TheMisterManGuy said:
Because the company sees potential. It's not necessarily about what it is, but about what it can be. ARMS was only a modest hit, but Nintendo still sees potential in the IP, and it's sales are enough for Yabuki to continue making ARMS games if he wants. It's only if the franchise refuses to show growth or starts to stagnate that they pull the plug. Nintendo's not a company who kills IP after the first game just because they're not the next Mario. Unless it's made to be an odd-ball oneshot, Nintendo is willing to give lesser selling games a fair chance at sustaining on their own, only killing a series after a string poor sales. Fire Emblem Awakening was threatened to be the last game in the series if it didn't succeed. But Intelligent Systems was able to make it the most successful Fire Emblem game in years. And guess what, Fire Emblem sells roughly on par with ARMS, only peaking around 2-3 million per game if we go by modern entries. But it's enough for Nintendo to now consider it a major player in their staple of IP. ARMS will likely be the same, it may not reach the highs of Mario Kart, but if it can sustain 2-3 million sales per game and maybe even more, then Nintendo will be pleased. |
If we were talking about committing a secondary or external studio to it I'd say sure, go for it. 3 million is a good outcome if you're Monolith Soft, ND Cube, or Intelligent Systems. But for the team that make Mario Kart, an ARMS sequel just isn't worth the investment. It'd be like committing Naughty Dog to make Knack 3 instead of Last of Us Part 2. As an IP, ARMS has demonstrated a distinct lack of longevity, and for the same amount of resources as a sequel would need, you could've created a breakout new success or a new entry in a flagship property that could top 10 million.
