Shigeru Miyamoto is working on a brand new franchise. The Nintendo luminary told Famitsu (translated by Kotaku) that, with Pikmin 3, Super Mario 3D World, and Mario Kart 8 set to appear on Wii U, it's a good time to branch out.

"Next Spring, with the release of Mario Kart 8, we'll have a general selection available, so I've been thinking it would be a good time to bring out a new franchise," Miyamoto said. "I can't say too much in detail right now, but I've been pretty busy with this title these days."

Pikmin 3 will release in Japan next week. That means Miyamoto should have more time to labor on whatever new magic has sprung from his head. Miyamoto didn't explicitly say his new game is Wii U bound (it could be a 3DS title after all) but he knows Wii U's fate depends on more compelling games from Nintendo.

"With the recent version upgrade [of the Wii U], we've worked on the system side of things and we're planning on further system tweaks ahead, but even as is, [the Wii U] has become a useful item for the living room," Miyamoto said. "However, it's pointless to talk about other features, no matter how fulfilling, without releasing games of our own, so we hope you'll look forward to the games to come."