This is not a rumor, Nintendo themselves just released a video with Takahashi explaining the situation. This is a huge chunk of transparency from Nintendo about behind the scenes happenings. Apparently it wasn't going well so it seems they are straight up giving it back to Retro Studios who will start development from the beginning again.

As some of you probably know, I was very wary of the Metroid Prime 4 is coming but we won't tell you who is making it announcement (eventually revealed to be some Namco-Bandai staff?), and was keeping my hopes up but had some skepticism that it wouldn't be done right. Unfortunately, my skepticism was not unfounded. On the other hand, maybe it was, because Nintendo seems to understand that this is a big game and they can't just throw anything out there. They clearly understand the stakes here, and seem to be doing what they need to do to make it high quality.

Anyway, the negative here is that with development starting over it'll probably be late 2020 at the earliest that we see this game, more likely 2021 or 2022. It's ok, I can wait for an amazing Metroid Prime trilogy follow-up.


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@Secret_Tunnel I actually don't think this is a huge deal it's just the whole misfire start and restart thing that makes me constantly wonder WTF is going on with this game right now. The fact that they DID restart it after a misfire shows they really care about the franchise enough to not just throw anything out there, and getting Retro on-board is a huge plus to me, so that's ultimately all good news. I'm still kind of concerned about the whole thing though, and it's still not clear to me if this is a RETRO STUDIOS GAME now or if they're just involved in some ways while the mysterious unnamed team who fucked up this game so bad Nintendo had to force a restart is still heavily involved?

And yes, I know, that's basically the story of Retro and Metroid Prime 1, Retro was fucking it all up and Nintendo had to step in and fix things and then it turned out spectacular, we all know the story. But I feel like that whole thing turning out so well is one of those one in a million odds things which is why it makes such a great story. In general those type of situations probably don't end as well.

Keep in mind Metroid Prime is probably like a top 3 all-time game for me and basically my favorite game since the SNES. 2 and 3 are both up there as well. I'm not sure what to expect at this point but I really, REALLY want 4 to be a great game that lives up to the trilogy so I'm probably uber sensitive to every little detail surrounding the development right now.

Posted by

Zero

on: 08/15/20, 19:31

Edited:

08/15/20, 19:33

@Zero

For sure, the mystery of Retro Studios is so tantalizing. Are they actually a good developer, or are they just a glorified production arm of Nintendo's Japanese studios? What were they working on for the 5 years leading up to Metroid Prime 4's development being restarted? Is that Star Fox racing game a real thing? How involved are they with Metroid Prime 4 now? I wonder if we'll ever get answers to some of these questions.

Posted by

Secret_Tunnel

on: 08/15/20, 23:56

@Secret_Tunnel

Fair, but that is still a vital position. To get a new lead producer (even A lead producer) well into production is... not great. No matter how well things are going, changing up producers mid-production is a stumbling block for the whole team.

I dunno, this really feels like a mess from the outside. I don't think Nintendo will release a bad game in the end, but I can't imagine we'll see MP4 any time soon. Maybe this is just a glimpse into Retro as a whole, and why we haven't seen anything major or new out of them in years.

Posted by

J.K. Riki

on: 08/16/20, 00:16

@J.K. Riki

Who's to say? This could just as easily mean that the initial stages of development went great and now they're scaling up their team.

Posted by

Secret_Tunnel

on: 08/16/20, 00:50

@Secret_Tunnel

Because they just finished that other awesome, ambitious game they've been working on for over half a decade, across two platforms... right?!

Posted by

Hinph

on: 08/16/20, 03:05

I'd be less forgiving of Retro's long cycles and rumblings of vaporware if their post-Metroid Donkey Kong games weren't so deliciously awesome.

