Pikmin 4

Pikmin 4
North American game cover.
Japanese name	ピクミン 4?
Console	Nintendo Switch
Developer	TBA
Publisher	Nintendo
Genre	TBA
Players	1-2 players
Release date
Japan	July 21st, 2023
North America	July 21st, 2023
Europe	July 21st, 2023
Australia	July 21st, 2023
South Korea	July 21st, 2023

This article or section is about an upcoming or recently released game. The content here is subject to change as more information is discovered. All information added here must be verifiable and not speculative.

Pikmin 4 is the upcoming fourth mainline installment in the Pikmin series, planned for release in July 21^st, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch. Many details of the game are currently unknown, but it is known that it introduces Ice Pikmin, a companion character called Oatchi, and some kind of night gameplay to the series.

Gameplay

So far, the gameplay seems to be the same as in the previous main titles of the franchise, though with some subtle changes. The cursor looks less like something to point towards an exact spot with, and more like a simple indicator of the general direction the aim is. This can be in part due to the lower camera angle. On top of standard Pikmin management and ordering, the player also has Oatchi with them, which they can command in different ways than the Pikmin.

In the game's reveal trailer, Pikmin series creator Shigeru Miyamoto said after the trailer that the Nintendo Switch's controls have made controlling the game simpler, allowing the player to focus more on strategic planning (or "段取り^?" as the developers refer to it).

Other details can be noted from the trailers:

• The camera rotates horizontally as the player moves left and right on the screen.

Content

Pikmin types

Pikmin 4 will include Red Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin, Blue Pikmin, White Pikmin, Purple Pikmin, Rock Pikmin, Winged Pikmin, and the new Ice Pikmin, though it is not known which types will feature in which game modes.

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  The Red Pikmin introduction cutscene.

Ice Pikmin

An Ice Pikmin.

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Ice Pikmin are a new type of Pikmin. Their bodies look like they are composed of two chunks of ice, they leave small snow and water vapor particles around them as they move, and they have yellow flowers. They have the ability to freeze enemies and bodies of water.

They freeze enemies by filling up a circular gauge around the enemy's health wheel via attacks or being consumed. While attacks only increment the gauge slightly, when an Ice Pikmin is swallowed the gauge increases by a lot – around 40% when fighting a Bulborb. Once the gauge is full, the enemy freezes entirely, can no longer act, and gains an ice-coated look. Defeating a frozen enemy will make it shatter into chunks of ice without leaving a corpse, but it will drop nectar, similar to how ultra-bitter spray works. The Red Bulborb in the clip can be seen shaking after a few seconds, also similarly to how petrified enemies start shaking before breaking free, but it could also be due to it being nearly dead, or simply just an animation that plays for frozen enemies.

Ice Pikmin can be thrown into bodies of water to freeze them. The place they are thrown onto makes the cursor take on the same shape it assumes when the cursor is on top of objects, indicating these Pikmin need to be thrown at a specific spot. When around 18 are thrown, the entire body of water instantly turns to ice after a second. This transformation instantly makes the water flash white and then quickly return to normal gradually as a puff of water vapor appears near the Pikmin. Any enemies in the water at that moment receive the same animation, sound, effects, and status as enemies frozen with Ice Pikmin attacks. With the water frozen, the Ice Pikmin that were thrown in get stuck with their upper bodies poking out of the ice's surface. Afterwards, leaders and Pikmin can safely walk on top of the ice.

Given their introduction cutscene takes place in an underground location with a simple layout and low walls, much like what can be seen in the footage of caves of the same trailer, it's possible these Pikmin are found inside a cave. In their introduction cutscene, they spin around and slide on their lower bodies, meaning they are at least slightly slippery.

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  Ice Pikmin fighting against a Bulborb.

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  A successfully frozen Bulborb.

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  Introduction cutscene.

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  Introduction cutscene in Japanese.

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  Ice Pikmin being thrown at a body of water to freeze it.

