Niantic Labs, developer of the hit mobile sensation Pokémon Go, announced a new partnership with Nintendo to deliver a slew of AR titles. For the team's first project, fans can expect a new augmented reality game based on one of Nintendo's most popular independent properties: Pikmin.
We aren't aware of what else Niantic Labs will be developing in its partnership with Nintendo, but this Pikmin game already has plenty of fans talking online.
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Niantic Labs has published two other augmented reality games outside of Pokemon Go: Ingress Prime and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. However, neither was remotely as successful as Pokemon Go, which could be what caused the company to team back up with Nintendo.
It's hard to imagine an augmented reality Pikmin game will reach those levels of fame either, but it'll certainly reel in a dedicated crowd of fans from the original series.
Pikmin 3 initially launched in 2013, meaning it's been eight years since we've seen a new entry. Now that the series' next entry is an augmented reality mobile game, fans are unsure if this is something to celebrate. These mixed feelings can be seen on Twitter, with one fan questioning if this announcement (along with Pikmin 3 Deluxe and Super Nintendo World x Pikmin) means we'll see Pikmin 4 soon.
Other fans on Twitter are joking about the situation, clearly a bit disappointed that this is the new Pikmin game they'll receive after so much pleading. And even if this Pikmin AR game gets finished soon, it's probably not ethical to publish during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it's possible that we won't be seeing it for a while.
