Nintendo is celebrating its popular Pikmin video game characters with a web-based AR experience called Pikmin Finder, which allows people to befriend different colors of Pikmin and collect virtual treasures in augmented reality.
The Pikmin Finder experience can be activated by scanning a QR code with a mobile device. The AR “game” allows people to pluck the friendly creatures from the ground in augmented reality and send them on treasure hunts.
These treasure hunts last only a few seconds, with the Pikmin bringing back items such as a rubber duck, a strawberry or a waffle.
Twenty different items are available to collect. People can leave the AR experience and return at a later time with their progress being saved. The kinds of Pikmin players can find will change based on the time of day.
Pikmin Finder also features advertisements for two other Pikmin games: Pikmin 4 on Nintendo Switch and Pikmin Bloom on mobile devices.
Pikmin Bloom offers its own AR functionality. The free-to-play game allows players to view the Pikmin they’ve befriended in augmented reality and take photos they can share.
