefully Nintendo has some ideas/modes that haven't been shown. For me, Nintendo seems reliable at always trying new things in their series. Perhaps this drive is what has delayed the game.
 

Nibel

Member
Yeah, this is how an upscaled Wii game should look like; even though I must admit that DoF looks really good to me

A game that won't emit its charm with screenshots
 

JordanN

Banned
It blows my mind that people are expecting some graphical powerhouse from Pikmin. The game is all about the art style and gameplay. Like expecting Mario bros U to knock your socks off graphically. Its just not gonna happen. Having said that this looks amazing to me. Mainly due to the art direction and lighting.
Why did Nintendo even make the Wii U?

From these comments I'm getting, Nintendo made a big mistake going past the N64 or even the NES since having artstyle is somehow a cure to all lifes problems.

See a doctor

And if you're playing Pikmin for its graphics, you're playing wrong.
If Nintendo's new system is worth $10 instead of $350, they need to drop the price now.
 

Speevy

Banned
It's an RTS, not a shooter or a racer. What PS360 RTS does it look bad next to?

That idea only works if there are graphics on display that work well in certain contexts, while not in others.

For example, comparing the open world of Skyrim with the relatively smaller areas of Uncharted 2.

Pikmin 2 doesn't have a scope that excuses its graphics, sorry.
 

JordanN

Banned
By the way, this "it has artstyle don't expect better graphics" excuse is very disingenuous. I'd say there are hundreds of video games that have art styles yet don't degrade themselves to looking like PS1/PS2 games.

pjCFiBA.jpg

vgEPI1H.jpg

NmFICKL.jpg

But since it's Nintendo they get a free pass right?
 

MarkusRJR

Member
Is it 2006 right now? It seems like it's 2006.
It definitely feels like it.

You can have both graphics and game play. It's not an either-or situation. I bought a $350 next generation console so I should be expecting the new big Nintendo games to take advantage of both. I'm going to pick this game up because I like the series but it's disappointing that they didn't push the visuals at all. I mean, they've had nearly 2 years since the Wii U was announced (I'd imagine they had moved it over by then or even earlier). It's even more disappointing that there are Nintendo fans defending them being lazy with straw man arguments.
 

Darryl

Banned
That idea only works if there are graphics on display that work well in certain contexts, while not in others.

For example, comparing the open world of Skyrim with the relatively smaller areas of Uncharted 2.

Pikmin 2 doesn't have a scope that excuses its graphics, sorry.

I think it has a bigger scope than you're giving it credit for. there's lots of object interactions in RTS games. Skyrim/Uncharted both have lots of empty space. RTS games typically don't chase the high-end graphics for a reason.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
By the way, this "it has artstyle don't expect better graphics" excuse is very disingenuous. I'd say there are hundreds of video games that have art styles yet don't degrade themselves to looking like PS1/PS2 games.

What the hell kind of PS1 or PS2 did you have?
 

Hiltz

Member
I have this fear that not only are we gonna get pikmin 3 exceedingly late in the year, but also that the game is just not going to live up to our lofty expectations. The game is going to continue looking like an up-rezzed Wii game. The only items we'll collect in the game will be fruit. There won't be a full co-op mode. Online will never make it into the game.

I guess it's still up in the air cuz Nintendo has yet to show off any more of this game. It's just worrisome, cuz why haven't we seen or heard more about this game if it's really supposed to be coming in the next three months? If this game was feature-packed like a lot of us expect you'd think we'd be seeing that by now.

Currently I'm feeling like this game is not necessarily going to provide anything close to the pikmin experience I have wanted the past 9 years. It almost seems like I'd be better served just picking up NPC pikmin 2 and playing that instead.

Nintendo needs to start ramping up the hype machine for this game. But beyond that, the company really needs to prove that it isn't actually 6 years behind the rest of the marketplace. Where are the ground up Wii U titles? Is X really the only technologically impressive game they've got brewing?

I don't mean to repeat the same tired arguments, but I guess I expected pikmin 3 to wow me. Sadly at this point the only reason I have to look forward to this game is that it's a new pikmin. Nintendo has said and done nothing to help get people excited about this one.

