Reggie Wonders Where Metroid: Other M Sales Went Wrong

I think the bad press is what got this game's bad sales. Way too many people said that it was bad, even if the reviews said otherwise.

Oh dude, these was is great, it is, actually the best Wii game I got, and the best Wii game I have played. Who knows what went wrong, more game should buy these great title.

A game with a woman in it made only half a million?

AMERICA IS SEXIST!

The game was ahead of its time. And it got some bad press. Mainly incompetent reviewers saying false things. Also metroid games have never been the best selling.

Its strange. All those hardcore gamers complaining Nintendo went casual apparently gave up on Wii gaming. Its their loss. We have so many core releases this last year. My X-Box 360 is only used for Red Dead Redemption (the new Zombie DLC is great). Much more choice for the Wii at this moment.

I reckon it was the bad press from its website reviews too. (funny you should say that irken - I was thinking the same).

Through a combination of claims of sexism (not entirely unjustified) and it's resulting plot and gameplay.

Not that I'd know, but I've no intention of buying it anyway.

I blame G4 and it's 2/5

i think Nintendo's marketing kind of backfired on this one. they made a lot of noise about the game, and got everybody's expectations sky high. historically, reality has a tough time competing with expectation.

It really shouldn't be surprising to Nintendo that the game didn't sell well as the Metroid series have never really been big sellers, least as far as I know anyway. Overall I liked the game myself although I still think giving Samus dialogue and a plot that is told to you and not figured out by the player was a big mistake.

I think people were put off by how cinematic and story driven it is, which makes no sense. Maybe they thought it was trying too hard? What a shame.

And Morgan Webb's ridiculous review on G4 didn't help!

lockelocke is right. I expected Twilight Princess to be the very best game that ever existed, and it wasn't of course. I liked it, but I strongly disagreed with the 10/10 scores reviewers gave it. The best thing for metroid would have been to expect garbage. Other M would have seemed better in comparison, and X-Play would have doubled their score.

I blame G4. Either that, or everybody was busy buying Super Mario Galaxy 2.

This one's easy, Reggie: 99% of people who own a Wii don't care about retro-styled action games.

Anyone who expected the legions of people who bought a Wii for Wii Fit/ Wii Sports would be nuts to expect them to be interested in Metroid: Other M.

The number of people who are actual "core" gamers looking for an adult (in theme, if not in gore/ sex) game on the Wii is tiny compared to the PS3/ Xbox360. People often forget that.

I don't like Samus in this game. Being honest. =/

Well Nintendo did release this game at around the same time that Halo Reach came out. And another thing, Nintendo never offers demos for their games like xbox 360 does. Normally, demos for games is usually what makes me convinced or not to actually get the game. I don't want to watch videos of the gameplay, I want to be the one trying the game out! Nintendo needs to rethink their advertisement schemes. Maybe release a wii game demo category on the shop channel?

People still go to G4 for reviews? Silly.
I have to agree that Metroid, outside of the fanbase and the knowledgable, just doesn';t have the market recgnition as Nintendo's other brands. I think that by itself counts for a lot against it.

Also, that detrimental and WIDELY-publicized save file bug didn't help matters.

It's just the first time being different. People whine.

Be different two more times and watch your sales explode into legendary numbers. I dare you. You should try it

Hey, Nintendo, here's a tip: cut the price for christmas.
Not that I would want the game cheaper or anything.

I didn't hate the game, but it was too different from classic Metroid games for me to get into. What Nintendo should do now is make another 2D Metroid in the vein of NSMBW and DKCR, as a return-to-form for the series.

It probably had to do with the fact that this focused on long-time metroid players with plot than it did the normal wii audience. When I look at this game all I see is something that filled in gaps in the plot, even with it's gameplay being as good as it was.

(because it's not that good)

(because the combat is mind-numbing)

(because too many liberties were taken with the formula and the result felt like ninja gaiden without a battle system and missile tanks)

(because Metroid doesn't have the die-hard following that Zelda/Mario/all those other Nintendo IPs have and simply releasing a title with the word "Metroid" in the title doesn't guarantee a million sales)

take your pick reggie reg.

hey Reggie, none of this would have happend if you guys would have released Earthbound on virtual console...221$ for a Earthbound guide and mint condition cart, that hurt a little lol

I've only spent about 20 minutes with the game--it seems great. I think a lot of people are just too stuck in the past to actually play a more cinematic Metroid game.

It's simply not a great game and suffers more due to the fact that its own vastly superior predecessors are already on the console. In a choice between this and prime trilogy its no contest

I don't regret paying full price for this game.

For me Metroid: Other M is the game of the year. This is the Super Metroid sequel I wanted! I waited 16 years for this game! It's the only game this year that deserves a 10/10. (Maybe DKCR too?)

What I think about the sales? Most stupid gamers ever.

I'm sure it has less to do with the game and more to do with the whole 'casual gamer' phenom that has been filling homes with Super Mario and Party games. The big 'N' is simply getting a taste of what developers like EA, Sega et al. have been complaining about, that people who buy a Wii don't go in for adult or even teenage titles. I'm surprised that they're surprised. They should do a study to see how many people who buy a Wii even use it, how many Wii Fit boards are collecting dust under the couch?

Guys, quality of the game doesn't count for much when it comes to sales. That's been proven over and over again, so there's no need to comment about whether the game is "GOTY" or otherwise. That's not the reason sales tanked.

