News: Nintendo: Metroid Other M Sales Disappointing Page 1

Nintendo: Metroid Other M Sales Disappointing

19.11.2010

Nintendo: Metroid Other M Sales Disappointing on Nintendo gaming news, videos and discussion

Nintendo has confirmed that Metroid: Other M has not met sales expectations in the US. Speaking recently, Reggie Fils-Aime stated that Nintendo thought the game would sell a million units in the North American territory alone. However, currently it is only approaching half of that total, with Fils-Aime believing it will not hit target through the holiday period.

We believe that it could be, should be a million unit title. We're not going to get there, not through the holiday. And we are doing a lot of thinking as to why. Because it's a great game. The consumer reaction because of the quality has been strong. We're doing a lot of thinking about why we didn't get there. I think the marketing was strong, advertising was very good, the social media we did was very positive.
- Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

Speaking about why the game, which Cubed3 scored 9/10, perhaps did not appeal to fans and if this was to do with Samus Aran's characterisation, Fils-Aime continued by saying:

First off, [I have] nothing but the greatest respect for the development team. Mr. Sakamoto [co-creator of Metoid] did a wonderful job. His partnership with us in promoting the game was stellar. Team Ninja [is] absolutely fabulous. I'm not going to sit here and criticise a style of the game, but have I read the same feedback that said, broadly, that the portrayal of Samus felt different than how the player in the past had internalised the character. I've heard and read the same feedback. Do I think it's warranted or not? I'm not quite sure yet... I don't yet believe that that is the driving factor to the performance of the game."

Will we see more Metroid in the future? Reggie thinks so, "I certainly hope so. I'm a passionate fan of Samus and the Metroid series""

Have you played Metroid: Other M, and why do you think it did not match sales of the Metroid Prime series?

Metroid: Other M (Wii)

Developer

Team Ninja

Publisher

Nintendo

Genre

Adventure

Players

C3 Score

4/10

Reader Score

8/10 (33 Votes)

Out now

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Birdo Is A Tranny 19.11.2010#1

Maybe if Team Ninja didn't make a mockery of the Metroid franchise and smear shit in the fans faces it wouldn't have gone so wrong.

A very good example of trying to fix what isn't broken.

Nintendo should have given Team Ninja a new IP instead of attempting to make a current one better.

WP-Final 19.11.2010#2

Nunchuck support should have been a must. I hate Wii remote only games. Smilie

There are a number of problems with the game besides controls that I think shouldn't have been an issue. The camera and Voice acting being two of them IMO.

I think they should have just made a DS Metroid similar to Fusion and Zero Mission but spread across both screens. Would have been much better methinks.

( Edited 19.11.2010 15:07 by Ifrit XXII )

E-Dracon 19.11.2010#3

hmm.... lets see what went wrong.
Flawed controls (switching from thirdperson to first)
Character having the wrong personality
Way too many god damn cutscenes (my opinion)
Shit story

RudyC3 19.11.2010#4

Ifrit XXII said:
Nunchuck support should have been a must. I hate Wii remote only games.

The problem doesn't come from Wiimote-only games, because for some of them, it works great. Wario Land : The Shake Dimension and NSMB Wii both work great with this control scheme.

But forcing it onto games that would work better with the Nunchuk... that's a problem. And Other M clearly is one of those titles.

( Edited 19.11.2010 15:46 by Kafei2006 )

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Pantburster 19.11.2010#5

So leave it to RETRO studios or at least use the same team members AND leave it alone! it's not as if Metroid 3:corruption was bed or boring? This is mind blowing in a time of sequels only to choose a different direction that's crap! ALL Metroid fans felt the negative vibe once the new direction was announced except whichever overpaid tit decided on this.

Marzeee 19.11.2010#6

I say let Retro have another go at Metroid.

After making Donkey Kong Country Returns, it shows they have good experience in making 2D titles, as well. They could make a new 2D Metroid.

ebgeer 19.11.2010#7

I'm not sure why it did poorly either...I thought it was a great game. It had a different feel to it compared to othe metroid games. but thats fine...I like when they experiment with old IPs--the only thing I really disliked was the lack of exploration--In other metroid games you could wander around for hours just searching for stuff--in this it seemed to be more of a linear game--But what's wrong with a little story and linearity occasionally. i think Samus was portrayed fairly well--the cutscenes were beautiful--and the story wasn't all that bad--not the greatest--but how great can a story get when you have a female bounty hunter running around killing aliens and searching to destroy little flying jellyfish with teeth--those strong little bastards.

