Miyamoto explains why 3DS Pikmin prototype was canned

On the eve of Pikmin 3's release on the Wii U, legendary games designer Shigeru Miyamoto has explained why Nintendo canned a handheld prototype of the strategy series for the DS and 3DS.

"The truth is we were doing prototype tests of Pikmin for the DS and 3DS but it turned into unit management with only the touch pen and no matter what it just didn't seem like Pikmin," explained Miyamoto to 4Gamer (translated via ONM).

The problem, according to Miyamoto, is in the game's controls. "We concluded that Pikmin is a game that revolves around action based on its controls and the strategy sits on top of that. Although there are elements that are built on the strategy, there are other overall things that have to be well considered. This complete experience is an important element of Pikmin."

While the Pikmin prototype didn't meet Miyamoto's expectations on the 3DS, the designer says the Wii U's GamePad makes the latest entry in the series accessible. "[Pikmin 3] may seem difficult on first glance, but once you try the controls, it's easy. Even if you find using the pointer difficult, there is a control method using the GamePad similar to the previous GameCube titles that we'd like people to utilize. To that end, we hope people are able to look at this as a carefree, easy action game."

Pikmin 3 will be released in North America on August 4. The game is already available in Europe, Australia, and Japan.

Pikmin 3 landed at No. 2 in the UK charts after its first weekend on sale.