I enjoyed the gameplay, but I was offended by the story, and the depiction of Samus. I felt that a more sensitive and realistic interpretation of our Samus Aran would have been better (although I doubt that affected sales) but it was hardly plausible given that Team Ninja was involved.

I should clarify- "sensitively crafted", I mean. She was too "sensitive" to be our jaded warrior.

It's because Samus was young and naive.

Maybe it's because nobody wants to hear Samus to talk to herself almost nonstop. Maybe it's because nobody likes pixel-hunting sections. Maybe it's because nobody really cares about the huge, complex story of the Metroid universe. Maybe, just maybe, it's because Metroid: Other M isn't a good game.

Shock

bad reviews, bad story, full price for ten hour game, glitch, no online anything, to many fps fans, Samus isn't just a cold blooded alien killer she has feelings and too many.- oh wait I bought the game and loved it(8/10) but I will agree that It doesn't feel like an old metroid game.... it feels like a new one. I do hate the concentration crap give me my items

The story was horribly told, the dodge move made the combat borderline broken, and any sense of exploration synonymous with a Metroid title was axed. THAT (and the fact that Metroid games are rarely huge sellers) is why the game sold badly.

I'm really the only one at my school (that I know of) that bought Metroid Other M. However, when it came to other games like Halo Reach and CoD Black Ops, EVERYONE at my school has it.

It's just that so many gamers prefer the HD systems rather than the Wii. That, and unjustified criticism (2/5 crap from G4), as well as the game-breaking glitch killed sales.

That is an interesting question, but I won't complain so long as it means there won't be an "Other M 2"

it's a great game BUY IT

The problem lies with Yoshio Sakamoto. The writing was terrible and the 10 hour game is too short to make up for it. It's not worth fifty dollars or even thirty dollars. If there was ever a game you should rent instead of buy, this is it.

I think this is the Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Bros. 2 of Metroid games- either you love it or hate it.

Well, as an old school Metroid fan who bought all three of Retro's games... I didn't buy it. I've never liked the games Team Ninja make, and the story looks absolutely ridiculous.

If I didn't buy it, I'll wager many other Metroid fans haven't either. It simply doesn't looks like the same kind of game.

That, and the box and general premise is still as utterly unenticing as ever to those not initiated. If you haven't ever played metroid, and you look at Other M, it's giving no apparent reason to start.

I'm pleased that so many people did enjoy the new direction, but for me, 'Other M' marked the first time, in a long time, that I was let down by Ninty.

I love the series, most especially 'Super', and the 'Prime' games. I bought this game day one. If it isn't obvious to Reggie, I would point out that you DON'T mess with established game mechanics, most of all, when you're dealing with a series.

Getting Ninja team to tell the story was a bad move, they have a bad track record. Other M's cinemas were often times embarrassing for me to watch. I can't really complain about the content, as it was what Sakamoto had established long ago on the GBA and in Mangas.

Metroid is known for it's 'sequence breaking' and freedom to explore, they dropped the ball hardest here. Not just because Other M is so linear, but also because grabbing power ups out of order is right off the map with this game.

Missile usage is delegated to the first person segments that REQUIRE them. Another head scratcher.

The first person 'scanning' segments were ill-fitting, and sometimes needlessly frustrating.

Taking away item drops took away a very satisfying mechanic. It never felt natural holding the Wiimote up and 'charging' for them.

The 3D exploration segments were terrible. You couldn't do anything but walk around, and the controls were too tight.

I also feel that it should have stuck with a full-on 2.5D side scrolling view, or used the Nunchuk for directional control.

These are just some of my issues. I cast my vote when I purchased the game. If I had played it first, I can't say I would have bought it. I just hope the next title in the series 'finds it's way back'.

I'd say it's the fault of those 2/5 jokes that have been popping all over the internet..._{but then again, we could just blame G4}

Buying Metroid: Other M was my biggest regret and letdown of the year for me. I can't explain how hyped I was for the game. Only to find that 5-6 hours later I was done with

1. enemies hitting me from off screen
2. tired of shooting enemies off screen
3. the annoying parts where Samus walks uber slow with horrible controls with the over the shoulder camera.
4. the lack of item drops from enemies
5. random enemies that have no use, so you just don't shoot them
6. lame character and dialog
7. lame "I have my weapon but wont use them" approach
8. controls, where to start on those issues?
9. No movement in first person
10. "because we screwed up so bad control wise, lets add a dodge move"
11. being forced to use first person mode to shoot missles
12. jumping all around a enemy when I just want to jump on a enemy
13. lack of a analog stick

I can keep going for you Reggie if you like? This is from a fan of Metroid and a Team Ninja fan as well. I was pleased I got most of my money back from this disgrace of the Metroid name!

This is how things seem to work:

"Casual" gamers buy what they want regardless of reviews. They're not the type to constantly search gaming news nor read gaming blogs. They usually hear about a game for the first time once they've seen it in-store or on a commercial.

"Hardcore" gamers are usually always on the internet reading up on future games and reading reviews. Always going to game stores and usually know the release date for a game months before it gets a commercial.

Metroid Other M caters to the "hardcore". This means most gamers bet their dollar on the reviews. There are TONS of Nintendo haters(for reasons beyond my understanding). YES they hate the very reason gaming and gamepads exist today.