The Wii U's lack of big 1st party games isn't all that different from how it was with the Wii. The big games in the first year basically came out during the second half of the year. Wii's best game was Twilight Princess for like the first 8 months (maybe longer than that).... a non-upgraded GameCube port. The big, original, and visually impressive 1st party games like Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Galaxy took longer to come out. The situation with the Wii U is no different despite this being the first time Nintendo's developing games for an HD console. Personally, I think Wii U's software for its first year is going to be better than what Nintendo offered on the Wii just in terms of 1st and 2nd party software.
 

Margalis

Banned
Why are you comparing a 2d fighting game that has 2 characters onscreen to Pikmin?

The correct comparison is to games like Halo Wars and Overlord - both of which look worse than Pikmin. (And run worse)
 

JordanN

Banned
Why are you comparing a 2d fighting game that has 2 characters onscreen to Pikmin?

The correct comparison is to games like Halo Wars and Overlord - both of which look worse than Pikmin. (And run worse)

You're missing the point. It's not comparing to Pikmin, it's refuting the idea that a game with artstyle has to look like shit.
 

Margalis

Banned
You're missing the point. It's not comparing to Pikmin, it's refuting the idea that a game with artstyle has to look like shit.

Pikmin looks better than comparable games though. So if it looks like shit then every other game in the genre looks like worse shit.

Skullgirls has two characters onscreen and a total of what, 12 characters? Wow, a Skullgirls character looks better than an individual Pikmin - shocking!


Wow, look at these amazing graphics!!!!

374261-3.jpg
 

JordanN

Banned
Pikmin looks better than comparable games though. So if it looks like shit then every other game in the genre looks like worse shit.

Skullgirls has two characters onscreen and a total of what, 12 characters? Wow, a Skullgirls character looks better than an individual Pikmin - shocking!
Did you even read my post? I don't think you did.


when was the last time you played a PS2 game on a PS2? Not on an emulator where you can up the visual fidelity, but a ps2 on a crt?

Why does any of this matter? I think you along with Margalis are reading way too much into my post.
 

prwxv3

Member
Is Pikmin 3 60FPS if its not then Nintendo deserve the shit they get. If it is then I can excuse it it was a Wii game first. Games after Pikmin 3 need to be better though and I think they will.


edit: good it is
 

prwxv3

Member
It definitely feels like it.

You can have both graphics and game play. It's not an either-or situation. I bought a $350 next generation console so I should be expecting the new big Nintendo games to take advantage of both. I'm going to pick this game up because I like the series but it's disappointing that they didn't push the visuals at all. I mean, they've had nearly 2 years since the Wii U was announced (I'd imagine they had moved it over by then or even earlier). It's even more disappointing that there are Nintendo fans defending them being lazy with straw man arguments.

This.
 

Margalis

Banned
Did you even read my post? I don't think you did.

Your posts are terrible.

The simple fact is that Pikmin 3 looks better than comparable games. If you are going to meow-meow about how it looks like a PS1/PS2 game you have to concede that every other comparable game is apparently an Atari 2600 game.

Name any game every made and I'll say it looks like a Virtual Boy game. That is the level of your posts.

Halo 4 - lol! This game could easily be done on the Jaguar!
 

orioto

Good Art™
Why are you comparing a 2d fighting game that has 2 characters onscreen to Pikmin?

The correct comparison is to games like Halo Wars and Overlord - both of which look worse than Pikmin. (And run worse)

Lol, if you knew how costly are those two characters :p
Not a tech problem but an amount of work one.
 

Shiggy

Member
What JordanN is trying to say that despite having a great art direction, there is no need for Nintendo to be lazy and go with textures that look like they were taken out of a GameCube title.
 

Margalis

Banned
What JordanN is trying to say that despite having a great art direction, there is no need for Nintendo to be lazy and go with textures that look like they were taken out of a GameCube title.

Go play a Gamecube game and come back.

While you're at it google "texel density".
 

Shiggy

Member
At least you can count on Nintendo to make their games run at playable framerates. Nice.

