“A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” -Shigeru Miyamoto
Miyamoto’s philosophy is one reason that Nintendo has always been a unique developer. Nintendo is not afraid to push back a highly anticipated game to ensure its quality. Even in the Wii U era when the system was starved for content, Nintendo still didn’t hesitate to push back games like Breath of the Wild or Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
This week, we learned Nintendo is hitting the restart button on Metroid Prime 4. Along with scrapping what the team had been working on since the game’s announcement, Nintendo is bringing Metroid Prime 4 home to Retro Studios, developer of the original three Prime games.
Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi regrettably informed us of the state of Metroid Prime 4, but assured fans that the new development of Metroid Prime 4 will result in a game worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the other Metroid Prime titles.
Now, all that’s left to do is wait.
Since development is essentially starting over, it could be three, four, or five years until we finally play Metroid Prime 4. Delays often enrage fans, but the reception from the Nintendo community has actually been overwhelmingly positive. Why? Well, I think Kotaku’s Jason Schreier put it best: transparency works.
It's not shocking to see that the general gamer reaction to this Metroid Prime 4 news has been understanding and empathy rather than outrage and YouTube downvotes. Transparency… it works
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) January 25, 2019
It takes an incredible amount of confidence to pull back the curtain on a delay like this. Nintendo pulled it off with grace, integrity, and professionalism. I think that the update, coupled with the return of Retro Studios, has fans excited for the future of Metroid Prime 4.
However, it also leaves us wondering: why did the first try fail? Well, some rumors and reports surfaced recently addressing the original development of Metroid Prime 4. GameInformer’s senior editor Imran Khan said this:
Hearing that the big problem with MP4 development was Nintendo's experimental ad-hoc development process; it was being made in parts in different countries. Some studios were trucking along saying it was going smoothly while it was on fire elsewhere.
— Imran Khan (@imranzomg) January 25, 2019
Internal thinking was that it needs to be all under one roof to right the ship. Interestingly, Retro made the pitch for their involvement and put together a demo that Nintendo liked.
— Imran Khan (@imranzomg) January 25, 2019
There are also rumors that Metroid Prime Trilogy HD has been done for “some time,” but that this development change will push the trilogy back for a while. Khan also interestingly noted that more Metroid is in the works beyond these Prime titles.
After this announcement, it’s safe to assume that Nintendo will be radio silent about Prime for quite some time. Personally, I respect Nintendo’s decision to choose a fresh start rather than a rushed, disjointed final product. Prime 4 is no doubt a crucial title for Nintendo, the Switch, and especially the Metroid franchise, so I’m willing to wait as long as it takes to make sure that Samus Aran’s next first-person adventure is done right.
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Written by Logan Plant
Logan loves voicing his opinions just as much as writing them. When he isn’t gaming or writing, Logan’s probably recording a podcast or chatting on the radio. Video game journalism is his passion, and he hopes to cover video games for years to come.