Hate from media such as Game Informer and G4 crushed the hopes of "hardcore" gamers looking forward to Other M.

Morgan Webb did a heck of a job ruining Nintendo's sales, why she would spill buckets of negativity on hard working game developers is yet to be understood. With a VERY uninformed review(s) at the head of Metroid Other M, it was doomed.

Had they told the truth about the game things would have been a lot better. Instead of writing you an essay, watch these guys who perfectly explain the truth.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfxCXXaMggs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZxUTs0-Eyk&feature=watch_response

Clearing these lies up to gamers would have easily given Other M a more favorable review. Averaging more of a 90 than 79.

I'm in no way saying it's perfect, I personally think it deserves an 8 but would definitely be more of a 9 if they had fixed the game breaking bug and some control issues(holding B in 1st person to move). It is DEFINITELY my 2nd favorite Metroid game. My first being Metroid Prime 3. So this game seriously did not deserve the false media coverage "hardcore" gamers relied on.

The game just stand no chance against the 3 Metroid Prime games. Retro Studios did an unbelivable job. You really feel that other M is no real Metroid game. It is just a generic action game and no fascinating adventure like the Prime games. And i cant understand why everyone thought or still think that Samus is a bad ass woman who kills thousands of monsters without emotion? If you played the Prime games you could really feel that Samus is a _WOMAN with all the emotions you would expect from a woman. And that makes her so special and i could feel her mother instinct very strong at the end of Super Metroid.
You could really feel it. The way other M told the story and the atmosphere it tried to deliver just doesnt fit the character of Samus.
It is like the whole crew of other M never really played any game of the series or they have never understood Samus character.

@46: Really, there's also the third category "Hardcore Nintendo fans" that will buy anything Nintendo puts out and defend it with all kinds of righteousness when everyone else realises that it's just not that good.

That's pretty much the only audience that Metroid: Other M had, when the game was competing with FREAKING HALO. Of course Halo's going to win, hands down. And it should. It's the better game.

And that audience is pretty tiny. Compare the number of people on NintendoLife and other Nintendo fan sites to the population of console owning people. There you go.

When an entry in a quality series is released, especially a Nintendo series, expectations are always very high, and Other M didn't come near them for pretty much everyone. I believe if the same game was done but with a different IP, there really wouldn't be anyone saying they like it as much as they do. I think the reason it didn't sell good is because Metroid generally isn't a big seller, and then the fact that it simply isn't as good as previous entries. The people that pushed Prime 3 to a million units sold didn't buy this game.

Economy is sorta meh this year, so I haven't been able to pick it up myself. Despite mixed reviews, I'd still like to own.

@slapshot82

1. Enemies can hit you from off screen in 99% of games, that's why developers let us move the character.

2. Not sure what you mean here.

3. I agree that she moved too slow but How is pressing right to move right and left to move left "horrible controls"?

4. This game was shooting for more realism. This was removed along with other "video-gamey" elements. It just doesn't make sense to kill a plant who awards you by dropping an item somehow. It's just too unrealistic.

5.Not sure what you mean here.

6. Well then, Samus is lame then. Samus never spoke before, now that she expresses her feelings she becomes more personal so you actually get to see what she is like. Your opinion. I thought she was awesome though.

7. Again this was added for realism. I'm not gonna go in depth but the game explains the reason. Another thing, it's far too unrealistic to find armor for a VERY specific suit out of nowhere in a foreign planet.

8. Controls were very easy, but could have been improved.

9. Being able to move in first person would have made this game an FPS and that was not the goal of the developers.

10. Your opinion. This was one of the best features to many people who played the game. I would rather have it then not. It was especially cool toward the end.

11. Maybe they could have fixed this? I don't know, but it wasn't very hard to do either way.

12. I agree. This could have been executed a lot better and should have been more obvious. For example, you can't jump on all enemies but you're never sure which ones.

13. No. That would have ruined the game bad.

@WaltzElf

Not really. There aren't tons of those people. If that were the case the Gamecube would have been a HUGE success. There are far more "hardcore Halo fans", trust me I used to go to the pre-release parties at Gamestop.

@51. Um, Where did Slapshot say his comments were anything more than his opinion?

Analysis of a game (and critical reviews) are just that, opinions. If you don't agree with them, then great for you, but don't forget that you are only having an opinion yourself, and there's nothing to suggest that your opinion is any more 'correct' than his. If you're some kind of professor of game design, or a professional business analyst, then say so now.

And for the record, I agree with Slapshot. Metroid: Other M is a deeply flawed game. And perhaps the opinions of myself and Slapshot is an indication of why the game didn't do so well?

@52. Exactly. There aren't tonnes of those people. That was my point. Because there aren't tonnes of those people, Metroid: Other M, which only appeals to those people, didn't sell that well.

How can Halo be better than Metroid? Those games have been the worst trash i've ever played... (i haven't played Other M but it simply can't be worse than Halo , since for me almost nothing can).

@WaltzElf

Umm i think we're all intelligent enough to know it's an opinion. But his post was also highly flawed. For example number 7 was explained in the game. This is something most of the negative reviews missed, it's almost embarrassing.
Maybe he didn't like the reason behind it? Then that would make it an opinion.

@54 Ohhh OK. Sorry I misunderstood you there. Thought you meant vice versa.

I'll take another Prime game over another Halo game any day of the week.