( Edited 19.11.2010 16:09 by ebgeer )

That Guy (guest) 19.11.2010#8

This game didn't sell as well as Regie thinks it should have because generally it didn't appeal to "hardcore" fans of the series while it did seem to appeal to people new to the games,I mean I know a lot of people who said this game was great and that it was their first Metroid while most people who have played the games since the like of Super Metroid thought it was terrible.

Canyarion 19.11.2010#9

Since the beginning I've been saying the game wouldn't sell great. Metroid has never been a big seller. Putting this team on it was risky.

Faust_D 19.11.2010#10

I'm actually ticked off at this.

Should've sold a crapload more for what it is. *sigh*

Elitist bastards =/

~Getting on C3's massive tits since 2K5.~

WP-Final 19.11.2010#11

Kafei2006 said:
The problem doesn't come from Wiimote-only games, because for some of them, it works great. Wario Land : The Shake Dimension and NSMB Wii both work great with this control scheme.

I'm just not a fan of using the Wii Remote sideways. Smilie

I find it awkward.

Why no Classic Controller support in both Wario and Mario? The motion bits could easily be set to a button. No excuse for not supporting the options. Smilie

The same goes for Donkey Kong. There's no reason for having no CC support. Smilie

TAG 19.11.2010#12

It doesn't look fun. I'm not about to spend $50 to find out if it really is or not.

(Bias: Almost no game is worth $50 to me)

TAG: That American Guy

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Romans 12:18

Darkflame 19.11.2010#13

My reasons for not getting it;

* DPad in this day and age is a turn of for everything except straight, 2D sidescrollers that dont need aiming.

* Lots of FMVs is not a saleing point for me - never has been. Probably why I'm a Nintendo gamer, rather then a PS gamer over the last decade. I love story based games, but I prefer short cutscenes well intergrated (Eternal Darkness), or have the story told seamlessly as your playing (Sands Of Time).

* I like exploration and freeroaming adventures, this didnt look like it had much of it.

What Nintendo should do;

Leave Metroid alone for a bit on homeconsoles.
Let Retro do a new IP, then come back to it in a few years.

( Edited 19.11.2010 17:47 by Darkflame )

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Last update; Mice,Plumbers,Animatronics and Airbenders. We also have the socials; Facebook & G+.

erv 19.11.2010#14

I love this game. It is really good, though could use a more vast setting with intriguing morph ball puzzles, epic music, just plain epicness and such. Otherwise, I wouldn't change much.

crackedthesky 19.11.2010#15

Pantburster said:
So leave it to RETRO studios or at least use the same team members AND leave it alone! it's not as if Metroid 3:corruption was bed or boring? This is mind blowing in a time of sequels only to choose a different direction that's crap! ALL Metroid fans felt the negative vibe once the new direction was announced except whichever overpaid tit decided on this.

Dude, you're acting like Nintendo wouldn't let Retro do it. Retro chose to move on. They made a Donkey Kong game, maybe you've heard of it...

Also, making a claim that "ALL" fans hate or don't hate something is foolish at best and downright stupid at worst. Go read the other Other M pots on this site, most of the people who played it were happy with it.

I haven't played the game, myself (I wasn't really a huge Metroid fan to begin with) but I might rent this one at some point, and if I like it, I'll probably buy it. I like Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2 (though I felt that it's a bit unfair to basically require people to find all of the extra health and ammo and such; I've found most of the expansions in Prime 2, and the final boss wipes the floor with me, I can only imagine trying to beat it on a minimal play-through, and I actually haven't played since because I don't find scouring the globe for extra items to be much fun) but I wasn't really a huge fan of the side-scrollers, so perhaps taking it back to that format for a console game was a bad idea.

Anyway, I've heard incredibly mixed reviews about the characterization of Samus, but I doubt that's the reason for the sales. Overall... I'd say it's switching to side-scrolling and the control changes that caused it.