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  The same body of water in the process of freezing.

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  A leader and their Pikmin walking on top of the now-frozen water.

Areas

No distinct areas have been confirmed so far, but from what can be seen in the various clips, it's possible to separate the overworld scenes into two different locations: one that takes place in the backyard of a house, and the other that takes place in some garden. Unlike the previous games, the playable space is very large. The following notable features can be seen in each of the two locations:

Backyard

• As part of the playable terrain:
  • A wooden park bench with metal legs and armrests, though the top of the armrests have a wood slab attached.
  • Various walls made of piled-up bricks.
  • Various colored planks of wood poking up from the ground, arranged together to form walls.
  • Brick walls.
  • Blue fences, some of them with algae and colored fish drawings.
  • A gray stepladder with a beige toolbox on top.
  • Vases with potted plants.
  • A slab of wood with a water tap coming out of it.
  • A bucket full of dirt.
  • Azure tubes or a hose along the floor.
  • Tin cans.
  • Pool tiles, alternating in a chess pattern between white and blue.
  • An upturned yellow bucket.
• As part of the background:
  • A large iron gate.
  • Surrounding the large gate are decorated stone walls with brick tops.
  • Stairs leading from the gate to the playable area.
  • A very large house, with a pink roof and a front porch awning.
  • Large car tires, in red, yellow, and blue colors.
  • Shelves with vases and potted plants on them.
  • A cyan playground slide styled like an elephant.
  • Playground castles.
  • A wheelbarrow wheel.

Garden

• Tipped broken vases with rooted plants coming out.
• Plantations with a sign indicating what plant it is, although with no text.

Caves

Caves are shown to return in Pikmin 4. Their layout is simplistic, but it is not currently known if they are randomly generated like in Pikmin 2.

Treasures

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Treasures appear to be the main collectible item in Pikmin 4. Treasures have sparkle effects around them. When collected, a simple notification appears on-screen saying "New treasure collected!", with the icon of the corresponding treasure appearing above it. In this game, when a treasure is being carried, it rotates as the Pikmin change direction in their path.

Treasures seen in prerelease footage include a pair of binoculars, a strawberry, a pumpkin, a toy boat, a golden analog clock, a pair of castanets, and an unknown thimble-shaped saturated red object.

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  Pikmin retrieving the binoculars.

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  Pikmin carrying the binoculars.

Characters

Various leaders discussing Oatchi. Shepherd and Collin are on the right hand side, ordered left to right.

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Pikmin 4 features several new characters. The two known names are Collin and Shepherd.

Unknown main leader

One leader can be seen in almost all footage, more than any other character, suggesting they are the main leader of the game. This leader has a full head of unkempt red hair, one long eyelash atop each eye, rosy cheeks, a small spherical nose, a small circular open mouth, a yellow antenna light, as well as a full red spacesuit with white gloves and boots. They have pointy ears, suggesting that they may be a Hocotatian.

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  The character's front side.

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  Close-up of the character's back.

Collin

Collin has a square head with a pointy nose, large green eyes, and large rosy cheeks. Their mouth is similar to that of the President. They have close-cut gray hair with a spiraling tuft at the top. They have the same spacesuit and pointy ears as the main leader, suggesting they are part of the same group. Their name is a reference to Collies.

Shepherd

Shepherd has a pear-shaped head, long ears, dark skin, and blonde hair styled in a bun with a long curl on the side. They also wear a red bandana and have white grease paint under their eyes. They have the same spacesuit and pointy ears as the main leader, suggesting they are part of the same group. Their name alludes to German Shepherds.

Unknown bald character

A currently unnamed character can be seen conversing with the others. They appear to be bald and have a pear-shaped head, a long nose, and appear to wear glasses. They have the same spacesuit and pointy ears as the main leader, suggesting they are part of the same group.

Oatchi

Oatchi.