In fact, now that Sakamoto has made his little movie, maybe it's about time Nintendo backed a truck full of money up to Retro's door.

500,000? Whaaaaaat? Other M was great. True, it's not for some people, but it fits into a lot of gamer's interests. Too bad, I hope this doesn't mean the end of Metroid.

@Caliko You can forget about the Nintendo conspiracy theories. Metroid: Other M was just a disappointing hardcore game for a lot of people. Even dyed-in-the-wool Metroid fans have hated playing this one. Some of them happen to be reviewers.

Funny Reggie talks about advertising, I haven't seen much of it in Holland.

This was easily one of my fave games this year. It's like Super Metroid but BETTER.
_{Cue the insults}

@SirGreatNose: I like your idea.

@irken I agree.

@Gamesake lol This is not a "conspiracy theory".
This is the conspiracy theory side:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XDKhZMmluY

Anyways, These reviews gave out FALSE info. Watch the first 2 videos I posted to better understand..

I could care less about all the cries of "it's not a good game" and "THAT'S NOT SAMUS!1!one!", because at the end of the day I loved it and it's the best game I've played this year.

Metroid isn't as mainstream a franchise as Mario and Zelda, too, so I don't expect it to sell too well, especially since this one wasn't working with the FPS mechanic that the Metroid Prime trilogy had (which I expect is the reason why the games got so huge in the first place). Not that I'm looking down on the trilogy for that, because I love it as well, but a majority of the more recent "fans" of Metroid have probably never played any of the games outside of Retro Studio's trilogy.

Also, anyone crying that the Samus in Other M isn't Samus obviously didn't know jack about her character in the first place...

I think that there are alot of Hardcore gamers who hate the Wii and the reviews trashed it and also i think that alot of gamers (like me) that where scared to buy a game that might be too hard to beat

I agree with Pod SirGreatNose and others. This just really wasn't a very good game imo. And I've been a long time fan of Metroid. If you can't please your hardcore fan base then your game is not going to succeed. I would tend to agree with WaltzElf regarding "Really, there's also the third category "Hardcore Nintendo fans" that will buy anything Nintendo puts out and defend it with all kinds of righteousness when everyone else realises that it's just not that good."

Put 2 and 2 together and you will see that the game really wasn't that great...making claims like "casual" this or "bad review" that is not going to change this. Honestly do you really think a single 2/5 review (which imo was probably more spot on then most of the 9/10 reviews) is going to make people not buy a game when there are so many reviews biased in the other direction?

As for the issue of Samus talking too much, people can bury their heads in the sand and ignore the people complaining if you want, BUT you are completely missing the point. It's not that there was talking in the game at all...in fact Prime 3 had talking and it was pretty good. It's the fact that Team Ninja completely misunderstood the character and turned Samus into an extrovert. Part of the interesting gameplay of metroid has always been Samus' introverted nature. This displays everything from her character to the gameplay such as more exploratory and less action. Team Ninja failed on both counts in this regard. The complaints about the cutscene reflect both the disappointment players feel in their heroine having her character smeared, as well as their disappointment in the way the game plays out.

Maybe they should do TV ads... i only saw ads online.

Do I recall seeing an article on this site about how well the game was selling at the end of the week it came out? I think a whole bunch of people like me bought it day one, then quickly warned any of their friends who were even slightly interested in the game about how horrible it was. I think my own word of mouth helped stop a few sales. Sorry Reggie, it's just a bad game. That simple.

It's really is sad, as this one awesome game! I do hope this holiday season perents will pick up this game for their kids as Christmas gifts, come one Santa make it happen!

Here why. People were on G4 watching x-play one day hoping for a positive review. Instead they got a stupid 2 out of 5. So I blame X-play.

Me after playing Other M for 6 hours.

I agree with oldgamesonly, it was definitely because they haven't release Earthbound on VC yet. If they released that game, I would feel obligated to buy Other M.

@IanUniacke

A good reply from someone who disagrees with me. THUMBS UP.

You may be right about people not ready to handle the extrovert transition. Problem is, we now got to see how Samus interacts with other people. That's something we hardly, if ever saw in Samus. So you got to understand this, characters should change according to their environments. But if people don't want to see evolution in game franchises then maybe we should never see a Zelda that takes place in the future, a Mario game with lots of cut scenes or a FPS Luigis Mansion.
Maybe that's why Zelda hasn't changed much in 24 years?

But about the 2/5 review being accurate.... I have been reading reviews since I was in kindergarten and the G4 review was the worst in my 2000+ reviews I have seen. Highly inaccurate, false claims about the game. Oh geez it was horrible.

@74 oh please. Who would play something torturous for 6 hours and complain later?

@Caliko: lots of people put that kind of time into games they don't like just to see if they get better later on. others play them through just so they can say they did beat the game before judging it crap. it's not that uncommon a situation.

