I really don’t get the “should’ve been on Switch because 3DS is old”-argument either.

If you want to play a new Metroid, why care? It’s a new game, it’s a good game, it’s a game in a franchise you claim to like or are even a fan of. You have the system anyway so why does it matter on which system you buy it? Is it the graphics? Have people actually stooped to the level Nintendo fans usually claim to look down upon?

Why is it, in general actually, that a system’s predecessor is always a complete no-go for playing any game and is immediately thrown in the trash, while at the same time people are going nuts for games and systems that are even older? Why do you play Metroid on NES Classic with a big smile on your face but puke at the sight of Samus Returns on 3DS? Last I checked, Metroid for NES is a lot uglier and has a lot more primitive gameplay mechanics and control schemes than Samus Returns does. This is not to say you shouldn’t play an old game, because it can be fun, but for the same reason don’t you want to play a new game?

Maybe you’re just not a fan at all, because if it was me, Nintendo could release Breath of the Wild 2 on NES (or 3DS) and I’d still get it day one. Hell I’d scour the Earth for a Virtual Boy if need be.

Software sales show pretty clearly that outside of last year's Pokemon, 3DS owners have moved on and aren't interested in buying games for it anymore. And why would they, when the Switch exists, it's like using a horse and cart when you can have a car instead.

I mean, it's a remake of an old game, selling on an older system in a year where a new console was released and two of the most critically acclaimed games of the last decade dropped on said console. On top of that, it's the first non spin-off Metroid game to have to deal with digital sales. It seems like Nintendo was aware of this and set its expectations accordingly, describing SR's sales as "firm" in its October sales report last year.

Exactly. It's pretty sound logic at the end of the day and makes sense. 

Sad to hear. It's a great game. They probably expected higher sales because of the 3ds having a higher user base. Would be a missed opportunity to not release a HD remaster on the Switch.

If it were just below 1M, I'd say it's just Metroid. Just like F-Zero, these games tend to be highly regarded by fans and critics alike but otherwise don't sell very well, especially not when comparing them to other Nintendo series and would Nintendo not need to make games to feed their hardware, I'm sure they would have buried Metroid a long while ago. One can see this with Sega, how many of their IP survived when Sega became third party? Not many at all.

However, when I look at the Sales here, it hasn't even cracked the 500k mark yet without digital, and that's quite a bit more concerning. Maybe some didn't bought it out of spite for closing AM2R, but still...

Edit: mobile Metroid doesn't seem to sell very well in general after the Gameboy years. Zero Mission (GBA) is at 840k, Metroid Prime Hunters (DS) at 760k, and Pinball on the DS only sold a measly 260k. Samus Returs is actually selling about as well as the GBA rerelease of the first Metroid, which sold about half a million copies.

In other words: It's not setting the world on fire, but also not doing as badly as the raw numbers first make it out to be, especially since it's the first one after Federation Force

It's a shame because it's one of my favourite 2D Metroid games, everyone should play it, it doesn't matter if it's on 3DS, it's an awesome game

Under Nintendo, Metroid is far from one of there best series. In fact Metroid games don't sell that well. Look at the Prime series,

Now lets compare that to there competitors Sci-Fi shooter,

Nintendo

Prime 1 sold 2.82m < Metroid's best selling game of all time.

Prime 2 sold 1.33m

Prime 3 sold 1.79m

XBOX

Halo 1 sold 6.43m

Halo 2 sold 8.49m

Halo 3 sold 12.13m < Halo's best selling game of all time.

PS

Killzone 1 sold 0.94m

Killzone 2 sold 3.02m < Killzone's best selling game of all time

Killzone 3 sold 2.81m

Sony actually moved Guerrilla Games away from the Killzone series after Killzone SF only sold 3.02m. Its probably not a lot of sales for these sci-fi games.

Metroid is just niche and its why Nintendo don't have a great deal of focus on the Metroid series like they use to on the NES and SNES.

Best Metroid game I played was Metroid Fusion and it probably didn't sell that well either (1.68m).

For the budgets these games probably eat up, it doesn't sound like a lot especially when your competitor is selling 3x to 6x the amount. 

I don't have a 3ds. Otherwise I would have played that.
Any chance for a switch release?

Metroid games always have low sales for whatever reason, event thought most are incredibly well crafted :/