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Pre-Release Nintendo has done everything in its power to make Metroid successful. The (morph) ball is in the market's court now
- Thread starter Phantom Thief
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Mekanos
Cultural Marxist
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I doubt the game fails, maybe underperforms but outright failure seems unlikely. I'm sure Nintendo would be happy with say, 1.5-2M lifetime sales even if some people here think 5M+ is on the table.
Ahmed
Rattata
I certainly hope so, we're only 2 months away from knowing!
It was more of a joke post. But I also mean I wish Advance Wars would get the same love as Metroid is getting, despite not being a hugely successful series. Instead it got barely any news updates and didn't even show in the Direct.
lemonfresh
Boo
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Metroid has never been that successful sadly, but sales dont equal quality so I dont care. Im just glad the series is still getting love and new ones are coming out
Clix
Actually likes NSO
My worry about Advance Wars is the pricing. They’re fantastic games but it’s a niche series. Should have tested the waters at 39.99 first IMO.
Metroid has never set the world on fire but it’s iconic even if it was never a top tier series for Nintendo. And it has the prestige of Prime and Super and of course, the original.
Metroid has never set the world on fire but it’s iconic even if it was never a top tier series for Nintendo. And it has the prestige of Prime and Super and of course, the original.
hannibunny2411
A primal evil endured over the pages
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I’m sure it will end up the best selling Metroid game worldwide and it will be a great success. If Prime 4 comes before the cyclical decline of the Switch and is a similar quality product this franchise might very well hit the upper echelons. The future of Metroid seems bright.
I think they fucked up by not including Advance Wars in the recent Direct. Would have gone a long way in marketing that games.
As for Metroid, it should be fine. Even if the sales are frontloaded it can still reach great sales for a 2D game. If it lands at either 2-3 million sales that would be fantastic.
As for Metroid, it should be fine. Even if the sales are frontloaded it can still reach great sales for a 2D game. If it lands at either 2-3 million sales that would be fantastic.
Deleted user
Self-requested account removal
What the HELL? 
Why are so many of you so pessimistic? This is not 2010. Metroid is a brand new franchise to many people who own the Switch and many people DO own a Switch. Also, the Switch is a console but also a handheld device, so it is easy for word-of-mouth to spread if a game is good because consumers can carry the Switch around and people can easily get a hands-on experience with the game.
I was NEVER interested in Goldeneye 007 until my half brother brought over his N64 and I played it, then got hooked, and got a N64 for myself and a new copy of Goleneye 007 for myself. The Switch being portable enhances this phenomenon by 1000 fold. This is why many Switch games have loooooooooooooooong legs. Metroid Dread is going to be BIG! and if it is really good it wont stop selling anytime soon.
Why are so many of you so pessimistic? This is not 2010. Metroid is a brand new franchise to many people who own the Switch and many people DO own a Switch. Also, the Switch is a console but also a handheld device, so it is easy for word-of-mouth to spread if a game is good because consumers can carry the Switch around and people can easily get a hands-on experience with the game.I was NEVER interested in Goldeneye 007 until my half brother brought over his N64 and I played it, then got hooked, and got a N64 for myself and a new copy of Goleneye 007 for myself. The Switch being portable enhances this phenomenon by 1000 fold. This is why many Switch games have loooooooooooooooong legs. Metroid Dread is going to be BIG! and if it is really good it wont stop selling anytime soon.
Doug Bowser Jr
Rattata
Don't let her down now!
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Yep, I think Dread takes Metroid over the 3 million mark for the first time. How far over is another question, of course, but I think lifetime sales landing somewhere between 3 and 5 million would be excellent for Metroid.
Starphanluke
Cappy
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It'll ship 2 million by Monday
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Honestly I think it'll be close to that, but not quite 2m. Definitely well over 1m.
But I'm guessing it'll have a bigger shipment for the holidays coming in a few weeks.
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I kind of expect that, if Metroid Dread is the best-selling Metroid game of all time and by a significant margin, checkbooks will get whipped out and MercurySteam may suddenly become a Nintendo studio. Taking a (if I'm being brutally honest) a series with middling sales but a dedicated fanbase and making it into something that can crack, say, 5 million units would be difficult for Nintendo to ignore.
That said, I expect it to be the biggest seller in franchise history, but am unclear about what kind of highs it will achieve.
That said, I expect it to be the biggest seller in franchise history, but am unclear about what kind of highs it will achieve.
ILikeFeet
Boo
2M by April sounds about right to me
Mbolibombo
New Forum. New Avatar.
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I think we're going to see good result from Dread, I do think Nintendo has decent expectations for the game, those saying that Nintendo will be pleased with it's performance with 1-2M sales LTD I think they're really lowballing the effort put behind this game
- 4 year development cycle by a pretty big dev team - probably cost a decent penny to make
- massive marketing campaign - also costly
- Launch title for the new flagship Switch
- A pillar to wake interest in the Metroid franchise considering Prime Remake and Prime 4 is coming in in the not too distant future. And Prime 4 is certainly going to be one of the more expensive Switch titles to develop.
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I think it can be the most successful game in the franchise.
As it is described above, the fact that it comes basically the same day as the OLED switch is really going to help it.
The only worry I have are the legs it will have after the holiday period.
As it is described above, the fact that it comes basically the same day as the OLED switch is really going to help it.
The only worry I have are the legs it will have after the holiday period.
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Nah Nintendo usually doesn't operate like this. They wouldn't have bought NLG if NLG wasn't looking to sell. They have a policy of finding no benefit in owning a studio if the talent leaves, so they only acquire new studios if they want to be bought.
