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Nintendo makes November 1 Pikmin Day, and the Pikmin 4 Switch 2 Edition demo drops November 2

By PPRGaming · November 1, 2026

Shigeru Miyamoto in a Pikmin T-shirt waving with both hands, between a shot of colorful Pikmin and Oatchi in a garden and Pikmin peering into a round tunnel
Image: Nintendo, via Nintendo Life

Happy Pikmin Day, apparently. Nintendo dropped a surprise, roughly 10-minute Pikmin Day Direct this weekend, hosted by Shigeru Miyamoto himself, and used it to declare November 1 an annual Pikmin Day. The logic is very Nintendo: the first Pikmin game on GameCube in 2001 introduced red, blue and yellow Pikmin, and if you picture those three as the number one, you get 11/1, Miyamoto explained, per Nintendo Life.

As GoNintendo points out, there were no new game announcements. The focus was Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Dandori Academy, which launches Thursday, November 12.

What the Switch 2 Edition adds

  • Voice commands for Oatchi. You can talk to your space dog through the Switch 2’s built-in microphone, and yes, Nintendo’s store page says you can tell him he’s a good boy.
  • Dandori Academy. A new mode where you race to haul a stage’s treasure back as efficiently as possible. Exams run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, you earn medals based on how you do, and there are online leaderboards and three difficulty levels. 72 stages will be released over time.
  • Better visuals on Switch 2, plus Dandori Battles with a friend through GameShare locally or online via GameChat, even if they don’t own the game.

The Switch 2 Edition includes the original Switch game plus an upgrade pack, and Nintendo’s store lets Switch owners pre-order just the upgrade pack.

Try it tomorrow

A free demo arrives Monday, November 2. It includes the opening area, Sun-speckled Terrace, and two Dandori Academy stages, and your save transfers to the full game. Miyamoto also previewed a Secret Caves update for the mobile game Pikmin Bloom this winter, and a new series of animated shorts called Hello! Pikmin, with two more episodes this month and one a month from December.

PPR take: Pikmin 4 was already one of the best things on the original Switch, so this is less a new game than a very good excuse to go back. Dandori Academy is the part that matters. Pikmin has always been a planning game at heart, and weekend exams with leaderboards turn that into something you’ll check every week, like a speedrun with homework. The one-shot exam format is a smart twist too, since you practice all week and only get one real attempt. Voice commands for Oatchi sound like a gimmick, and they might be, but it’s the kind of gimmick Nintendo usually makes charming. The free demo with save transfer means there’s no reason not to try Dandori Academy before you spend anything.

Sources