Pikmin 4 Fans are Loving New Christmas Nintendo Switch Commercial

The holiday season is now upon us, and there's a good chance a lot of Nintendo Switch games will end up under Christmas Trees this year. Pikmin 4 was one of Nintendo's biggest releases in 2023, and a new commercial shows a family spending time with the game on Christmas Day. While the family finds themselves engrossed in the game, they don't seem to notice the actual Pikmin swiping one of the presents behind them. The group of Pikmin thieves is startled when they see a Bulborb devouring some Pikmin in the game, and one Yellow Pikmin even adds some extra light to the family's Christmas Tree. 

The new Pikmin 4 commercial can be found below. 

So far, reception to the new commercial has been overwhelmingly positive. There's something genuinely sweet about the ad, and the mellow nature of the Pikmin seems like a great match for the holiday season. Some fans were disappointed that this wasn't a promotion for new DLC or new content for Pikmin 4, but most people just took the opportunity to share how much they appreciated that the game is still getting promoted several months after its release. 

Pikmin 3's Christmas Mission

While Pikmin 4 doesn't really have anything to do with the holidays, the previous game in the series did offer a Christmas-themed mission. Pikmin 3's Fortress of Festivity can be found in the game's Mission Mode, and includes the same kinds of tasks that are found in the base game, but with a map that features a holiday theme, including presents and a tree that the Pikmin can interact with. Naturally, this new Christmas commercial prompted fans to discuss that mission, encouraging those that enjoyed this year's Christmas commercial to check it out if they want more wholesome Pikmin content to go with the holiday season. 

Pikmin 4's Big Year

The Pikmin franchise has always been a niche one for Nintendo, and has never been one of the company's biggest sellers. However, 2023 has been a big year for the series, with Pikmin 4 selling 2.61 million copies worldwide since its debut back in July. That would seem to bode well for the future of the series, and it will be interesting to see if the game performs well in the long run. In the Nintendo Switch era, a lot of Nintendo published games have seen long term success, continuing to sell millions more copies after launch. Pikmin 4 likely won't have the kind of longevity we've seen from games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but it's possible players will continue to discover it. The fact that Nintendo actually gave Pikmin a Christmas commercial this year would seem to indicate that the company still sees potential further success. 

Are you hoping to get Pikmin 4 for Christmas this year? What do you think of this new commercial? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!