Methinks Nintendo likely already has a game deep in development judging off precedent (e.g. Famicon Detective Club, Metroid Prime Remastered, Metroid Samus Returns) as well that they’ve already gone so far out of their way as to create such a graphically demanding remake (well… graphically demanding as far as my eyes can see). Doesn’t seem like a cheap throw away, but an appetizer at something much bigger coming.

My guess is Nintendo is using this remake to prime Stat Fox for a strong return once his new entry drops.

Reminds me of when forum dwellers were shaking pitchforks at Nintendo over Retro making DKC: Tropical Freeze instead of going back to Metroid Prime, but Retro was bleeding talent while making the MP trilogy because the team was getting tired of churning out Metroid Primes and wanted to do something else.

This is why I'm a proponent of slowing down the power and graphics arms race and having longer console cycles. I've been saying since the PS360 days that the modern gaming industry won't be sustainable because budgets and development time just keep getting bigger and bigger. Nintendo has been trying to stave it off as much as possible, but even it can't hold out forever.

One benefit that I hoped for with the Switch was that with all of Nintendo's games being pipelined to a single console or console succession instead of two, this would lead to a greater variety of games and revival of dormant IPs for the need to have an diverse library. Because there's no need to have a Mario Kart DS/Mario Kart Wii or SSB 3DS/SSB Wii U, it would allow those teams more room to work on other things and Nintendo would see the need to have a greater range of experiences. Hopefully, this is the case.

Maybe with the crazy prices for hardware the console makers are forced to sustain a generation longer, which would help game makers as they aren't under the pressure of the graphics arms race anymore or not that much. We will see.

During the Star Fox vs. Fire Emblem debate, I forgot to mention a game that kinda has Fire Emblem in the title but definitely was meant to appeal to Fire Emblem fans: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE. That game is the equivalent of Star Fox Adventures, taking characters from a dormant franchise and putting them into a different genre in a game made by an external studio. It was as popular as a fart in an elevator. Unlike Star Fox Zero, which was also on the deeply unpopular Wii U, it got a second chance at life on the Switch. It didn't do much better there: https://personacentral.com/tokyo-mirage-sessions-fe-encore-debut-sales-japan-worse-wii-u-version/

So unlike SF0, TMS can't blame it's floppiness solely on being on a console no one owned. It just goes to show that Nintendo can't always plop characters from an IP into a different style of game and expect fans to come running just because they see their favorite characters on the cover. A standard FE or even a standard Shin Megami Tensei would have gone over much better.