Shigeru Miyamoto first hinted about the possibilities of a new Pikmin game in an IGN interview. "I certainly don't think we've seen the last of Pikmin," he said. "I definitely would like to do something with them, and I think the Wii interface in particular is very well suited to that franchise."[4] A later CNET interview reported that "For now, Miyamoto looks ahead to other projects for the Wii, mentioning his desire to continue the Pikmin series."[5]
A new Pikmin game was eventually confirmed at E3 2008 during Nintendo's developer roundtable, in which Miyamoto stated that his team were working on a new entry in the series.[6][7] However, details concerning gameplay and development were left unmentioned.[8] In an interview with Nintendo's Official Latin American Magazine, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that Pikmin 3 is going to be on the Wii. He also stated that the Wii's controls were 'working well' with the game.[9]
The more recent announcement of a re-release of the first two games in the series on the Nintendo Wii with updated controls[10] raised concern as to the feasibility of a Pikmin 3; following, in an IGN interview, it was made clear that the re-releases of Pikmin and Pikmin 2 are separate from Pikmin 3[11]: Cammie Dunaway: It's not the Pikmin that Miyamoto-san referred to, Miyamoto-san referred to a new Pikmin, as opposed to the classics that are being rereleased on Wii.