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 08/16/20, 03:35

@TriforceBun

Totes. Best 2D platformers since the 16 bit days. Heartbreaking that the Super Mario Bros series didn't get as much love and care. It would have been really nice to at least have gotten one more DKC game in this drought to make it a trilogy.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 08/16/20, 03:44

After Samus Returns was announced in the Treehouse segment later I always thought that Metroid Prime 4 was announced prematurely just to cut off the internet rage machine against the former. Consider that same E3 they also announced they were making a mainline Pokemon game for the Switch without a logo or anything, which was even less than Metroid Prime 4 had. This was after the internet raged against Nintendo for announcing Pokemon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon for the 3DS (also note when that happened Sun & Moon were still less than a year old so anyone who can put 2 and 2 together can figure out that Pokemon for the Switch wasn't going to be shown this soon).

I can imagine Samus Returns for the 3DS was ready to be shown but anticipating the internet to rage that the next Metroid game would:
A) Be a remake.
B) Not be for the Switch.

It makes sense they would just name (logo) drop Metroid Prime 4 just so the internet would not act like the usual irrational internet.

That said if Metroid Prime 4 was not announced so early I would actually be more understanding (while not necessarily agreeing) of the rage against Samus Returns than against the Pokemon games. That's because at least there's a near guarantee we would get a Pokemon game for the Switch eventually, while it wasn't a guarantee at the time that we would be getting a new Metroid game.

Posted by

CPA Wei

on: 08/16/20, 19:54

Hinph said:

At this point, I hope they are developing it as a launch title for Switch 2 (or whatever). Even if it's a great game, no entry in this series is guaranteed great sales. Perhaps some time in the spotlight as a launch centerpiece could help.

I agree. There's a reason BotW has done unheard of numbers for the Zelda series. Metroid can't reach those same heights, obviously, but I also don't think Nintendo has done a great job putting this series in a position to succeed sales-wise. Having a Metroid game as the featured launch game could do a lot for the franchise.

Posted by

TheBigG753

on: 08/16/20, 20:54

@Secret_Tunnel To me they're clearly an amazing developer. I know, NINTENDO MAGIC can help rise developers to heights they couldn't reach on their own, but like day to day design / development a million decisions are made by people that don't all have Miyamoto sitting there ok'ing them, so you still need a great team for Nintendo to work with. We've seen a lot of Nintendo / other dev team-ups that didn't go so well (including Prime 4's first attempt, apparently) so Retro consistently nailing it makes it pretty clear that they are top notch talent to me.

But of course, teams change over time, people come and people go. I read somewhere once that only a tiny fraction of the team who made the original Metroid Prime still remains, and I don't think they have quite made a game at that level since. BUT... their games are all great, and I actually think Tropical Freeze is one of the best 2D platformers ever, so until they start dropping duds I'm convinced they're amazing.

The thing that worries me about Prime 4 though is it's not very clear to me if it is even THEIR game right now. This other team who originally fucked things up still seems to be involved in some ways and when Retro's connection to the project was announced it was done in this vague way that made it seem like they were just going to be overseeing a restart. Or maybe more? It was very unclear. I'd feel so much better about things if Nintendo had just come out and been like "Hey, we went down the wrong path, it wasn't working, we stopped development on that and gave Prime 4 back to Retro Studios. Prime 4 is going to be a full on Retro Studios production." But that's not how it happened?!

@CPA Wei I mean, yeah, but Prime 4 also clearly got far enough along that someone realized it WASN'T working and had to restart the whole thing. I'm not sure at what point that would be but I doubt it would be super early into a project. They must have had some concrete stuff to show that just wasn't turning out well?

Posted by

Zero

on: 08/16/20, 23:12

Edited:

08/16/20, 23:17

What I would be most fascinated to find out is what has been transpiring within Retro Studios all these years. Their last new game was released back in February 2014, over six years ago. Plus it's safe to assume they have not worked on Metroid Prime 4 until at absolute earliest some time in 2017 (and I personally will go with the theory of January 2019, when the restart on Metroid Prime 4 was announced).

In addition, Kensuke Tanabe confirmed that Retro Studios was working on a new game in February 2014. At this point one can imagine that game was either cancelled or put on hold (probably the former given how long it's been).



