While there were hints of Pikmin in the original, this version of the short is filled with them interacting with various objects.
Nintendo surprised many earlier this week when it released a video of a baby being teased by various mysterious forces into learning to walk. Though Nintendo made it very subtle, a few very small clues convinced fans that this was something to do with Pikmin. As if to confirm it, today Nintendo has posted a version of the “Close to You” short that puts the Pikmin front and center as the mysterious force that was interacting with the baby and its room.
Nintendo posted the Pikmin-rich version of the “Close to You” short on its Nintendo Today mobile app. This video essentially plays out the same as the original that was posted earlier this week with one major difference: There are Pikmin everywhere. They are shown to be the force that moved the rattle around and tried to run away with the baby’s pacifier.
Source: Nintendo Today
Interestingly, the Pikmin are still present when the baby’s mother comes in, but it doesn’t look like she sees them. They might be invisible to normal humans, the way we saw it in the original video. Either way, it clears any doubt that this was, indeed, a Pikmin-related short. What does it mean for the Pikmin series? That’s hard to say at this time. Pikmin 4 came out in 2023 to positive reception, including here at Shacknews, so it hasn’t been long since the series saw action. Even so, there’s clear interest in the series at Nintendo, and with the Switch 2 released it could be another great time to return to the franchise.
It could also just be a funny Pikmin short that’s meant to make fans happy. We’ll keep an eye out for whatever comes of it, so stay tuned to the Pikmin series topic for more updates and news.
