Nintendo trying to figure out ehy Metroid Other M didn't sell

[Mr Khan]

jarrod said:

Khuutra said:

Making a game with a budget like Other M's would make no sense if they expected Fire Emblem-esque sales.

I agree with forest-spirit that their expectations were unrealistic for Other M, but if their expectations were in line with his then they shouldn't fund a game that expensive.

I think Sakamoto earned some serious leeway with the higher ups thanks to breakouts like Wario Ware, Rhythm Tengoku and Tomodatchi Collection.  The last one alone outsold every game Retro's ever made, and it's only released in one country. :/

Looking back, Other M was pretty clearly a vanity project and when (if?) Sakamoto gets to take the franchise out again, I doubt he'll have nearly the same sort of resources handed to him.  The CG bill alone probably dwarfed the R&D budget for all his DS games combined.

So you don't think it wasn't a matter of

"Sakamoto's ideas for this Metroid game are right on the money. Let's let him run free and he'll return a hit."

instead being

"It's Sakamoto. His ideas *are* hits."

I always assumed that the former was the truth, that someone higher up than Sakamoto really thought his ideas were the future of a more mainstream, revived-in-Japan metroid, and that's why they gave him complete control, rather than them just letting Sakamoto have a vanity project because of his past successes