What an anti-consumer thing to say.
Lovecatt
Cappy
Mercury steam is already owned by someone else
& even if they weren't Nintendo still wouldn't buy them
OP
OP
Phantom Thief
The Ghost of Tsushima
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We won't and we won't
It'll take the Q4 fiscal release for the composting to finally stop lol
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They would've given a PR if you would've made the obvious morph ball joke in the title of this thread, but you dropped the morph ball on that.
Shaking my smh
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And who says they don't want that or that the talent would reject that? It's important to recall that they were the ones who reached out to Nintendo with a Metroid pitch (their original pitch was a Fusion remake, that impressed them enough to sign them on for Samus Returns), not the other way around. They WANT to work with them, there's established desire to be there, just like there was with Next Level (they had outright said Nintendo was the only company they were taking contracts with as far back as 2014).
Minority stakeholder. And this idea that Nintendo is downright phobic of the idea needs to go away.
Again, if Dread is a massive success beyond Nintendo's expectations and well beyond what is expected from the franchise as a whole, expect there to be some talks on this in Kyoto.
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I'm not saying that they won't or can't purchase Mercury Steam, I'm saying that they won't base that decision on whether or not Dread overperforms. There needs to be interest from Mercury Steam to make it feasible for Nintendo.
Deleted user
Self-requested account removal
Nope. Mercury Steam has to work with Nintendo for decades before that happens.
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Tetsuya Takahashi: (laughs)
AngryAlchemist
#1 Fullmetal Alchemist Fan
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I didn't really make the connection till recently but I think part of the problem is that Metroid gets compared to Mario and Zelda at all when talking about sales. Most likely as a remnant of the fact that it is one of three big franchises Nintendo created during the NES era that has some level of relevance today.
I think that having a franchise which consistently cracks 2-3m is fine. When thinking about it, there's actually a lot of consistent Nintendo franchises which do just that. The problem is compounded by Metroid being a bit ambitious (which for the 3D projects leads to a higher budget), a lack of developers on hand to consistently create games for the franchise, and it just not being big enough for money to constantly be thrown at either problem.
That being said, Nintendo has really been treating the series right recently, especially with Dread's marketing. It would honestly be kind of embarrassing for the fanbase I think if after all the accusations of bad & low-effort marketing (which is something that dates at least as far back as 2007, when IGN complained about it in regards to Prime 3), Dread didn't even become the best selling Metroid game (honestly, 3M needs to happen for this level of marketing to feel justified imo).
I think that having a franchise which consistently cracks 2-3m is fine. When thinking about it, there's actually a lot of consistent Nintendo franchises which do just that. The problem is compounded by Metroid being a bit ambitious (which for the 3D projects leads to a higher budget), a lack of developers on hand to consistently create games for the franchise, and it just not being big enough for money to constantly be thrown at either problem.
That being said, Nintendo has really been treating the series right recently, especially with Dread's marketing. It would honestly be kind of embarrassing for the fanbase I think if after all the accusations of bad & low-effort marketing (which is something that dates at least as far back as 2007, when IGN complained about it in regards to Prime 3), Dread didn't even become the best selling Metroid game (honestly, 3M needs to happen for this level of marketing to feel justified imo).
ILikeFeet
Boo
Monolith was more of a consolation prize
Catalyst
Rattata
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And even then they probably won’t, look at HAL Laboratory. It’s been like 30 years and they still are independent.
Kingpin722
Rattata
Pokemon Snap sold 2+ million in like 3 months with much less marketing and a narrower appeal. Metroid has glowing reviews, parallel launch with OLED, and huge marketing. I think it will EASILY become the most successful in its franchise history in a short time frame.
Jaded Alyx
Chunbun. Then. Now. Forever.
Jason Schreier at Bloomberg: Nintendo’s Metroid Dread Is Primed To Be Breakout Success
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Mat expecting 5m is a good sign. Most people here think that's kind of the ceiling.
Deleted user
Self-requested account removal
The guy who started Monolith Soft was a seasoned veteran who worked at Squaresoft. Mercury Steam doesn't have that kind of résumé.
Tlozbj
Cappy
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I'll be contributing even if just a little, it will be the first Metroid I buy day one, and only second overall (Samus Returns being the first). All other Metroid games that I have gotten to play have been either from the Ambassador Program or NSO. Though that was enough to get me into the series and for now to be getting day one into Dread (well into buying, will wait till OLED arrives to play it 
).
).ILikeFeet
Boo
Mercury Steam had better retail success than Monolith prior to Monolith's buyout
The guy who started Monolith Soft was a seasoned veteran who worked at Squaresoft. Mercury Steam doesn't have that kind of résumé.
Kingo
Rattata
Hey! I was planning on getting Metroid day one, and then last week I somehow ended up buying 6 Atelier games on sale.
Sorry Samus, see ya in 2022!
Deleted user
Self-requested account removal
Yes, but even then I can see where Nintendo is more comfortable buying a company that has seasoned Squaresoft veterans, than a relatively unknown entity called Mercury Steam. I also feel that Nintendo still feel burned by Retro Studios. Mercury Steam could become the Next Retro (in a bad way), however Next Level Games have proven time and time again over the years that they know what they are doing.
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I must be misremembering Excitebike 64 then cause I’ve got no idea what you mean. Was there a soccer mode??
I love that game and I really want Nintendo to put out another Excitebike.
Ghostsonplanets
Ghost in the Sales
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I'm quite bullish on Dread sales performance. I think it will be the breakout hit that the franchise sorely needed. Early indicators so far have been great. IMO 3 million at least is quite achievable.
