When Pikmin 3 arrived in summer 2013, it ended a long and generation-spanning wait for fans of one of Shigeru Miyamoto's freshest franchises. Disregarding Wii re-releases it had been around nine years since Pikmin 2 on GameCube.

The wait for Pikmin 4, however, looks set to be far shorter. Speaking to Eurogamer recently, Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that the next entry in the series is "actually very close to completion", though wouldn't be drawn on its platform. Nintendo followed up with an official statement - "We can confirm that Pikmin 4 is in development but that is all we can confirm at present."

The fact it's so far along in development points to a possible Wii U release, though there's also the possibility that it could be held back for the to-be-announced NX platform.

Of course there's a slim chance - at least we think it's slim - that this could be a project for the DeNA partnership to bring games to iOS and Android. We find it unlikely that a franchise so dear to Shigeru Miyamoto would switch over to smart devices with a main numbered entry, especially considering the nature of the game experiences of the first three titles, but it can't be completely ruled out.

Miyamoto-san resisted giving any detail, but in acknowledging its development progress clearly made a tactical decision to build some anticipation for the title in good time.

Are you excited to hear about Pikmin 4 being on the way? Which platform would you like it to be on - Wii U, NX or even smart devices? Let us know.