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Oatchi is a new dog-like character that assists the leaders. It's yellow, has some brown spots on its back, a thin tail that ends in a white tuft, two legs in total, two floppy ears, a red collar, blue eyes, and no nose. Despite its alien look, it's described as a dog in the official website, and barks like one in the trailer. It may belong to the grub-dog family based on its characteristics. It's also possible it is of the same species as Olimar's pet Bulbie, of which many members of the grub-dog family are named after due to their similarities.

The player can order Oatchi to perform something like a charge. An icon appears on-screen near the leader with Oatchi's face, and a circular gauge around it that fills with time. A large arrow pointing to the direction of the charge also appears, much like the one used in Pikmin 3's charge. When the gauge is full, the icon and arrow flash, and when the charge starts, Oatchi barks, runs in the direction of the order as the leader points their finger there with a hop. In the trailer, this charge is used to destroy some jars that block the way. After the charge, the gauge turns gray and starts decreasing instead, presumably indicating a cooldown before the charge can be used again.

Oatchi can also be ordered carry corpses, after which it will bark, grab onto the object, and apply the carrying strength of 10 Pikmin, similar to Purple Pikmin. The way it carries objects resembles a Breadbug.

The player can order their leader and Pikmin to all hop on Oatchi's back, after which the player can move Oatchi around. While the leader jumps on Oatchi's back, the Pikmin grab onto its hips. When directed towards a body of water in this state, Oatchi hops in, and starts swimming around, keeping the leader and Pikmin afloat. When brought out of the water, the same hop happens. Both hops seem to increase the same gauge seen when ordering a charge.

Oatchi has the ability to sniff out certain scents. One cutscene shows Shepherd congratulating Oatchi on finding a castaway. The trailer then shows Oatchi sniffing the ground left and right with the leader and some Pikmin on its back, only to suddenly prop up and show a thought bubble with the icon of a helmeted person's head silhouette. Finally, the video cuts to elsewhere where the crew find the castaway on the floor.

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  The player and their group of Pikmin approaching a puddle, alongside Oatchi.

• Pikmin 4 riding oachie near pond.jpg

  The group jumping on Oatchi to get ready to board.

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  The group crossing the lake on Oatchi's back.

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  Another angle of the lake being crossed.

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  Oatchi sniffing the ground.

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  Oatchi thinking about a castaway.

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  Oatchi dragging a Bulborb corpse.

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  Oatchi charging through some jars.

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  Some characters discussing Oatchi in the Japanese version.

Unknown castaway

In the 2023 trailer, Oatchi leads the player's group to an unconscious character that they then refer to as a "castaway". It is not possible to get a clear look at them, other than the fact their spacesuit is monochrome and their antenna light is cyan.

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  Approaching the unconscious castaway.

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  Close-up of the castaway.

Enemies

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Various new and returning enemies have been shown in trailers:

• Bulborb
• Dwarf Bulborb
• Empress Bulblax
• Bulborb Larva
• Fiery Blowhog
• Wogpole
• Yellow Wollywog
• White Spectralids
• Yellow Spectralids
• Joustmite
• Female Sheargrub

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  An Empress Bulblax rolling over some Pikmin. Bulborb Larvae can also be seen.

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  The Empress Bulblax under attack.

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  The Empress Bulblax seen from behind.

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  A Fiery Blowhog attacking Red Pikmin.

Unknown Snavian-like enemy

An unknown Snavian-like enemy resembling an infant Burrowing Snagret can be seen at one point in the 2023 trailer. They hop around on their one leg, and look around and chirp when idling.

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  The creatures hopping around.

Unknown Arachnorb-like enemy

An unknown Arachnorb-like enemy with a head resembling a disco ball can be seen at one point in the 2023 trailer. Its legs appear to be covered by tightly-wrapped strands of an unknown material, which dangle from the upper segments of its legs. The bottom half of two of its legs are bare, exposing a bony endoskeleton of some kind underneath. Several holes can be seen on the interior of its bottommost joints. While many Pikmin underneath it appear to be inflicted with a status effect similar in appearance to poison, it is unknown if this is the result of the enemy itself or another hazard.

