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Nintendo Throws Out Metroid Prime 4 Work, Restarts With Retro Studios (arstechnica.com)
Nintendo is essentially restarting development on the highly anticipated Metroid Prime 4, saying the game as it currently exists "has not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series." Ars Technica reports: The surprise announcement comes from Nintendo General Manager for Development Shinya Takahashi. He said in a YouTube video posted this morning that current Metroid Prime 4 producer Kensuke Tanabe will begin "collaborating" on the game with Retro Studios, the studio responsible for the original Metroid Prime trilogy. Tanabe has previously worked as producer on multiple Retro-developed Metroid Prime titles.
"The current development status of the game is very challenged and we have made a very difficult decision as a development team," Takahashi said in the subtitled video. "We have decided to reexamine the development structure and change it." "This change will essentially mean restarting development from the beginning, so the completion of the game will be delayed from our initial internal plan," Takahashi continued. "It will be a long road until the next time we will be able to update you on the development progress, and development time will be extensive."
"The current development status of the game is very challenged and we have made a very difficult decision as a development team," Takahashi said in the subtitled video. "We have decided to reexamine the development structure and change it." "This change will essentially mean restarting development from the beginning, so the completion of the game will be delayed from our initial internal plan," Takahashi continued. "It will be a long road until the next time we will be able to update you on the development progress, and development time will be extensive."
What rock have you been living under? Or are you just that young?
Metroid Prime was the killer app of the Gamecube/X-Box/Playstation 2 generation. Metroid had much better single player gameplay than Halo, while Halo's gameplay lent itself better to multiplayer and actually had multiplayer. By the next console generation (Wii/360/PS3), it was all about the (online) multiplayer, and Samus all but vanished outside of Smash Bros.
Metroid stars Samus Aran, who is part Lara Croft, part Boba Fett/Master Chief. Metroid Prime is part Tomb Raider, part Halo.