Think the framerate thing is really only an issue for a few NeoGAF users and not for gamers in general. Personally, I had no trouble with the 30fps in Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2. Didn't know that people were really bothered by that.
 

Glass Rebel

Member
Think the framerate thing is really only an issue for a few NeoGAF users and not for gamers in general. Personally, I had no trouble with the 30fps in Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2. Didn't know that people were really bothered by that.

Very true, most people won't care, especially not in a slower paced game like Pikmin, but 60fps to me is far more important than hi-res textures or other visual effects. I didn't have to in quite a while but on PC I always turn down everything else to get 60fps.

Not saying that Pikmin 3 couldn't look better. But I'd be more bothered if it looked better but didn't achieve 60fps.
 

Shiggy

Member
Go play a Gamecube game and come back.

While you're at it google "texel density".

I just did and I still think that the ground textures in Pikmin 3 look like a blurry mess.


Whereas the fact that the ground texture doesn't look great zoomed in is clearly an issue for people everywhere!

It's obviously more visible. If you cannot see the blurry ground textures but easily identify whether a game runs at 30fps or 60fps, I seriously admire your abilities!
 

ASIS

Member
It's obviously more visible.

I disagree, when the game is up and running FPS and animation make a whole lot more difference than textures.

On the other hand, I don't disagree that the game has uprezzed GC level of assets so i'm gonna stay out of this discussion :p
 

Shiggy

Member
Nice goalpost move.

Seems like it's just me who cannot ignore when Nintendo is cheaping out on its games. And trust me, even games running at 60fps might have a nice geometry and nice-looking textures ;)

At least I am not willing to pay 250€ for the Wii U when its games look just like improved Wii ports.
 

Margalis

Banned
Seems like it's just me who cannot ignore when Nintendo is cheaping out on its games. And trust me, even games running at 60fps might have a nice geometry and nice-looking textures ;)

Like Halo Wars and Overlord? Which both don't run at 60 and also look like shit?


At least I am not willing to pay 250€ for the Wii U when its games look just like improved Wii ports.

Did you pay for a 360 or PS3? Because their games also look like improved Wii games. And I use "improved" loosely. Check out that Overlord shot again. Is it even "improved" over a Wii game?

Name a company that isn't "cheaping out" on its games so I can say their games look like N64 games.
 

Shiggy

Member
Like Halo Wars and Overlord? Which both don't run at 60 and also look like shit?

I think both look like shit and have an ugly art style. Didn't buy either.


Did you pay for a 360 or PS3? Because their games also look like improved Wii games. And I use "improved" loosely. Check out that Overlord shot again. Is it even "improved" over a Wii game?

Name a company that isn't "cheaping out" on its games so I can say their games look like N64 games.

I didn't pay for a 360 or PS3 at all ;)
But there games like Uncharted or Banjo don't look like HD ports of Wii games ;)
Just naming games that look bad on the other consoles doesn't get you very far. I just expect Nintendo to get up the graphics of its titles to those presented in the tech demos (the bird demo was beautiful imo) or technically competent titles on other platforms.

And actually, did I say that Pikmin 3 looks like a Wii game? No, I said that some of the textures do, and so does part of the geometry.
 

Margalis

Banned
But there games like Uncharted or Banjo don't look like HD ports of Wii games ;)

These game definitely look like HD Wii games. Try again. 0/2 so far.

Just naming games that look bad on the other consoles doesn't get you very far.

I named games that were comparable in terms of genre, feature set, number of characters onscreen, etc. Apples to apples comparison.
 

Darryl

Banned
don't let the "last generation graphics" crowd bring you down so much, lol. there's always people like that and they're in all next-gen gaming threads.
 

mattchuuu

Neo Member
What JordanN is trying to say that despite having a great art direction, there is no need for Nintendo to be lazy and go with textures that look like they were taken out of a GameCube title.

But are you at all surprised? We experienced the same thing with the first animal crossing being moved to the gamecube, as well as Eternal Darkness. Then we had Twilight Princess being ported to the Wii with play controls as basically the only change.

What would it take to overhaul all the textures?
 
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