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  The creature stomping around.

Unknown Mockiwi-like enemy

An unknown Mockiwi-like enemy with a trumpet-shaped beak can be seen at one point in the 2023 trailer. The top of its head and back of its body are a dim yellow color, while the bottom of the head and the stomach are white. They have small wings on each side of their body, and two small paws with white legs and red toes. Their sclerae are black, their irises are white, and their pupils are black. Their most prominent feature is the trumpet-shaped magenta beak.

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  The creature looking around.

Obstacles

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Many obstacles and hazards return in this game, along with some new ones:

• Water
• Dirt wall
• Electric gate
• Bridge (seemingly made of fragments)
• Paper bag – Some seem to have golden handles, a golden seal, and some golden logo on them. Others are blue and have the word "puppies" written on them.

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  Pikmin taking down a dirt wall.

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  The dirt wall breaking.

Unknown root obstacle

Large mounds of dirt with roots on them can be seen in the 2023 trailer. These mounds represent potted plants whose pots fell over and broke, tipping the plant sideways. The plant is just a generic plant ending with a large green leaf, not unlike the leaf seen atop a Pikmin's head. The plant's roots are all around the dirt mound. Pikmin grab onto the plant's stem and start pulling sideways. The dirt pile and plant stretch out more and more until eventually the dirt collapses, the roots are freed, and the Pikmin are knocked onto the floor, slightly throwing the plant with them. The small chunks of dirt the obstacle breaks into simply disappear into the floor as they fall, while the plant smoothly vanishes shortly after being uprooted.

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  The lump of dirt being pulled.

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  The lump of dirt, now destroyed after being pulled.

Unknown climbable wall obstacle

Walls that can be made climbable through unknown means can be seen at one point in the 2023 trailer. These walls have a base made of dirt, like a pile of dirt leaning on the wall making a small ramp. Atop the wall is also another base of dirt. Before the wall becomes climbable, there are a series of cubes made of some unknown material, possibly dirt, placed on the wall in a grid pattern. These, along with the bases above and below start glowing, and after a bit transform into the final climbable wall, with a puff of smoke. The wall then resembles a climbing wall, with small pebbles protruding. Both leaders and Pikmin can use these walls. Leaders can move up the wall, but seem to also be able to move sideways diagonally.

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  A wall before being made climbable.

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  A wall's covering being broken by unknown means.

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  An unnamed leader and their Pikmin climbing up the wall.

Unknown dirt bridge

An unfinished dirt bridge can be seen at multiple points in the 2023 trailer.

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  The bridge made of dirt.

Unknown jar obstacle

Jars that can be smashed by having Oatchi charge at them can be seen at one point in the 2023 trailer. They seem to be made of ceramic, and have cracks on their sides, near the base.

Unknown wall obstacle

A wall obstacle made of a crystalline material can be seen at one point in the 2023 trailer.

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  The unknown wall obstacle.

Plants and fungi

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The areas seen in trailer footage appear to be filled with a high density of plants, most of which are decorative. Various sizes of Pellet Posies and a Burgeoning Spiderwort are present. Other recognizable plants include:

•  Clover
•  Figwort (blue)
•  Horsetail

Others

Some other content can be spotted from the footage. In addition, some of the established content in the franchise suffered changes in Pikmin 4.

