With today’s reveal of Pikmin 3 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch, the original game has been delisted from the Wii U eShop. The tens of people in the world still regularly playing Nintendo’s black sheep console can still physically or digitally purchase the game through third-party retailers. Additionally, if you previously bought Pikmin 3 on the Wii U eShop, you can redownload it as usual.
The Wii U listing for Pikmin 3 is still up on the official Nintendo website as of writing. Apparently, you can even still download the demo. This isn’t an unusual move for Nintendo. When Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was announced, it was also pulled from the Wii U eShop.
This is a prominent example of the transience of digital games. A physical copy can be purchased and played forever as long as it’s not damaged. This isn’t so with the digital world. Fortunately, every major first-party title for the Wii U was released on disc, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a copy of Pikmin 3 (though it may be expensive).
Suppose you had a credit card in hand today, ready to finally pick up Pikmin 3 for Wii U seven years after its release. In that case, you might want to hold your fire. Pikmin 3 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch is releasing on October 30 and brings some new features like co-op, new side-story missions, lock-on targeting, and new difficulty options.
Captain Olimar’s third main series outing was well-received upon release. Game Revolution gave it a 4.5 citing the great AI, beautiful graphics, and inventive game designs as some of the main attractions. However, the game did have some ugly textures, and it remains to be seen just how far Pikmin 3 Deluxe will go with its remaster of the graphics.
