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Nuvendil on 09 August 2017
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Soundwave said:
Ariakon said:

I get where you're coming from and you may be right, but that core-centric userbase is why I think Switch owners will be much more receptive to Metroid than Wii owners were. 

It's still kinda the same userbase though, Metroid Prime on GameCube had a ton of hype and still only topped off at around 2 mill.

The truth is Metroid is just too slow/solitary of an IP to really have a huge mass audience. It's always been more "Alien" than "Star Wars".

Nintendo would be wise though I think to make a new FPS franchise that they own. Splatoon is a third person team based shooter and that's done great, but I think there's still a void that Nintendo could fill with a multiplayer FPS shooter, GoldenEye and Turok and Perfect Dark did so well for them back in the day, I think leaving the genre and/or thinking Metroid Prime was somehow going to fill that void was always a mistake. 

Pardon but NOTHING on the GameCube had a "ton" of hype.  Well, except Twilight Princess.  Mainly because the GameCube's marketing was so awful and just plain forgetable.  As in, I can literally remember not a single ad. 

And also worth noting that past sales are not necessarily indicative of future sales.  The Elder Scrolls is the ultimate example of this, going from being niche to selling almost 4 million to selling over 8 million to selling over 20 million.  You can't just say, "x series usually sells y, therefore x series will always sell y".  Far, far, far, FAR too many variables. 

In my honest opinion, Prime has never hit its sales potential.  Not once.  The marketing has been minimal to non-existent being the most obvious point.  The big difference now though is how the market has changed.  Exploration is a much more popular thing. SciFi is bigger now than it has ever been.  The Nintendo brand is looking far healthier than it did in the GameCube era.  Nintendo's marketing has been on point and they have put significant effort into promoting every single first party effort at retail.  I'm not saying Metroid Prime 4 will sell 10 million, that's just nonsense, but if all these things stay their course, it could be the best selling Metroid in my honest opinion.  Of course, a lot of this is dependent on what the game is like as well. 

But no Prime is not as big as Mario.  However it could move systems mainly because it will be different from prior launches, adding diversity to the lineup that will appeal to people who are on the fence.