''Pikmin Finder'' was a 2023

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

browser-based A web application (or web app) is application software that is created with web technologies and runs via a web browser. Web applications emerged during the late 1990s and allowed for the server to dynamically build a response to the request, ...

mobile game A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any Mobile device, portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet computer, table ...

in the ''

Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding hazards, ...

'' series. It is the second mobile game in the Pikmin franchise, following '' Pikmin Bloom'', and is the seventh installment in the series overall. Developed and published by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

using Niantic's 8th Wall development platform, the game involves using the player's

mobile camera A camera phone is a mobile phone that is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with a color c ...

to display Pikmin and command them to carry treasure back to the player. The game was distributed worldwide on September 1, 2023, to coincide with a Nintendo Live event in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. The game was noted as being rather short by critics, with many deeming the game as being just a fun diversion. ''Finder'' was shutdown on December 31, 2024.

Gameplay

''Pikmin Finder'' is an

, utilising AR gameplay similar to that seen in '' Pikmin Bloom''. The player uses their mobile phone's camera to locate and view Pikmin in the surrounding environment. At first, the player will find Pikmin sprouted in the ground that can be pulled out by swiping up on the phone screen. Once enough are plucked out of the ground, the player can send the Pikmin away to collect and return treasure. The player repeats this until the player collects all the treasure in their catalogue. The phone's camera can be used to take pictures with the Pikmin in the environment. The game features all the types of Pikmin that can be found in ''

Pikmin 4 ''Pikmin 4'' is a 2023 real-time strategy video game co-developed by Nintendo EPD and Eighting, and published by Nintendo. It is the fourth main installment of the Pikmin, ''Pikmin'' series, following ''Pikmin 3'' (2013), and the fifth installme ...

'', as well as Oatchi, but it depends on time of day and location to determine which types show up. The treasures are also the same as the ones found in that game too, with twenty treasures for the player to collect.

Development and release

Following questions made by ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...

'', a Niantic representative stated that ''Finder'' was developed by Nintendo with the assistance of the Niantic subsidiary 8th Wall, using their web-based development platform. Niantic had previously worked on the Pikmin series in the past with 2021's ''Pikmin Bloom''. The game was originally release to coincide with Nintendo Live in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

with gameplay geared specifically to those attending the event, as well as to promote the recently released ''Pikmin 4''. The game was designed to be easy to allow for easier play in whilst waiting for events or in stores, with one of the aspects being not needing to download the game in order to play it. At both Nintendo Live and official Nintendo stores such as Nintendo Tokyo, guests received cards labelled with QR code URLs to access the game. The game was made available worldwide on all browsers using either the game's link on mobile or a QR code on the desktop version. On December 31, 2024, Nintendo announced on the game's webpage that its services had been discontinued.

Reception

Critics noted that whilst the game was novel in concept, many pointed out the game's extremely short length, with ''

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'' and ''

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'' deeming it "harmless fun" and "mostly good for passing time than serious gaming". Wes Davis from ''

'' felt that the game came up short and described it as being "a digital AR game equivalent of a

fidget spinner A fidget spinner or hand spinner is a toy that consists of a ball bearing in the center of a multi-lobed (typically three-lobed) flat structure made from metal or plastic with metal weights in the lobes, designed to spin around its central axis. ...

". Furthermore he described the game as being a "cute, distilled version" of ''Pikmin Bloom'', mentioning it was good for only a "couple minutes of diversion". Comparatively, Victoria Kennedy of ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

'' described the game as being "charming, but simplful", commenting that she found the game "rather delightful". ''Gaming Bolt''s Shunal Doke described the gameplay as "rather simplistic" and deemed nothing more than an advertisement for the recently released ''Pikmin 4''. Kieron Verbrugge from ''Press Start'' noted the game as being a "fun diversion" but acknowledge the game's accessibility due to being available on browser, though they stated the quality of your images is down to the player's photography abilities and camera quality. Hideaki Fujiwara from ''Automaton Media'' felt that while the game was meant solely to kill time while waiting, he added that the AR technology was put to good use and was "a glimpse of Niantic's proactive attitude towards expanding AR functions".

Notes

References

External links

* {{Nintendo mobile games Pikmin 2023 video games Android (operating system) games Augmented reality games Browser games Free-to-play video games IOS games Niantic, Inc. games Nintendo games Video game spinoffs