Here's a reason: because SO many people expect Samus to be some fearless selfish robot like Master Chief. Those people are idiots. And for the people who think that the Wii core audience has... say... 25,000 people... you'd be surprised. Look at the population of Nintendo Life users. NintendoWorldReport? Aussie-Nintendo? One-Click Wi-Fi? Most people are not casual, 5-12 year-olds or soccer moms, or even old people.

it might have to do with them introducing metroid to a lot of new gamers as a first person game, that includes me, and then switching back to a side scroller. I really don't like side scrollers on home systems any more. the older fans liked it, the newer didn't, but most of both liked the prime games

I think it has more to do with the platform it was realeased on. Had they released it on the DS it would have done better. Nintendo kept referring to the game as a true hardcore experience then countering that with "casual friendly" controls. By 2010, casual kind of became the anti-christ of gaming in terms of hardcore game marketing. I for one absolutely love this game. Metroid has always been a seller in the US, not so much in other territories. 1/2 million in the US alone doesn't sound like a total loss IMO tho. I did feel jilted by the weak final boss sequence and the flat plot tho. Still one of the top action games released for the Wii this year.

Don't worry.

In 5 or 10 years, the suck ups will say this game was underrated/underappreciated.

I haven't beaten it yet because of College and my Wii isn't with me. I think they did a great job with the marketing. And I really like the gameplay. It's just people let their high expectations take over and cloud their view of a great game.

This game is a PRIME (no pun intended) example of how people moan about stuff not being in a [Nintendo] game such as voice acting and a cinematic story and so on, but when it happens, they don't like it.

People just suck. If it doesn't go their way, then forget about it.

@77 Yup, I was hoping for the game to start slow and end strong, but sadly things didn't go my way. I even beat the epilogue, watched movie mode, looked at the art, collected everything, and started hard mode, but things still weren't all that great.

why do people need to decide what the other person is thinking? I know maybe I did that a little and I apologise if I did, but there's no need to dismiss other peoples opinions and hypothesise that they only have those opinions because they are stupid.

@Junior: I think you are misrepresenting other peoples opinions. I don't think people want Samus to be like Master Chief, but at least she has been portrayed in the past as the strong silent type. Take the end of Prime 3 for instance where she sits and reflects upon what has happened. The Samus of M:oM seems more like she would go to a frat party after defeating the final boss, but maybe that's just me. Even in the earlier Metroid games I felt she really came across as the reflective type..like oh there's a baby here I guess I better look after it, NOT "oh my life is so tragic and this baby will help me with my daddy issues".

Each to their own I guess but I do feel that some times people find it easier to misrepresent others opinions. Rather why not try to find out what they are thinking? For instance I could ask, what do people "like" about the gameplay of M:oM?

@Caliko... lol that was just a bunch of random thoughts spouted from my head.

I'm a gamer in all sense of the word and also a reviewer as well. I have deep respect for the Metroid franchise as well as Team Ninja and the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises. Metroid is best in it's 2D form in my opinion and the GBA versions of Metroid are some of my most cherished games.

In my opinion, I just didn't like Metroid: Other M. I found the controls to be severely lacking by todays gaming standards. With the system already having the nunchuk attachment available, this could have added more buttons and a analog stick to the mix. Strafing would be possible as well as the need for auto-aim could have been eliminated by having a button keep Samus still while shooting without going into First Person mode.

First Person Mode would still be possible by pointing the remote at the screen just as it is used in game, but you could also now strafe with the analog stick as well.

I question the developers who designed the game, leaving so many unresolved issues such as being shot at by off screen enemies and having to do so back. Games have developed way beyond this, why is it in here?

If I reviewed the game, I could give it no more than a 6/10. That in no way makes me happy, as I'm a fan of the series. Ive owned it and played it and nobody is changing my mind on that. There are just too many high quality games on the market between all the systems today to have a title such as this released with high expectations and hopes that fans of the series will overlook its faults like they don't exist.

Regardless to reviews and sales. If the you or any gamer loves the game that is great. If its a 10/10 to you that is wonderful and the money you spent is well worth it. I adore some games that critics hate, that is the nature of gaming and keeping up with the industry. Just realize that trying to make people overlook or "understand" issues in games can be a endless battle of words that will usually never come to a conclusion.

Like a couple other ppl said it's likely the bad press the game has been getting. two particular reviews that stand out is the one's received from G4 & game informer. Game informer gave it a 6.25, remember game informer magazine is distributed from gamestop where most ppl buy their games, so alot of ppl who seen the review apparently thought the game was mediocre. And I heard G4 gave the game a 2, I don't know if G4 review games on any of their television programs, but if so I'm sure when alot of ppl saw that horrendous review they got turned off from the game

Well I actually really enjoyed it, in fact, more then the prime games. There were definitely some flaws though, for example, no exploration and lack of rememberable music. Those were the big ones for me since it's what I remember most about the prime games. However, I really enjoyed the gameplay. I enjoyed it more then the bland shooting of prime. Just fix it next time.

It was underwhelming. It lacked the sense of excitement when samus gets more powerful, it lacked the exploration elements. Enemies were forgettable and the story could have been great, but instead was a letdown. If Adam was going to order Samus not to use her gear, the game should have intertwined it with the distrust of team angle and had Samus questioning both her past relationship with Adam as well as his current motives. Let her think the father figure she respects is betraying her and pair flashbacks with moments that could be interpreted either dark or light.

It probably did bad because it's been a few years since we have seen a 2d style. In the past few years since the gamecube we have been accustomed to another 3d samus that is an alternative to this one. That and it had a good plot but it wasn't accustomed to a typical gamer who wants to be in a kill mode while playing.

@19 thats a game I'd get excited about

Too pricey.
_{yay for cheaponess}

You can't blame G4. Nobody with a brain watches G4.

