keep in Mind Iwata said the next platform will absorb Wii U's hardware so it probably isn't that different to develop for it than it was for Wii U

Yes, I definitely can see cross platform and not only with Pikmin 4, Zelda U is almost certain..

Remember when Nintendo said they want Wii U owners to be satisfied and that they will not abandon Wii U owners with NX launch.

They already have lotsa stuffs from Pikmin 3 that can use in new game, releasing Pikmin 4 in Q1 2016. means 2.5-3 years in development, more than enuf time for new game.

I actually think they're probably maximising profits from 3, reusing the engine, some assets. Essentially extensive DLC. By the sounds of it when they developed 3 they were only just grasping HD developement, they probably want to take what they they learned to make a more photorealistic aesthetic.

Because innovation.

It doesn't need to utilise all of the NX features to deliver an improvement over the Wii U from a performance and presentation standpoint. Also the NX patent which showed a discless system also displayed a controller with a display. NX may very well just be an improved Wii U with handheld cross compatibility.

Interesting. The fact that its close to finished means its been in development for quite a while, and I doubt they would have devkits ready for the NX by then. I think it'll be Wii U and might be ported to the NX at launch, perhaps a cross-gen title.

You're right ! It could totally easily be ported to NX, maybe as a launch title. But I don't think a launch title would be ready so soon, nor announced so soon.

I hope Pikmin 4 will be better than Pikmin 3 in the same way as Pikmin 2 was better than the first one (better difficulty, larger, better gameplay etc.).

That's surprising. Wish they told us they were making this game at the E3 conference. Would've made the conference slightly less terrible.

Awesome!

I doubt this will be on the NX, even as a multiplat. Pikmin 3 started development on the Wii and used a few older textures in places, so it makes more sense for Nintendo to use the current assets rather than making the necessary next-gen investment. Especially since sales have never been that great for pikmin.

As for the release date, I doubt this will be like Pikmin 3 where it is announced six years early. Pikmin is developed by a lot of the same people as the New Super Mario Bros series, including Hiroyuki Kimura. NSMB became huge at just the wrong time for Pikmin 3's development. Kimura himself has not been Producer for any game since Pikmin 3, and EAD Group 4 has only released Super Mario Maker since then, so Pikmin 4 should not be too long from now. I'm thinking summer to late 2016, depending on when the NX and other games are released.

As for what the game could be like, I can see a few possibilities. They could continue building on Pikmin 3's formula, but that could be tricky considering how it is limited by the Food and Days mechanics. A successor to Pikmin 2, with unlimited time and more stuff to hunt down, could also be interesting. Both would benefit from a cooperative way of playing the main story. Then there's the online play missing from Pikmin 3, which would be great for the series.