Here's a question, do you think it helps to set your Wii to 4:3 but have the TV set to 16:9? Theoretically it would give you slightly crisper visuals for widescreen.

pancakez u talk about 4:3 for pikmin or in general ?
well either way i would opt for 16:9 widescreen. In pikmin2 for example u have ingame option for deflicker. Either u want soft and blurry visual or crisp and jagged visuals for pikmin2. So if deflicker is set on you get a softer image. But for any strategy or tactical game i would always recommend widescreen ! Especially for scurry hundreds of pikmins.

4:3 when I'm using it with my SD bedroom TV (where it usually is), widescreen on the odd occasions when I decide to hook it up to my HD living room TV.

16:9 is for goober heads & noobs. Semi kidding aside...I mean ya, 16:9 is more asthetically pleasing...Sort of. But for the quadro zillionth Zeeonth' time the image looks soft/blurry and dull which is not suprising since your basically expanding 640x480(Full screen ratio of wii games) to fill in the sides resulting in inferior picture quality. I personally prefer to play my Wii games in their native 4:3 resolution which gives you the clearest, crispist and sharpest image period. I've also noticed that the motion slightly takes a hit in widescreen mode as well. I can't bother with it. But on smaller smaller HDTV's like 32" to even 37" at the right distance 16:9 looks alright. Bump it up on a 40-42+ and 16:9 looks awful imo.

Finally, with Wii U games we'll 'get' true widescreen(1280x720 & 1920x1080p)

I tried playing Pikmin 2 in 16:9 and the Pikmin were so tiny I felt like I couldn't see anything — had to go back to 4:3.

iphys you know there are 3 different camera settings in pikmin ?

Now i finished pikmin2 on widescreen and i used the second or third farest camera option. I kinda find the options in there perfect. U got deflicker on / off , 3 different camera ranges and change between birds view or isometric view.
I find so many options perfect. Playing it in 4:3 seems to be a evil butchery. I personally prefer widescreen + 2. camera range + isometric view
Seriously in RTS, the overview is key ! Especially when there are blow rhinos , artillery fishes or evil burning bugs nearby. You need the most overview you can get or either ur army will be chewed by too many attracted enemies. Then even a fight vs 4 normal bigger spot bugs will be a defeat or dearly purchased victory. Trust me in later caves u will be very happy to have all the overview u can get. Especially in the water ghost dungeon!