Another one bites the dust
Nintendo giveth and Nintendo taketh away. This morning’s announcement of Pikmin 3 Deluxe Editionon Switch came alongside an unceremonious axing of the last-gen version of the game.
Pikmin 3has been delisted from the Wii U eShop ahead of its October 30 launch on Switch. As Nintendo Everything reports, there’s no way to buy Pikmin 3digitally directly from Nintendo right now. Nintendo did the same thing ahead of the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freezere-release.
Of course, anyone with a physical copy of Pikmin 3on Wii U can still play it. The same goes for anyone who previously bought it digitally through the eShop. There just aren’t any new sales anymore as Nintendo pivots from a $20 last-gen version to a $60 current-gen version.
The continued existence of a cheaper Pikmin 3on Wii U would probably have an absolutely negligible effect on sales of the upcoming Deluxe edition. But, this isn’t exactly a new business practice for Nintendo so it doesn’t really take anyone by surprise. For now, your only Wii U option is to buy something physical; fortunately, it’s still selling for a reasonable price on the secondhand market.
Pikmin 3 removed from the Wii U eShop [Nintendo Everything]