s a remaster of the Wii U original for the Switch, which includes all of the DLC and adds new content to the game.
The new content in Pikmin 3 Deluxe includes a prologue/epilogue starring Olimar and Louie from the older Pikmin games, co-op functionality for the single-player story, a new difficulty mode, and a number of QoL improvements. As Pikmin 3 Deluxe, the game is great, but the new content doesn't really merit a double-dip from people who already played the first go-around.
The physical sales of Pikmin 3 Deluxe in the UK are in and they spell bad things for the future of the series. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the sales of the Switch version of Pikmin 3 Deluxe are down 18.5% from the Wii U original. It bears mentioning that these figures are only for the physical version of the game and don't for digital s. The recent lockdown situation across most of the UK (which is now a full national lockdown) means that it could have sold more on the eShop. As it stands, Pikmin 3 Deluxe is currently the #6 ranked game on the eShop charts in the UK, but it's #2 in the US, so it could have been more of a hit internationally.
The addition of Pikmin 3 Deluxe to the Switch's library seemed to spell the death knell for the Wii U, as it was one of the few first-party holdouts left on the system. It's possible that the lackluster new additions to the game were responsible for the lack of enthusiasm in the remaster. Switch remasters like Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition added a huge post-story campaign, while the port of Super Mario 3D World will seemingly include a new world. By comparison, the new additions to Pikmin 3 Deluxe aren't that impressive.
The 2020 Switch schedule has been surprisingly empty, especially for first-party releases. Pikmin 3 Deluxe hasn't had much competition on the system, as Animal Crossing: New Horizons is months old, and the only major release until the end of the year is Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Pikmin 3 sold fewer than a million copies on the Wii U, which means that there are plenty of Switch owners who never experienced the original, but they might not have been inspired to pick up the remaster. It's possible that Pikmin 3 Deluxe was more of an international hit, and we'll know more when Nintendo releases its next financial report in 2021.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
