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so, this coming week is F-Zero's 25th Anniversary...

Nintendo get shit for having 'abandoned' this and Metroid but both franchises had multiple entries for years which sold somewhere between disappointing and bomb.
They're both in genres which are stagnant in the current marketplace and are franchises unknown by this generation of gamers.

For the entries we do have, Nintendo makes sure they're easily accessible via re-releases and Virtual Console and give frequent nods to both series through recent DLC cameos, merchandise, Smash Bros, amiibo and now even a spin-off game in the case of Metroid.

Metroid going from side-scroller to FP adventure and F-Zero ending up in arcades and as an anime shows Nintendo were fully invested in developing each series.
The fact nobody cared isn't on them.
 

Danthrax

Batteries the CRISIS!
I mean, GX's developer has also been dead for 10 years.

no

FwnpTNS.jpg


they just make Yakuza games now, and the excellent Binary Domain

although some of them moved over to the team that makes Mario & Sonic at the Olympics games
 

Broritos

Member
Nintendo get shit for having 'abandoned' this and Metroid but both franchises had multiple entries for years which sold somewhere between disappointing and bomb.
They're both in genres which are stagnant in the current marketplace and are franchises unknown by this generation of gamers.

For the entries we do have, Nintendo makes sure they're easily accessible via re-releases and Virtual Console and give frequent nods to both series through recent DLC cameos, merchandise, Smash Bros, amiibo and now even a spin-off game in the case of Metroid.

Metroid going from side-scroller to FP adventure and F-Zero ending up in arcades and as an anime shows Nintendo were fully invested in developing each series.
That nobody cared isn't on them.

Ya.

The best part is is that they really really tried with F-Zero and it definitely shows in GX. I don't mean that in a sad way. GX is the best racing game ever made and I still play it to this day. I believe F-Zero will come back one day and I can wait because I know Nintendo respects series.

I might stream a full run thru of GX on the 21st.
 

Celine

Member
Nintendo get shit for having 'abandoned' this and Metroid but both franchises had multiple entries for years which sold somewhere between disappointing and bomb.
They're both in genres which are stagnant in the current marketplace and are franchises unknown by this generation of gamers.

For the entries we do have, Nintendo makes sure they're easily accessible via re-releases and Virtual Console and give frequent nods to both series through recent DLC cameos, merchandise, Smash Bros, amiibo and now even a spin-off game in the case of Metroid.

Metroid going from side-scroller to FP adventure and F-Zero ending up in arcades and as an anime shows Nintendo were fully invested in developing each series.
The fact nobody cared isn't on them.
Pretty much.

The good thing is that Nintendo is a company that value very dearly its legacy.
That 's why we got a new Punch Out game after 15 years from Super (and the game become a million seller too, holy shit!).

If stars align (there is a top manager that desire/push for a new entry in a legacy franchise, there is available an (external) team which Nintendo trust for the task) almost any legacy IP can be resurrected.
What I said would be dampened if Nintendo would leave the hardware business though, unless they believe in additional revenue streams from other activities connected to the IP.
 

fernoca

Member
Nintendo get shit for having 'abandoned' this and Metroid but both franchises had multiple entries for years which sold somewhere between disappointing and bomb.
They're both in genres which are stagnant in the current marketplace and are franchises unknown by this generation of gamers.

For the entries we do have, Nintendo makes sure they're easily accessible via re-releases and Virtual Console and give frequent nods to both series through recent DLC cameos, merchandise, Smash Bros, amiibo and now even a spin-off game in the case of Metroid.

Metroid going from side-scroller to FP adventure and F-Zero ending up in arcades and as an anime shows Nintendo were fully invested in developing each series.
The fact nobody cared isn't on them.
Pretty much.
I've posted the same in other threads, but less...eloquent. :p

The last time Nintendo "tried" with F-Zero, there was an arcade game, a GameCube game, two Game Boy Advance games and an animated series every Saturday...

..."noone" cared because arcades were dead, Gamecube-lol purple purse, GBA-wtf no backlit, TV show is lame.and WPIX sucks. They all underperformed.

Then played GX years later (and most on Dolphin), and suddenly are the biggest fans ever and wonder why they don't make them anymore. :p

Heck, they tried to have Criterion make a new entry, so they still seem to be looking around for someone to make a new entry.

Same with Metroid and the Prime Trilogy bombing, Other M lower sales, etc.
 

Madao

Member
They did nothing for Metroid and its a bigger IP than F-Zero.

I do REALLY want a F-Zero GX Online Edition HD for WiiU :(

it's funny that F-Zero's highest selling entry edges out Metroid's highest entry very slightly.

that means F-Zero was bigger than Metroid initially.
 