@Zero
Oh, I was primarily referring to why it was announced so early. I doubt we would have even heard about it at this point if it wasn't to preemptively stave off internet rage towards Samus Returns.

As for the timeline for Metroid Prime 4...

June 2017 - announced to be in development by an unknown developer
January 2019 - revealed that development would restart development by Retro Studios.

So basically up until they announced the restart there has been a year and a half of development. I think that would be more than enough time during that period for that Nintendo could make a decision on whether or not to restart development on the game. I can buy that Metroid Prime 4 was still very early in development at the point it was announced.

Posted by

CPA Wei

on: 08/17/20, 00:52

@CPA Wei Ah I see. Yeah, that timeline makes sense.

Posted by

Zero

on: 08/17/20, 02:03

Whatever they were working on post-TF was canceled, sadly. It's a shame to lose out on a game from them.

I lean towards believing the rumor that it was a new IP that never really got on track w/ its development. I don't believe the Star Fox racing game rumors. I'd love to see a story on it some day.

Posted by

TheBigG753

on: 08/17/20, 02:49

@Hinph

Rayman Legends was superior.

Posted by

J.K. Riki

on: 08/17/20, 02:54

Do we know for sure that whatever they were working on was cancelled?

@J.K. Riki There is a good argument for Rayman Legends and it is obviously the superior multiplayer game but for single player I'd go with Tropical Freeze.

Posted by

Zero

on: 08/17/20, 03:48

@Secret_Tunnel@nate38'

Trust me, I get the point that "looking for a lead producer" doesn't necessarily mean there's no work already done. For me, the frustrating part is how they word the rest of the req: "We are looking for a 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿 to join us on our journey to develop Metroid Prime 4!"

"on our journey TO DEVELOP..." That sounds very much like something they're going to get started on right away, after their buzz wears off, Dad, Jeez, just let me be myself alright, I don't want to be like you.

That said, I also know from experience that these reqs are written by some recruiter chick in HR with a head full of corporate double-speak and no idea what the position actually entails. I just hate that it doesn't read more like: "Are you a top-tier game producer who wants to work at NINTENDO (hot damn!) starting with an easy gig wrapping up production on a (trust me here) classic entry in the storied Metroid franchise? Bitch, please. Of course you do. Get your damn resume updated. Ain't nobody want to play that Halo knockoff you're currently working on."

Posted by

kriswright

on: 08/17/20, 03:55

Edited:

08/17/20, 03:56

@J.K. Riki

I can see how some people prefer Legends, sure. Retro's DK games are more my style though. Comparing the NSMB games to Rayman Origins and Legends is also equally heartbreaking. Why does Nintendo have to do Mario like that?

Posted by

Hinph

on: 08/17/20, 04:23

Zero said:

Do we know for sure that whatever they were working on was cancelled?

No, but it's a pretty reasonable guess. Not like they'd ever tell us anyway. Best case is it's "on hold" and they'll revisit it post-MP4 as I don't believe Retro is a 2 team studio, though at that point saying it wasn't canceled is semantics.

Posted by

TheBigG753

on: 08/17/20, 04:30

Edited:

08/17/20, 04:33

@TheBigG753 But do we know for sure the full weight of Retro is behind Prime 4 now? I hope so but the announcement was weird and it kind of sounded to me like it was just Retro leading that... other team.

Posted by

Zero

on: 08/17/20, 08:37

Hinph said:

Comparing the NSMB games to Rayman Origins and Legends is also equally heartbreaking. Why does Nintendo have to do Mario like that?

There we can agree. If the new 2D Mario games had 1/20th of the charm of Legends we would have an incredible game on our hands. As it stands it feels like one is a phoned-in generic work while the other has the utmost care put into it.

EDIT: Still, the fact that NSMB games remain brilliantly fun shows just how fantastic Nintendo is at level design. Dang do they know their stuff in that department. They just need to hire some better artists and designers, lol. Heck, here is one guy on Artstation. Give him a call, bet he'd do it for a song.

Posted by

J.K. Riki

on: 08/17/20, 15:41

Edited:

08/17/20, 15:49