Why are Metroid franchise sales so low? How can the franchise grow?

[couchmonkey]

Khuutra said:

KylieDog said:
Better told story. MP3 added some voice chat (in a Nintendo game?? WTF!) but Samus herself was still silent.


They need make the characters fuller, and add more cutscenes and flashy stuff. Simple stuff like cutscenes with action sequences pleases the masses, look at MGS4.


The gameplay needs stay the same though, is why the Metroid games are great.

To the bolded: no. The storytelling in Prime, where it was primarily through logs found with the visor, was perfect.

On a game design level, I totally agree with Khuutra.

On a business level, I can see where something like this would help sell to the masses, but would they sell enough extra units to make up the extra cost for all those cinematics?  I'm doubtful.

Let's look back to the point of the OP: why doesn't this series sell like Mario or Zelda?  I don't think people are buying Mario and Zelda for the MGS4-quality cutscenes and storyline.

I agree with requests for more Zero Suit Samus.  It's total exploitation, but it would probably sell some copies without having to change the core game design or the budget very much.  Maybe it's time for a new 2D Metroid?  Looking at the OP, maybe Fusion didn't do that well, but I still can't help but think that a "big-budget" 2D game with 3D graphics might sell better.