• New content:
  • The main pod that items are retrieved to resembles a SPERO.
    • It has a white color with red and blue accents.
    • This pod has the ability to fly through space, and can warp through space.
    • It has some Koppaite text on it, reading (HTCU or HTOU).
  • There is a massive ship in the landing site.
    • It follows the color scheme of the pod.
    • It also has Koppaite text on it, reading (HTCUGN or HTOUGN).
  • After the end of the main 2023 trailer footage, there is a teaser that takes place during the night. In it, an otherwise regular Bulborb's eyes suddenly become glowing red. Piles of colorful crystals resembling konpeitō can also be seen scattered around the area.
  • Some cyan-colored pebbles can be found in piles. Two also come out of a destroyed dirt wall.
  • Some pink pebbles surround the Red Onion and the pod.
  • Other circles are present without an Onion or a pod. A ring of these pebbles also surrounds the pod's location in caves. As such, these appear to indicate landing sites.
  • Black tubes with cyan lids can be seen coming out from the ground. They emanate some light.
• Changed content:
  • Onions now look more like a fruit with a speckled texture similar to apples. Their petals are smaller and point downwards like the original design. The base of the Onion is now yellow and plastic-like in appearance, and its legs are now green instead of yellow. Like in Pikmin 3, Onions fuse together upon meeting a new type of Pikmin; however, the Onion now becomes segmented like a gourd, with each segment bearing the color of a Pikmin type.
  • Pikmin sound different, as does the plucking sound.
  • The cursor now has an indicator above it: an icon with an optional number below. The icon is that of the Pikmin type in standby, or Oatchi, and the number is the number of Pikmin in the group of that type. While the cursor belongs to the game world, the icon is a part of the game screen's HUD.
  • Pikmin that get knocked down in combat have a chance of decreasing one level of maturity, like in Pikmin.

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  The landing site.

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  Close-up of the ship.

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  Close-up of the Master Onion with Red Pikmin, Yellow Pikmin, and Blue Pikmin inside.

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  The Master Onion's top, as seen when it is flying away.

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  Plucking a Red Pikmin near the Red Onion.

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  Close-up of the Red Onion.

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  A regular Bulborb at night, before its eyes turn red. The crystals can be seen to its left.

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  The same Bulborb, but with its eyes now glowing red.

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  Close-up of the red-eyed Bulborb.

Other information

• Game size: 12 GB.
• Supported play modes: TV, tabletop, and handheld.
• Supported controllers: currently unknown.
• Supported languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese..

History

Pre-announcement

Before Pikmin 4's official announcement in 2022, various pieces of information about the game were shared by Pikmin series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. This information was sparse and sometimes contradictory, and the lack of official statements by Nintendo made it difficult to work out what was actually happening with Pikmin 4. It is possible that some of these statements were referring to Hey! Pikmin.

The first of these mentions was on November 6^th, 2014, when Miyamoto was being interviewed on the recently-released Pikmin Short Movies, during which he said “Continually launching campaigns after the release of software will lay the groundwork for the next iteration of "Pikmin" in the future. And needless to say, we want it to be one of the motivations for potential consumers to purchase Wii U. We are making a variety of different efforts.”, indicating the possibility of another Pikmin game on the Wii U. Not long after, Miyamoto also mentioned wanting to make more Pikmin games in an interview with Smosh Games.

On September 7^th, 2015, Eurogamer unveiled that, in an exclusive interview, Miyamoto had confirmed the development of Pikmin 4, and claimed that “it's actually very close to completion. Pikmin teams are always working on the next one.” In the same article, Eurogamer also revealed a separate statement from a Nintendo representative, which said “We can confirm that Pikmin 4 is in development but that is all we can confirm at present.” It is not known if the "Pikmin 4" mentioned in that quote is the actual name for the game that Nintendo used, whether it's a placeholder name or not, or if it's just the result of the quote's English translation.

In interviews in 2015 and 2016, Miyamoto mentioned wanting to make more Pikmin and Star Fox games. When asked about characters he wanted to develop further at an Apple Store event, he said “Yeah, I always wanted Fox McCloud to be a bit more popular than he is. But I think one more would be Pikmin. So I think these two, I'll need to put some more energy into.”

On July 7^th, 2016, Gamerant interviewed Miyamoto and asked him about the status of the game's development and why there hadn't been any news in the past few months. To this, he replied “Yes, you are right, and we’re working on [Pikmin 4]. So, you know, when we’re in development we have to create a list of priorities and it has been hard to kind of fit that into that list, but we’re hopefully starting to see that on the list now.”

