There is, IMO, no point in making a "2D" Metroid if it's actually going to be "2.5D". If they're not going to bother making a legit, sprite based 2D game in the style of Super Metroid, and better yet, a PROPER follow up to that, as Fusion was OKAY at best, then I'd rather they not bother. We don't need any more sub-part Metroid entries.

Fusion was far better than Hunters.

Fusion is a great game, and the second best 2D metroid. Maybe you don't like 2D metroid games, but others do.

I wish the Metroid fanbase was bigger that way we got more regular installments but I just don't think that it is ...

Yes, but to be fair the series has also been quite unfortunate so far.

By the standards of thier time Metroid and Super Metroid were actually quite popular. Then the series has been put back for a whole generation and later it happened to recive the strongest back-up from Nintendo in a time when the company was labeled as "kiddy" and its home console was selling poorly.

You may argue MP3 didn't do better on Wii either but even in that case you have to put things in perspective. The Wii was a very popular console due to accessibilty and multiplayer, Metroid Prime on the contrary is an immersive and graphical intensive single player game. With Ps3/360 (and HD gaming in general) being a novelty those who were looking for that kind of experience were obviously looking elsewhere. In other words MP3 was a no brainer for  established fans but it wasn't in a good position to attract new players.

If Nintendo will ever want to revive the series I think now its the right timing. It's not a stretch to say Zelda is the key title that convinced people to buy the Switch on launch and it will likely play a role in defining the system's library since it signals a strong interest for deep and immersive single player experiences.

Metroid's problem has been that it doesn't sell in Japan. It sells fine in the US, but in Japan it has always struggled. That might be why Other M was a letdown compared to the Prime games. It didn't cater to western interests and the Japanese audience wasn't going to buy it anyway.

They wouldn't say it's true even if it is though.

I don't think Nintendo has a ninja overlooking their shoulder 24/7 lol. These tweets were probably made without Nintendo's consent considering their nonprofessional tone. But yeah, in a case of developer's word vs. the word of a guy with no proof, it makes more sense to believe the developers.

It has more problems then that it requires a specific taste from the player as it's more complex in what you need to play through it compared to most games, Prime for one sold as much as it did because people thought it was going to be a Halo clone which is a big reason Echoes had a massive drop in sales. Even when we factor in that Metroid games on average sell 1m it's almost always over a long period which compared to other first party games is unflattering especially for the amount of effort it requires to develop Metroid games, it takes as much resources to make Metroid as it does the tier 1 first party titles like Mario and Zelda but the returns from it are much much lower.

Other M actually sold well as Metroid goes ironically it sold around 1.4m which is what Super Metroid hit on SNES, the series was never strictly a western one that's a misconception it was always sold to the same dedicated fanbase as even with flaws OM hit the usual series mile stone. This is because the are very few alternatives to the series it requires a unique taste as mentioned but at the same time that taste brings in a dedicated fanbase that isn't big but decent enough.

Very much agree. Also, MP3 was not near as engaging or epic as the two GCN predecessors. The motion controls of Metroid Prime Trilogy were a more interesting addition for Wii than the game MP3 itself. MP3 gave into the mainstream expectations of voice actors and story sequence driven gameplay when the GCN titles set a different solitude appeal for the series. This is a solitary existence that too emerges from Breath of the Wild due to the size of the game and the emptiness of the music. Metroid would fit very well here on the Switch and help to solidify its dedication to core, expansive experiences. I think Nintendo had this in mind with Zelda and Switch and I think they have more in their plan that we don't know. Metroid seems a good movie to entice players going into 2018, possibly using a modified Breath of the Wild engine.

wasnt this guy who said switch would have 3 teraflops?