I don't have any interest in it despite being a big Metroid fan. The flaws people have described are the types of flaws that I would notice and would cheapen the experience for me. I also hate Team Ninja with a passion, the most overrated development house in existence. DOA was ok at one point, Ninja Gaiden was way overrated and Beach Bimbo Volleyball was a joke.

I have to rent this from somewhere, see if I like it.

Has to be the bad reviews. Because they really did give the game the star treatment. Tons of promos, tons of exposure. And the gameplay really is spot-on wonderful. It's the reviews, man! They hold a lot more power than people expect sometimes--especially on the Wii, where games like this are held under much more scrutiny (and often reviewed with much more apathy) than on other platforms. Plus it's Metroid. I think we've just gotten to a point where people expect perfection out of the series. And Other M is flawed. Very flawed. But I still enjoyed the heck out of it.

Honestly, I enjoy the Metroid games, but I hated this one. I just found it to be a total bore and I hated the 1st person battles. I honestly thought it just wasn't that good.

I loved this game. I was a bit shocked at the story and characterization, but I got over it quickly and accepted it for the major leap it was.

I think I would have appriciated a greater emphesis on platforming and would have liked to have had pick-ups instead of concentration. And maybe if there wasn't any first-person sections, too. While I appriciated the addition of story, I felt that monologues couldh ave used some cutting down in terms of length and time. Oh, and bring back Jennifer Hale to voice Samus next time.

But what the next one needs to focus on most importantly is LENGTH. This game was over too quickly. I finished it the same week I got it. 100%. Fin. Done. Presto. For the price tag, I'd have loved to have had a 20+ hour adventure. I know Super Metroid was famous for being a speedrunner's game... but that doesn't mean ALL Metroids have to tempt the speed runners.

Great game, 9/10 for me, get over Samus being humanized and becoming three dimensional in terms of character, take care of my couple of nitpicks next time, see you for Metroid: Other M2.

@ 87 Thank you thaantman, i couldn't agree with you more.

It's only because of those terrible review scores--given by the bigwig reviewers-- that Metroid Other M sales were hurt. The game was entertaining, but even more important, just plain fun. A solid game, I almost missed out on... and can anyone guess why? Yup because i read the Other M review that gameinformer printed and was temperarely swayed by their opinion... lucky there was my trusty gut to whip some sense back in to mi noggin. People there is a constant war going on for your mind and if your not careful you'll fall prey to their extraneous premeditated agenda which would inevitably rob you of the ability to think for yourselves... before you know it you wont even have an opinion, only the illusion of one.

Soo yeah, why do I think Metroid Other M didn't sell as well as hoped? One word, Gamestop ( or is that two lol). Yes,,, i must fess, I loathe gamestop and could list a whole bunch of reasons why, but instead im going to focus on one... Why? well because this particular reason is the most relevant to Other M's sells. In the area where i reside, there are at least 11 Gamestops in a 5 mile radius, now that obviously seems like exclusive control over the gaming distribution --at least in my hood--, given this information we can conclude that Gamestop is in fact a monopoly. Now that we've established what Gamestop is, we can determine how it affects/influences it's surroundings, particularly peoples actions and opinions.

The majority of gamers(all types) are shopping at gamestop, as a direct cause of convenience, not only do shoppers buy games but they'll also purchase the mega savers club card-- or what ever the heck they call it-- then automatically be subscribed to Gamestop's magazine --Gameinformer-- for a few more cents. Now when the consumer's Gameinformer magazine arrives in the mail and he/she reads that Metroid Other M is the biggest abomination to gamers since Superman 64, of course they're not going to buy it. Plus who would question their reviewing skills when they gave Red Dead Redemption (a game i thought was good, but no where near as enjoyable as Other M was) a 10 out of 10 (basically). Look the bottom line is that if Gamestop says a game is bad, 85% of it's consumers (since Gamestop is a gaming monopoly, that percentage applies to all gamers), at least in my neck of the woods, are going to steer clear of that particular game. In this case it was Metroid Other M.

Metroid (and Zelda to a lesser degree) have a tremendous reliance on atmosphere and immersion. When those are heightened the key exploration mechanic produces more player satisfaction.

I have not played Metroid: Other M (though we did purchase it as a Christmas gift), but I know what held me back a bit. The environments and the exploration looked like they were taking a back seat to action and cinematics. I would normally be encouraged by the cinematics, but what little I saw seemed a bit off and simply unintriguing.

Most importantly, this type of game is starting to need HD and a more powerful engine for me. I want another step up in what the visuals can offer. Metroid: Other M seemed a step back in visuals compared to the Prime series.

The third person perspective approach was welcome as it was time to mix things up, and I think cinematics can add plenty when integrated carefully into the game. Even though I haven't experienced what Samus is in this game, yet. It's clear that the sequel needs to repair some damage to her image. Maybe it's time to pick up after Fusion.

All this being said, I'd love a new side-scrolling version of Metroid. Maybe a 3DS remake of Metroid II, maybe a whole new adventure, but it's like Mario where you love the 3D stuff, but it's like coming home to play the 2D stuff.

Oh, and all those people blaming reviews. I don't know. VERY few people care about reviews unless they are from friends or are extreme and universal.

Combination of poor economy (that's my excuse for not having it yet) and that many teenage gamers grew up with the Prime series and might have felt this was taking a step back.