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EdEN 19.11.2010#16

I bought the game so I'm part of those that gave the game a chance. Haven't played it much but I liked it and would want a sequel.

Only thing I would change is change the control layout a bit to use the nunchuck for movement, wiimote for shooting and have me press A to c in the nunchuck to go into FP mode and shoot inmediatly with the pointer without having to flip the Wiimote here and there.

Azuardo 19.11.2010#17

I enjoyed Other M, but it was lacking the freedom of other Metroid games. It was a little too linear. The controls I quickly adapted to, but there's no doubt it would have worked a little better with the nunchuk. The d-pad also digs in to your thumb after prolonged periods of playing (a shame I'll probably be playing DKCR using the same control scheme...).

I think even the hardcore Metroid fans have perhaps waited for the reviews of this game, and seeing as how it's a very mixed bag, a lot have probably decided against paying full whack for Other M and would rather rent it or wait for a price drop.

I'd certainly love a sequel, because I'm a fan of this latest style of Metroid, but I do think what we need next is a massive 2D game. A real Super Metroid sequel.

SirLink 19.11.2010#18

I still didn't get around to buy this game but I will eventually. Obviously I haven't played the game yet but I've read a lot about it and there's one thing that really bothers me. It's all those fans who are crying foul about the personality of Samus. First off, Samus was never portrayed as a total badass character with no fears whatsoever. That's just the way fans thought she was like. Seriously, they showed almost zero of her character. And it's not like some random guy came up with all this, it was Sakamoto himself.

Now that this is said, look at what Samus has gone through so far. Pretty much anybody would be an emotional wreck after experiencing the things she did. That scene with Ridley for example. She faced him so many times already, thought she had killed him for good but then has to realize that her nemesis who caused her so much pain is still alive and in front of her. Yet, she still manages to overcome her fears and defeat him and that's true courage right there.

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vivisapprentice 19.11.2010#19

I think the main problem is, is that the 'hardcore' gamer that Nintendo was going after has long left the wii console and moved onto HD consoles. Theres just not many true gamers on the wii anymore and thats why games like this dont sell.
Im a sparky and I probably go to an average of 20 houses a week, and id say up to 30% of those houses I see wii's, majority of the time I can tell these people arent gamers and there collections only have a couple of titles in them, wii play, sport and fit are the main ones. The type of install base Nintendo has would not buy this game.
Lets hope Zelda can change this next year as it might be Nintendos last big game on wii

PMD 19.11.2010#20

I plan to buy it when it drops in price a bit. But I don't think Metroid games were EVER huge sellers. Maybe a million, but not like the other Nintendo franchises.

I don't think the story turned off potential buyers, more likely was the gameplay. It was a little too different and 'old school' than a majority of games today.

Darkflame 19.11.2010#21

vivisapprentice said:
I think the main problem is, is that the 'hardcore' gamer that Nintendo was going after has long left the wii console and moved onto HD consoles

Or that the 'hardcore' gamer is a complete myth invented as a crude-to-utterly useless marketing term.

We arn't two groups. We are hundreds. We are adventure fans, puzzle fans, platform fans. Sure, someone with just WiiSports isn't likely to get this. But, apperently, people with Zelda, Monster hunter or the previous Metroid's arn't either.

A obsessive FIFA buyer isn't necessarily going to be buying Mario Galaxy. A fan of DOOM isn't necessarily going to run out and buy Silent Hill. Yet we don't divide these groups up.

Twlight Princess and Monster Hunter sold better on the Wii then previous insultments by a hude margin. Okami sold double what it did on the PS2. Quality games can sale at least as good as PS2 and Gamecube.

This game, for whatever reason, was not perceived as quality or did not appeal to enough gamers.
That is all.
Theres no magical gaming group that "left".

( Edited 19.11.2010 23:31 by Darkflame )

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Trepe 19.11.2010#22

I think the problem is most hard core gamers were hoping for something like the old school games and casual gamers don't know what to make of it.

It's a brilliant game though. It's currently my fifth most played game, 'cos everything about it screams quality and playability.

