The Development of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — Interview

[curl-6]

Leynos said:

curl-6 said:

Metroid's art style may not be photorealistic, but it's much more realistic than Torna's anime aesthetic.

How realistic things look affects how they're treated by ratings boards, hence why many game have alien blood appear as green or blue to soften the violence rating.

Yes the game is full of style, did you play it? Even Yakuza series are styled. The main characters don't look like any real person unless they license someone. 

You're missing the point; it may not be photorealistic, but it is much more realistic in style than Torna. Ratings boards assess violence and such according to how realistic it appears.

Leynos said:

curl-6 said:

I mean it won't greatly decrease sales, but it may mean less parents pick it up for their kids, and Metroid is already a niche series with low sales, so given the game is likely among the most expensive Nintendo has ever made, they probably wanted to appeal to the widest audience they could.

What kids are playing Metroid Prime? Most Prime fans are adults. If this was Animal Crossing then sure. Not that Metroid needs to be M or anything but I doubt it would affect it at all. Metroid isn't that niche as you make it out to be. Not the biggest seller in Nintendo IPs sure but Dread still sold over 3 million.

For a Nintendo IP, maxing out at 3m is pretty niche. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's a small market compared to Mario, Zelda, etc.

Of course, we can only theorise, but for whatever reason the fact remains that Nintendo isn't interested in making Metroid an adult only game, and Prime 4 is pretty much on par with prior Primes in terms of its subject matter.