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JWeinCom on 02 October 2018
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TheBraveGallade said:
FE echoes is really the main one to compare here as the gauge of interest between the two main niche franchises of fire emblem and metroid. Echoes though is arguably a dated game with ailienating arcaic mechanics though the presentation is awesome. However most that are truely interested in it are only the VERY small minority. And it still sold 700k.
SR had all the hype it needed to plus the nostalgia factor going for it but it sold less than 500k. It has mechanics that are updated and generally present to the 2d Metroidvainia player, but it still underperformed.

Then again fire emblem beating Metroid in Japan has always been a trend even when Metroid sold better in Japan - 710k super Metroid vs 740k FE3... The Japanese actually loved the shit out of Metroid (they loved FE more but still) untill prime came around and they saw it become a genre they don't like- a first/third person shooter. The first time that a shooter REALLY sold well in Japan is Splatoon...

Echoes is probably the best comparison (although Mario and Luigi also works really well) but we have to consider some other things.

Echoes sold about 700 K, compared to 500K for Samus returns.  Echoes outsold returns by about 150K in Japan.  So the sales difference is almost completely due to the series popularity there.

More importantly though, both Fates and Awakening sold about 2 million.  So, there was a HUGE decline from the first two games on the 3DS.

This could be because there are some changes to the formula from Awakening.  Or, it could be that it was a remake of an old game.  Or, it could be that it launched towards the death of the 3DS.

With Samus Returns sharing at least two of those 3 traits (arguably three, because fans of Metroid were very split on the counter and a couple of other mechanics), we should expect it to sell far less than is typical for the franchise.  And, it did.

 

JWeinCom said:

 

Why are we concluding that it was a failure? If you just mean it could have sold more, then yes it could have sold more on the Switch. But, there is also value in showing support for a console even after its successor is released.  This is something Sony has been consistently praised for.  There's also lower development costs in HD, and the fact that the developer was familiar with 3DS hardware, and not Switch hardware.  I believe that the game runs on Castlevania's engine.  Development on the Switch may have represented a commitment they were uncomfortable with, or would require much more assistance from Nintendo's staff.

Also, I think Prime 4 is a bit more exciting as the first Metroid on the Switch.  I think Samus Returns would somewhat water down the hype.

I think the game did what it was supposed to do.  It's a cheap game that didn't really take a lot of resources to develop, wasn't risky to develop, that will make 3DS owners happy.  It's really not a surprise that Nintendo's post Switch 3DS offerings have pretty much been remakes that run on existing engines.  (FE Warriors, Echoes, Mario and Luigi, Luigi's Mansion, Mario Party, etc.)  They know what they're doing, and I think 500K or so is enough to make a profit.  

I mean for a 25+ year old franchise which on average sells 1 - 1,5 million, got solid promotion online to make atleast it's own vocal dedicated following aware of it's existence

released on a still relevant 70m+ system. 1 million or 500k are not good numbers in any stretch in this day where game development costs up to millions of dollars but for this game let's say those would be acceptable sales numbers. Despite all that this game did even less than those numbers so yea it is a failure dude. If you're okay with mediocrity well then it's a success in your book.

Talking about sales "these days" is the whole flaw in your logic.  There are lots of different games these days.  For some franchises, 5 million in sales is enough to get the plug pulled.  For other games 250K is a huge success.  For a 2-D sidescroller with little in the way of cutscenes, 2D graphics, SD, and an existing engine, I'm pretty sure it falls more towards the latter.

To the point though, it doesn't make sense to compare it to every game or even the average game.  It makes sense to compare it to similar games.  When you do compare it to other remakes launched in 2017 on the 3DS, or 3DS remakes in general, it fares decently.  I broke this down in detail in an earlier post.