X-Play has a pretty big following and they gave it a 2 out of 5. When I saw this it bugged me more than anything because they can be hyper-critical of games they don't get. These kinds of media outlets want innovation and I think that means it has to be a FPS taking place in war times.

I'd imagine the mixed reviews turned off a lot of potential consumers. Not to mention that the "hardcore" audience on Wii is pretty apathetic right now; they probably have just bought one, or both, of the other consoles by now. And when you consider that, I have three words for you, Reggie: "Red". "Dead". "Redemption". Biggest game of the summer by far, even though Mario Galaxy 2 did pretty damn well on its own anyway. People were STILL playing that two months after it came out. And anyone who wasn't was pre-occupied with the deafening buzz of the upcoming Halo:Reach.

But yeah, generally speaking, its hard for any game that's NOT a military FPS to really break out, unfortunately. Lets face it; most "hardcore" gamers are idiot posers whose gaming knowledge begins and ends with whatever games are featured in Gamestop ads. The days of gamers waiting diligently for next month's gaming mags and getting on top of promising new stuff are definitely waning. I mean, they're still there, and they'll always be there, but they're vastly outnumbered by the aforementioned "hardcore gamers" tards.

To NOA's credit though, they did advertise Metroid Other M pretty well. In fact, it was the commercial that sold me on it. I wasn't gonna pick it up right away, but dammit that ad was cool. Plus I dug Team Ninja's stuff anyway and thought it looked neat. I really like the idea of a true 2D/3D hybrid third person Metroid. Other M makes more sense certainly if it came out on the N64, as Metroid's first step into 3D. It feels like a game out of time like that, though it's one of the best looking games this year. A weird experiment with mixed reviews never equals sales success, not even when there's a pretty prominent brand name there.

@Swerd_Murd I guarantee you it will sell a million, albeit slowly but it'll get there, providing another Metroid game isn't produced for awhile.

Also, the game's perceived quality seems evenly split no matter which game site I visit.

I Blame Team Ninja

I can't really point any fingers yet since I have not played it yet. That being said:

@oldgamesony: Earthbound and Metroid are two completely different series. Sure they are from Nintendo properties, but they aren't from the same series. That's like blaming the Metroid series for Earthbound not being on the Virtual Console. Saying that they're interchangeable in Nintendo's disappointment in the sales makes absolutely no sense.

I blame the fact that it's not the holidays yet

I think is one of the best Wii games, its different that the others and its something new.

I think is one of the best Wii games, its different that the others and its something new.

I honestly think that Metroid should stay first person shooter style on a TV system. I mean usually developers try something radically new when their genres start going downhill. As far as I can tell Metroid was at it's peak when they changed it up. I mean I got into the Prime series when the second was already out and so did my friends (some even on the 3rd). It doesn't make sense to change the formula when everyone was just starting to look forward to more. The end of the Prime series did not mean a complete overhaul of the genre.

For those who want more side scrolling adventures, why not give the fans a game on the DS? As far as home consoles go, I want a new Samus adventure with new characters, story, and worlds featuring the extremely popular style of the Prime games.

As I've said many, many time before... the Wii is built for FPS. Why deny the system's arcade-like (gun) controller from doing what it does best???

Sales went horribly wrong because of that save glitch! I mean, who won't keep from buying the game if they find out that they can't go back and save after they beat a boss and not be able to pass through the game later?

@lexoplex Oh, so you're saying that the Wii wasn't meant to be supported with old-school style sidescrollers? There is soo much wrong with that...

Well, here's how I would figure out the potential sales:

All Wii Owners
MINUS Casuals who only buy Wii titles with the occasional Mario title
MINUS Most people too young to care about "retro throwback"
MINUS Xbox360 owners who dropped all their money on Halo Reach

There's still probably a potential audience of over 1 million in here though. Also, since "retro throwback" isn't the only advertising technique, you could grab some of the younger kids too. However, your main audience at this point is "Core, Adult Gamers." Of course the game is what it is so you have to:

MINUS People who read reviews seriously before game purchases, and don't have money/time to play everything they want (large percentage of Core, Adult Gamers here).
MINUS People who had a friend who didn't like the game.

What you have left is mainly an audience of: Nintendo/Metroid fanatics who will buy any Nintendo/Metroid game no matter what (especially those old enough to have loved Super Metroid back in the day and appreciate the gameplay mechanics/those who read the manga and knew what crap to expect story-wise), and a smattering of those from other demographics who had friends who liked the game, thought an ad was cool, etc.

Nintendo should be happy they have 500,000 people who would be interested in this type of game, all things considered.

/I know their are some younger people here who love retro games. You are in the minority, at least if you don't include people who bought SMB for $5 on VC, because it's SMB and it's $5.

Because hardcore games on Wii hardly ever sell well. I can guarantee you this would be a huge success if it had been released on XBOX/PS3. I guess it's just the way things are...

Also I completely agree with Vinsanity.

I personally really dug the Prime series of games. Other M was just so much different...control-wise. Flipping the controller around was an interesting idea (loved it in "Paper Mario"), but was too slow for some of the fights here. I tired of being hit by enemies because the game couldn't keep up with me or didn't give me enough time to move the controller and quickly aim. Personal opinion.

I blame Christmas and everyone saving up for that. I think the game will still sell a lot in the long run.

It might be because the game sucked so hard and was at best a decent rental. Oh yeah, and that terrible, terrible "live action" commercial. I'm currently in the process of trading in my copy.

