Metroid Prime: Federation Force made an appearance in this week’s Nintendo Direct, becoming the first time that it has been seen since it was ensnared by a negative reaction at E3 2015.
That saw Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe reintroduce the Nintendo 3DS exclusive, a discussion that touched on the game’s development history and the reasoning behind why it has taken the series in a different direction.
“It all started on Nintendo GameCube, so it’s been about… 15 years since I first became the producer of the Metroid Prime series,” Tanabe shared.
“Today, I want to introduce you to the newest instalment in the Metroid Prime series, Metroid Prime: Federation Force. As a new title in a series we deeply love, we approached it with great passion and effort.
“Development on this game started in 2009. At that time, we started with the idea of developing a new online multiplayer-focused Metroid Prime series title for a handheld system. Early experiments began in collaboration with our reliable partners at Next Level Games, who I had worked with on Mario Smash Football for Nintendo GameCube and on Punch-Out!! for Wii.
“But at that point, we were working on it on Nintendo DSi, and with DSi it became clear that we wouldn’t be able to achieve the type of performance that fans would expect. When we saw New Nintendo 3DS a few years later, we knew that the system would address these performance issues, and also welcomed the expanded control options provided by the C-Stick.”
Metroid Prime: Federation Force will release exclusive for Nintendo 3DS across North America in late spring, and Europe in summer.
