Nintendo’s E3 2018 press conference wasn’t particularly rich with reveals or announcements, but one specific game’s absence was of note.Metroid Prime 4, announced during E3 2017, was not mentioned in any capacity in theE3 2018 Nintendo Direct. It wasn’t long after the end of the Nintendo Direct, however, that Nintendo provided some comments on just whyMetroid Prime 4is missing from E3 this year.
The disappointing news is that Nintendo simply doesn’t have anything to show forMetroid Prime 4. Nintendo marketing manager Bill Trinen offered up the following explanation:
“I think the main thing is, as people have probably realized by now – we show things when we think we’re ready to show them. And when we think we’re ready to showMetroid Prime, we’ll showMetroid Prime.”
Trinen goes on to re-explain thatMetroid Prime 4, or more accuratelyMetroid Prime 4’s logo, was onlyshown at E3 2017because it “was the first year for the hardware.” From here on Nintendo will return to what it says is its usual approach to E3, which is to focus on games launching in the relatively near future.Metroid Prime 4is sadly not one of those games.
The frustrations overMetroid Prime 4’s absence from E3 2018 wouldn’t likely be so acute if not for a couple reasons contextual to E3 2018. For one, whileMetroid Prime 4was absent from E3, theMetroidfranchise certainly wasn’t.Ridley was announcedas a brand new playable fighter forSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatefor the Nintendo Switch and Samus was also featured in the Ridley announcement’s cinematic trailer. The hype for moreMetroidwas high Tuesday morning.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, Nintendo’s E3 2018 line-up was surprisingly thin. BothPokemon Let’s GoandSuper Smash Bros. Ultimatelook incredible and are sure to be hugely successful, but relatively few games were featured beyond those two. Nintendo Switch owners looking towards 2019 were hoping for a look at the next big thing. They just might end up having to wait for 2019 to get that look, it seems.
WhenMetroid Prime 4arrives, it will undoubtedly be met with unbelievable excitement. But for now, it might be fair to feel a little frustrated.
Metroid Prime 4has no currently announced release window and is a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