A second Eurogamer interview with Miyamoto about Pikmin 4 was conducted at E3 2017, during which he stated “I've been told not to share anything about this from PR, but I can tell you it is progressing.” This was the last time Pikmin 4 was mentioned before its official announcement.

Pre-release

Pikmin 4 was officially announced in a Nintendo Direct presentation on September 13^th, 2022. This announcement was in a section presented by Shigeru Miyamoto, which also promoted Pikmin Bloom and the upcoming Mario movie. A short trailer was shown, featuring a few scenes in a garden-like area and announcing a release window of 2023. Miyamoto provided some more basic details of the game after the trailer, and also showed off a new Pikmin T-shirt design based on the game's logo, which was made available to buy shortly afterwards.

On February 8^th, 2023, a Nintendo Direct presentation announced the release date for the game and a new trailer, which provided a lot of information regarding the game. The trailer comprises of several short gameplay snippets of a group of four new characters (including the unidentified leader in the screenshot released with the reveal trailer) exploring a large area. The trailer showcases some new and returning enemies and environmental obstacles, and seemingly the return of the cave mechanic from Pikmin 2. A new type of Pikmin was revealed, Ice Pikmin, demonstrating the ability to freeze enemies when eaten and a small body of water when enough are thrown into it. The trailer also reveals Oatchi, a dog-like creature shown assisting the group in a variety of ways, including finding others referred to as "castaways", breaking down certain obstacles, dragging a Bulborb corpse, and swimming a leader with a group of Pikmin across water. Collecting treasure also returns as a gameplay element, though the treasures' purpose in this game was not revealed. The trailer ends with a suspenseful nighttime scene of an idle Bulborb suddenly taking on glowing red eyes and walking away as if possessed, hinting at a strange occurrence on the planet.

Gallery

• Pikmin4 Direct Logo.png

  Pikmin 4's logo.

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  The first shot from the announcement trailer.

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  The second shot.

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  The third shot.

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  The third shot with the logo.

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  The logo before the 4 turns gold.

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  Key art.

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  Japanese key art.

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  Vertical arrangement of the key art.

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  Square arrangement of the key art.

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  Overview of the main park area.

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  Intro cutscene.

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  Intro cutscene.

Videos

• Announcement trailer
• September 13, 2022 Nintendo Direct (Contains one screenshot not present in the announcement trailer at 30:40.)
• February 8, 2023 Nintendo Direct

Names in other languages

Pikmin 4

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ピクミン４? Pikumin 4	Pikmin 4
Dutch	Pikmin 4	-
French	Pikmin 4	-
German	Pikmin 4	-
Italian	Pikmin 4	-
Korean	피크민 4 Pikeumin 4	Pikmin 4
Portuguese	Pikmin 4	-
Spanish	Pikmin 4	-

Ice Pikmin

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	氷ピクミン? Kōri Pikumin	Ice Pikmin
Dutch	Ijs-Pikmin	Ice Pikmin
French	Pikmin glace	Ice Pikmin
German	Eis-Pikmin	Ice Pikmin
Italian	Pikmin gelato	Ice Pikmin
Korean	얼음피크민
Portuguese	Pikmin gelo	Ice Pikmin
Spanish	Pikmin gélido	Ice Pikmin

Oatchi

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	オッチン? Otchin
Dutch	Otsjin	From English ouchie
French	Otchin	From English ouchie
German	Otschin	From English ouchie
Italian	Occin	From English ouchie
Korean	와치 Oachi	From English ouchie
Portuguese	Otchin	From English ouchie
Spanish	Ochin	From English ouchie

Collin

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	コリー? Corī	Collie

Shepherd

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	シェパード? Shepādo	Shepherd

See also

• Pikmin 3
• Hey! Pikmin