Plenty of questions about Wii U and Nintendo’s software lineup remain, even as E3 2012 moves into the past.
IGN spoke with Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto at E3, who revealed Pikmin 3 would not feature online co-op multiplayer, citing technical challenges as the primary reason for the decision.
“In the situation of Pikmin, for example,” said Miyamoto, “since you would have lots of individual, small creatures, the Pikmin, whose every movement and location is going to be really important in the game, it would be very difficult to sync up over an internet connection.”
It’s unclear whether Nintendo simply can't hit its usually high bar of self-satisfaction with it (the developer has done online multiplayer before), or if the rush to release Pikmin 3 in Wii U’s “launch window” means it’s not possible. Either way, possibly a worrying sign.
Elsewhere, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime tells Kotaku that Wii U will have system-level achievements. A similar feature was added to the 3DS in a recent firmware update, and were labeled “accomplishments.” Nintendo didn't make a big deal about it when it happened.
Unlike Microsoft and Sony, however, having achievements in every game is not a requirement to be published on Wii U. That decision will be left to the developer.
"That is not our philosophy,” said Fils-Aime.
In the past, Miyamoto has expressed a disapproval of the achievements concept.
"I'm not a big fan of using the carrots to motivate people to play," said Miyamoto back in 2009. "I want people to play because they enjoy playing and want to play more."