Madao

Member
sorry for double post but today is the day. 25 years of F-Zero!!!

*crickets chirp on the distance and old west hay balls roll*

I absolutely love Fzero, X and Maximum velocity (that one for what it was....a GBA launch title).
GX turned Fzero into something that was actively trying to push casual players away.
I know people like being all hardcore and everything but seriously I'd rather have something entirely new than something as obtuse as that again.
Music was a huge letdown too.
And what killed Fzero wasn't GX but the GBA games that absolutely bombed and the TV show.
I think that's what they're talking about when they say that they're not happy with what Fzero became sales-wise.

Bring back Fzero X and the expansion pack with online sharing.
Also 30 players online need to happen!

GX's GP mode was easier than all 3 of the previous games if you were using a good car.

GX's biggest sin against casuals was having completely wrong stats on almost every car. nothing handled like it should and some cars were "bait" to troll people because they looked good on paper but were utter crap in actual play while some cars that looked like nothing special were the real powerhouses and i'm not talking about advanced stuff.

i could pretty much predict a new player's initial impressions based on what car they pick alone. some cars play so bad that you might think the game is impossible but it's actually the car that is trash and the player just gave up too early before using a good car. at least Falcon's car is a decent starting vehicle but it's not quite fast enough for a casual.

FZX + EK is still the GOAT #1 though. no other game is such a complete package as this.
 

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
Pretty much.
I've posted the same in other threads, but less...eloquent. :p

The last time Nintendo "tried" with F-Zero, there was an arcade game, a GameCube game, two Game Boy Advance games and an animated series every Saturday...

..."noone" cared because arcades were dead, Gamecube-lol purple purse, GBA-wtf no backlit, TV show is lame.and WPIX sucks. They all underperformed.

Then played GX years later (and most on Dolphin), and suddenly are the biggest fans ever and wonder why they don't make them anymore. :p

Heck, they tried to have Criterion make a new entry, so they still seem to be looking around for someone to make a new entry.

Same with Metroid and the Prime Trilogy bombing, Other M lower sales, etc.

You can't call me part of the problem, as a buyer of 3 copies of GX (4 if we don't restrict purchases to just the GC era).

Though I don't care about anime and have never been big into portable games.
 

sörine

Banned
Maximum Velocity didn't under perform. It was the second best selling GBA launch game iirc, right behind Mario 2/Advance. X, GX and the other GBA games didn't sell as well as hoped but I've never heard that said about MV.

Star Fox is a series that has sold similarly low historically but Nintendo's giving it another shot this gen with the 3DS remake and notable Wii U sequel. I think F-Zero's time will come too, hopefully sooner than later. NX launch would be great.
 
..."noone" cared because arcades were dead, Gamecube-lol purple purse, GBA-wtf no backlit, TV show is lame.and WPIX sucks. They all underperformed.

It was also released at the same time as Mario Kart: Double Dash and Kirby Air Ride. I don't think that gets factored in enough.

If you release three games in the same genre, on the same console, at the same time, OF COURSE one is going to get lost in the shuffle.

A 2004 or 2002 release of F-Zero GX would have sold better, I think.
 
Oh yeah, I forgot all about the Criterion revelation. At least when they were looking, Nintendo was on the hunt for a GOOD developer for F-Zero. Especially after GX.

Here's to hoping for F-Zero NX.
 

sd28821

Member
Nintendo get shit for having 'abandoned' this and Metroid but both franchises had multiple entries for years which sold somewhere between disappointing and bomb.
They're both in genres which are stagnant in the current marketplace and are franchises unknown by this generation of gamers.

For the entries we do have, Nintendo makes sure they're easily accessible via re-releases and Virtual Console and give frequent nods to both series through recent DLC cameos, merchandise, Smash Bros, amiibo and now even a spin-off game in the case of Metroid.

Metroid going from side-scroller to FP adventure and F-Zero ending up in arcades and as an anime shows Nintendo were fully invested in developing each series.
The fact nobody cared isn't on them.

well said
 

sp3ctr3

Member
F-Zero GX can't be topped, so it's understandable that Nintendo won't put out a new one as it will disappoint from the get go.
 
Yeah Amusement Vision still exists but was merged and re-integrated in to Sega around the time when Sammy took over though the core talent is supposedly still there (Nagoshi and those now developing Yakuza). However the studio developed GX at Sega's creative peak just after the fall of the Dreamcast so I'm uncertain whether the studio would still be capable of capturing lightning again. Binary Domain and Yakuza are recentish releases from them and both remain excellent so I guess there's a chance.

