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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Why are Metroid franchise sales so low? How can the franchise grow?

Ehm, all TV content can be viewed in widescreen :) Just set your TV to 16:9 full screen mode and play Super Mario Bros 1 on the NES in widescreen. But only a handful of GC games had actual widescreen mode which worked much in the same way as how DVD movies do 16:9 content (by squeezing the picture horizontally to use the entire resolution and let the TV stretch it out to 16:9).

But 60 Hz and widescreen have nothing to with eachother, no matter how you you twist it. But let's not discuss this any longer, let's discuss Metroid!



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@ksv: Yes it can be played just the way you said. But, if i switch between widescreen and 4:3 setting on the games menu, the widescreen setting views more content horizontally, the image remaining unchanged vertically.
The idea of having widescreen available only in 60Hz is because of the pixel flicker in 50Hz widescreen. Try Dakar 2 for example (it has widescreen setting available, but only has 50Hz mode).



Ei Kiinasti.

Eikä Japanisti.

Vaan pannaan jalalla koreasti.

 

Nintendo games sell only on Nintendo system.

they are very good sorry for the numbers
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PokemonFan, Pokemon Rules!!!!

How to make metroid more popular? Sell the ip to MS, there you go. ;D



I'm wondering, how high are the development costs for the Prime series?

I mean, MP2 and MP3 (didn't play 1) both seemed to be relatively low-cost production (doesn't mean they're bad, far from it!)

The entire Retro Studios has around 50 employees (for a comparison, Bungie has ~ 150), which isn't a lot.

So I'd say the MP series are part of Nintendo's "hardcore" titles (like all of Intelligent System's games, but Paper Mario). They're relatively niche, and I don't believe Nintendo wants to do a lot to change that.

I have to say though, they aren't that low budget. I mean, compare these two.

Retro Studios: ~ 50 employees.

Games:

02/03: Metroid Prime

04/05: Metroid Prime 2

06: Metroid Prime Hunters

07/08: Metroid Prime 3

 

Intelligent Systems: ~ 100 employees

02: AW (1)

02: Fire Emblem (6)

03: Black Hole Rising

03/04: Fire Emblem (7)

04/05: Wario Ware: Twisted

04/05: Wario Ware: Touched

04/05: Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones

04: Paper Mario: tTYD

04/05: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

05: AW: Dual Strike

07: Super Paper Mario

07/08: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

08: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

08: AW: DoR

 

IS has released 5 times as many games (over twice as many pr employee) as Retro Studios, so RS uses a lot of time on each game (IS isn't a totally fair comparison though. NOBODY makes more games than them)

 

 



http://www.vgchartz.com/games/userreviewdisp.php?id=261

That is VGChartz LONGEST review. And it's NOT Cute Kitten DS

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you have to remember that metriod was dead for like 10 years... and while there was a ton of hype for MP1 in NA, in Japan it being in FP made it less desirable. Now we are just seeing sequelitis.



End of 2009 Predictions (Set, January 1st 2009)

Wii- 72 million   3rd Year Peak, better slate of releases

360- 37 million   Should trend down slightly after 3rd year peak

PS3- 29 million  Sales should pick up next year, 3rd year peak and price cut

I have to agree, I think MP3 got very minimal advertising, or at least subdued by the Wii Sports craze.



Oyvoyvoyv said:

I'm wondering, how high are the development costs for the Prime series?

I mean, MP2 and MP3 (didn't play 1) both seemed to be relatively low-cost production (doesn't mean they're bad, far from it!)

The entire Retro Studios has around 50 employees (for a comparison, Bungie has ~ 150), which isn't a lot.

Why do you say they seem to be low-cost production? Technically Metroid Prime 1 and 2 are pretty much the most complex games you can get on the gamecube, the graphics were state-of-the-art for their time, the music and sound the same, and the size of the gameworld and all the ways you can interact with it means Quality Assurance must have been very costly.

True, no prerendered FMV crap (which is a waste of money), but certainly Prime 1 must have been a huge investment. Prime 2 and 3 less so of course, since they could use the same game engine, just tweak and optimize it.

50 employees are pretty big when you only work on 1 game.

It would be great if someone could get figures on this though, I would really like to know how the production costs of Metroid Prime 1 compare to, say, Zelda: Wind Waker. I imagine the scripting of all the different events and NPC interactions in Zelda makes it more difficult to program, but hard numbers or even just man-hours spent on each of the titles would give some pinpoint.

On another note; I think a lot of the reason why Nintendo are accused of abandoning the hardcore is that they didn't show Metroid Prime 3 enough love. I am sure a lot of the guys working at Retro were pretty disappointed with that, they are obviously extremely talented people and one of Nintendo's strongest studios right now.

Speaking of Retro, does anyone have any idea what they are working on now? New IP?



Esa-Petteri said:
How to make metroid more popular? Sell the ip to MS, there you go. ;D

 

 

I think that this post just made my IQ drop.