Rock Pikmin were introduced in Pikmin 3, released by Nintendo for Wii U in 2013, as a hardy new type that resists crushing and breaks crystals. Their death animation and noise quickly became familiar to players because Pikmin die often and in large numbers during exploration. Clips of the sound later circulated on soundboards and in meme edits, helped by searches like rock pikmin meme, where creators reuse the squeak for any brittle character or object breaking apart far from the original strategy game context.