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Metroid 64 mentioned in the May 1997 issue of Next Generation magazine.[1]
Metroid 64 was the supposed title for a Metroid game that was to be released for the Nintendo 64. After Super Metroid, many fans were eagerly awaiting a sequel. It was supposedly slated for the Nintendo 64, but while the game was referenced several times,[2] it never entered production, because "they couldn't come out with any concrete ideas".[3]
games™ interview with Yoshio Sakamoto[]
games™: "This apprehension over 3D gaming, is that the reason there was never a Metroid 64?"
Sakamoto: "I was actually thinking about the possibility of making a Metroid game for N64 but I felt that I shouldn't be the one making the game. When I held the N64 controller in my hands I just couldn't imagine how it could be used to move Samus around. So for me it was just too early to personally make a 3D Metroid at that time. Also, I know this is isn't a direct answer to your question but Nintendo at that time approached another company and asked them if they would make an N64 version of Metroid and their response was that no, they could not. They turned it down, saying that unfortunately they didn't have the confidence to create an N64 Metroid game that could compare favourably with Super Metroid. That's something I take as a compliment to what we achieved with Super Metroid."
games™: "Can you say who that company was?"
Sakamoto: "Sorry, I cannot."
DidYouKnowGaming? investigation[]
In late 2022, DidYouKnowGaming? ("DYKG") released a video following their investigation to identify the company Nintendo approached about developing Metroid 64, the results of which were inconclusive. DYKG asked former employees of Rockstar Games and Rare, two companies that were part of Nintendo's "Dream Team" (of third-party developers who worked closely with them on N64 titles), if either studio had been offered Metroid 64. Former Rockstar employees, including studio co-founder Jamie King, denied that Rockstar was approached.
Martin Wakeley, who was the design team lead at Rare, said he vaguely recalled discussing a Metroid game in their boardroom, and remarked that if Metroid 64 had been offered to Rare, he would have accepted. He believed that if the offer had been made, it was during a time when Rare was more interested in creating their own intellectual properties (to receive more of the royalties), and it would have been rejected for that reason. Of the design team, only Wakeley would have been involved in such discussions. Former Rare production manager Simon Farmer and producer Kevin Bayliss denied that Rare was approached. John Whitmore, the original director of Metroid Prime, said Retro Studios had not been approached to make Metroid 64 and did not believe Rare would have either.
In their research, DYKG discovered a comment in a 1997 magazine from former Nintendo executive Perrin Kaplan, who claimed to have heard that Metroid was in development for Nintendo 64. When they approached her, Kaplan could not recall what she knew. DYKG has since offered a $1,000 bounty for any information about the developer who Nintendo asked to make Metroid 64.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ "Nintendo 64 Previews: Super Mario RPG 2". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 103. Ziff Davis. February 1998. p. 56.
- ^ News Archives: 1996-1999. Metroid Database. Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
- ^ Developer info for Metroid Prime. Nintendo.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-19.