Wolvesgod 19.11.2010#23

Yeah the game was linear, and I think since then when Nintendo started to go linear with their games, is when they lost fans (I think because that's what everyone wants, the freedom in the game). The very first Zelda game, wasn't linear, and in a since, to a limit, neither was the first Mario (being able to find the pipes to choose which level to go to) and the third Mario wasn't either. But the game that were linear didn't sell great (Mario 2 fell).

When all is bad don't look for a easy way out. Because you wont know what to do once your out

crackedthesky 19.11.2010#24

vivisapprentice said:
I think the main problem is, is that the 'hardcore' gamer that Nintendo was going after has long left the wii console and moved onto HD consoles. Theres just not many true gamers on the wii anymore and thats why games like this dont sell.
Im a sparky and I probably go to an average of 20 houses a week, and id say up to 30% of those houses I see wii's, majority of the time I can tell these people arent gamers and there collections only have a couple of titles in them, wii play, sport and fit are the main ones. The type of install base Nintendo has would not buy this game.
Lets hope Zelda can change this next year as it might be Nintendos last big game on wii

I'm not sure I've ever seen so much wrong in one post.

First of all, how does one "leave" a console? Do they break up, like lovers? Do they divorce, do they emancipate themselves? Does the Wii ever stand outside their window, holding up a stereo and playing their favorite song?
Don't tell me you mean to say that they sell their system and buy one of the others. Go to any GameStop and ask for a used Wii, and when you get laughed out of the store, you'll see what I'm talking about. Then there's the fact that the Wii has sold more units than both competitors combined, which would suggest that not that many people are "moving on."

Second, I don't know what the hell a "sparky" is, but the idea that you go into people's homes and look at what game systems they have creeps me out, dude o.O

Third, I really don't care about some random percentage you just made up on the spot based on snooping around other people's homes. Do some actual research. Go look at the number of units sold on games for all systems. The most successful games for Xbox 360 and PS3 sell about as many units as most Wii
shovelware. Go find a top ten best-sellers list for Xbox 360 or PS3, and you'll find roughly 70% of the games on it have sold less than a million copies. Other M being a "disappointment" for Nintendo still has it selling more units than most "hardcore" games for your "hardcore" systems.

Nobody has "moved on." The entire market for games is bad right now, but even still, Nintendo is selling games incredibly well. The idea that there aren't any good games on the Wii is a complete myth. You really couldn't be more incorrect.

Edit this post:

[quote][b]vivisapprentice said:[/b]<br/>I think the main problem is, is that the 'hardcore' gamer that Nintendo was going after has long left the wii console and moved onto HD consoles. Theres just not many true gamers on the wii anymore and thats why games like this dont sell. 
Im a sparky and I probably go to an average of 20 houses a week, and id say up to 30% of those houses I see wii's, majority of the time I can tell these people arent gamers and there collections only have a couple of titles in them, wii play, sport and fit are the main ones. The type of install base Nintendo has would not buy this game. 
Lets hope Zelda can change this next year as it might be Nintendos last big game on wii[/quote]

I'm not sure I've ever seen so much wrong in one post.

Second, I don't know what the hell a "sparky" is, but the idea that you go into people's homes and look at what game systems they have creeps me out, dude o.O

Third, I really don't care about some random percentage you just made up on the spot based on snooping around other people's homes. Do some actual research. Go look at the number of units sold on games for all systems. The most successful games for Xbox 360 and PS3 sell about as many units as most Wii 
[i]shovelware.[/i] Go find a top ten best-sellers list for Xbox 360 or PS3, and you'll find roughly 70% of the games on it have sold less than a million copies. Other M being a "disappointment" for Nintendo still has it selling more units than most "hardcore" games for your "hardcore" systems.

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meeto_0 20.11.2010#25

I was put off straight away when I found out there was no aiming for shooting outside the first person mode. That there was no nun-chuk support. I cannot understnad that decision.
Your sitting down with your remote in you lap aimed at the TV. It would have been great. I wasnt sure what kind of game it was? looked like they tried to turn a side scroller into an exploration game. Just didnt grab me.

vivaapprentice just ignore the above post. THe man has no manners. Manners tend to be lacking

( Edited 20.11.2010 01:53 by meeto_0 )