Happy Pikmin Day Eve

is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.

This morning, Nintendo announced that tomorrow, November 1st, would be the first annual Pikmin Day. As part of the short Pikmin Day Direct, Shigeru Miyamoto shared new info about Pikmin 4 for the Switch 2, as well as an update for the mobile app Pikmin Bloom, and announced the Hello! Pikmin series of shorts.

Players will be able to use the Switch 2’s built-in microphone to issue voice commands to Oatchi, the space dog. Pikmin 4 will also have a Dandori Academy mode that will test players’ skills in specific challenges. There will be limited tests on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, complete with leaderboards where players can compare stats. Pikmin Bloom will be getting a new feature called Secret Caves, where players can win treasure by battling enemies and exploring said caves.

Lastly, Miyamoto showed the first installment of a new series of shorts called Hello! Pikmin. A second episode will premiere tomorrow, with a third later in November. The series will then debut one short per month starting in December. The shorts build on the success of Close to You, a Pikmin animation released last year.

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