I highly doubt Nintendo would seek out Sega again however. The Sega of 2015 is very different from the Sega of back then and I think Nintendo would be skeptical of their creative power and capability now. And I say that as a die hard Sega fan. Nintendo would probably seek out a developer that's more reliable hence Criterion being chosen a while back. However this is entirely irrelevant. F-Zero remained dormant because A) GX massively under performed (despite being one of the greatest futuristic racers of all time if not the greatest) and B) The genre's just dead.

Back when GX released the futuristic racing genre was alive and kicking. Now Wipeout's dead. Extreme G is dead. Futuristic racers that are released are primarily niche indie efforts like Distance. The high budget, high production value futuristic racer just disappeared. The audience just isn't there any more. On a more positive note however Nintendo seem to be targeting the hardcore audience with the NX and following in Sony's footsteps there and both F-Zero and Metroid are the most hardcore Nintendo franchises there are so I think there's still a glimmer of hope.

GX remains the best racer I've ever played though even a decade later. I'd love to see a successor.
 

PreFire

Member
One of my favorite racers ever.

Even the n64 one was ok.. But nothing like that original.

I would honestly buy a Nintendo Wii u if they released a new, good version of fzero. Not like that new Star Fox (a game I loved on 64) that looks like a 32 bit game on a PC with low details enabled.

And why aren't futuristic racers a thing? I'd love to face people online in break neck future racing.

But whatever. Gaming is weird. Road Rash was one of my favorite action racing series and even when they tried to make a "HD" version at the time, it failed to recapture the magic from the first ones.

I still have Fzero and my Snes.. I might just look for it and play some
 

AdanVC

Member
It's sad it's been more than a decade since the last game... And we're probably gonna have to wait for another decade until Nintendo "considers it" to release a new one :(
 

ChaosXVI

Member
The fact that Nintendo approached Criterion gives me the impression that they are definitely interested in making a new one, but they clearly don't have the ability (or interest) in making it in-house, which I suppose should be obvious since GX was made by SEGA, and that was back in 2003.

When Nintendo finds the right team, a new F-Zero will come. Personally, I've got my money on Sumo-Digital, there were murmurs shortly after Sonic Racing Transformed came out that Nintendo were interested in doing "something" with them. But to my knowledge no further clarification was given.
 

Ezalc

Member
I was trying to find this thread on the date but couldn't. Anyway, happy anniversary to one of my favorite franchises of all time. I spent the day of, playing GX with a friend trying to beat story mode. We spent 4 hours to beat chapter 7 on normal, and then an additional 1 and a half to beat 8. We were trying to clear the story mode normal chapters before doing them on harder difficulties. One day we'll get there.
 

Square2015

Member
Here's the week F-Zero debuted in Japan (can you spot it?) and the SFC launch...
66ryID0.png

BNB1T9j.png

...it would stay on the charts for years.
 

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
Nintendo will honor the series milestone by coming out with F-Zero: BS (developed by Cing), a mini-game compilation where all your favorite characters like Captain Falcon, will participate in tug of war, three-legged races, and kayaking, among 15 other fun filled events for the entire family.
 

Fandangox

Member
Also not really a fan of GP's Legend (because I don't like the F-Zero anime) but I still decided to buy the game on VC cause I love the series, and the gameplay is solid enough.


GX ON VC WHEN NINTENDO
 

Madao

Member
F-Zero GX can't be topped, so it's understandable that Nintendo won't put out a new one as it will disappoint from the get go.

Super Metroid and Ocarina of Time can't be topped according to many fans but those series saw plenty of entries after that.

that's a weak excuse and an admission Nintendo is lacking on talent if they can't even beat a game developed by an outsde dev.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Just waiting for the announcement of this being one of the launch games for the NX. Just do GX with some difficulty tweaks, HD, online MP, and being able to play coups in MP, and they have the racing game of the forever. Maybe add a new story mode to complement the old, and one coup or something. It will be glorious!
 

Firemind

Member
Super Metroid and Ocarina of Time can't be topped according to many fans but those series saw plenty of entries after that.

that's a weak excuse and an admission Nintendo is lacking on talent if they can't even beat a game developed by an outsde dev.
No one will buy the game. It's exactly why we haven't seen a new Metroid yet. HD development takes a lot of time and therefore money. Time and money better spent elsewhere.
 

Madao

Member
No one will buy the game. It's exactly why we haven't seen a new Metroid yet. HD development takes a lot of time and therefore money. Time and money better spent elsewhere.

but that's a completely different problem. not being to surpass GX is not the reason they haven't tried. there were even 2 games after that.

and X is the true GOAT anyway. GX just copied what it did best and had better graphics.
 
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