They butchered one of my favorite franchises with this game. I had fun early on, but the more I played of it the less it felt like a Metroid game. The bosses sucked, the story sucked, and the post-game sucked. There was no atmosphere. No exploration. They stripped Metroid down to a repetitious action game with a crappy emo Japanese story.

If just the gameplay had sucked, I might have been a bit more forgiving since it wouldn't have messed with my conception of the other games, but the way they effed up Samus is really unforgivable. Now whenever I play Super Metroid, I'll be thinking of the Metroid as... "the baby".

I honestly wish this game never happened. Super Metroid is in my top three favorite games of all time. This is in my bottom three.

Bad reviews and all around "journalistic" hate really hurt the sales in the end. I got my copy so at first I don't care what the press has to say BUT low sales BECAUSE of idiotic reviews means we might not get a sequel this gen.

Still, you never know how buyers will react during black friday-christmas in the US and for the holidays during the last two months of the year so Other M could do 1 million worldwide before december is out.

I still haven't bought it, but no reviews have even made me doubt about getting it. One of my friends got it, gave me his honest opinion and told me the facts, that's the only review I need.

But the best game on the Wii is Monser Hunter Tri, btw.

i still don't get why this game was dumped on. i couldn't put it down.
i was addicted. i hadn't been that addicted to a game in years.

I tought it sucked. Samus got destroyed by old man lust and horrible writing. The lame and dumped down gameplay didnt help either.

Yeah, I am sorry, but I am glad it ´s selling poorly.

Other M is my favourite Metroid game. I played through the Prime Trilogy, Super Metroid and then Other M pretty much back to back. I simply found Other M more addictive than the other games - no aimless wandering around guessing what to do, a good story, great graphics and just so much fun.

It's one title where I have no idea why people are negative towards it - I've heard the reasons, yes, but they seem trival to me when it's just so much fun and a great all-round package. I guess Samus talking really doesn't bother me.

That's easy: it's not a Metroid game. That's what you get when you transform a good GAME into a poor MOVIE. Please Nintendo, stick with the basics, like you did with New Super Mario Bros. and your games will sell millions.

I loved the game. It must be one of the best Wii games I have played. I mean it...

The only thing that I would say I hated about the game, was it was to linear for my taste. That aside, I loved the game.

If ya ask me, what hurt the sales was not the reviews, but the original E3 preview and the stories that would follow. After the, in my opionion, major success that Retro Studios broght to brining Metroid to 3D, going back to a reto look caused alot of talk. Taken even futher, the fact that it was 2.5D not plain 2D made would be consumers hyper aware of how this change could detract from the game. Then ya add in a runing narrative plus giving Samus a voice, Its a major risk.

As Caliko stated post 46, casual gamers tend to buy what looks good with out any research. I disagree after that. It could be I have conflicting views of what a "hardcore" gamer is. I would use the term an "informed" gamer.

Case and point, look at Black Ops first day sales. This crowd tends to be the "hardcore" crowd. I seriously doubt that more that 20% of the consumers that day bothered to wait to see a review.

In conclusion, If any game company decides to do a drastic change to any familiar franchise, expect hyper aware "informed" gamers to follow media coverage on the game more closley.

Think I didnt really finish my thought. The reason I say that being hyper aware is the problem, is that people, my self included, tend to hear things that support "what we already knew", rather than read all the data and come to a logical conclusion.

When big changes happen, as such in Other: M, I feel that it fuels that natural tendancy to a higher degree. This is all my opinion, I have no studies or actual facts to support my thoughts.

I made the choice not to buy the game because the script turned Samus into a weak, unsecure character. Since she´s saved the universe AT LEAST 3 times before, it just don´t make sense.

I owned the original game for the NES and liked it. I got the old-school Gameboy simply to play Metroid II -- no other reason. And yes, I was one of the people who originally poo-poo'd the idea of making Metroid a First-Person shooter, but ended up loving Prime. So much so, that I bought the whole trilogy... twice; first individually and then the collection disc for Wii.

That all said, I was a bit dismayed seeing footage of Other M and hearing about the sans-nunchuk controls, but thought, "Well, I'm sure it'll work out in the end. After all, I was critical of Prime before its release and ended up loving that game." I decided to wait for the reviews to make up my mind, but was disappointed to see the mixed reception it got. I eventually dismissed it as just some reviewers being overly critical and trying to crap on Nintendo. (Game Informer and G4? Devout Nintendo haters, all.)

I finally got my chance to make up my own mind by playing the game for half-an-hour at a Gamestop kiosk... and walked away frustrated and confused. 3D movement using a D-pad? Getting shot at by off-screen enemies? Having to flip the remote for first-person segments and NOT being able to move? Other M was just so cumbersome and awkward and, quite frankly, backwards when it came to game design that I couldn't believe what I had played. "Well," I thought, "perhaps the story will save it. If the plot and cinematics are engaging and well-done, I'd be willing to live with the controls."

Oh, good Lord, I wished its story was good. I watched a video of the Movie Mode and I couldn't take it. The story was so overwrought and expository that I just shut it off halfway through. Nevermind the characterization of Samus (which I also didn't like) -- the story was boring and told poorly. (This is a visual medium. SHOW, DON'T TELL.)

If the next Metroid game will be made by the same people, then count me out.

EDIT: And in case you couldn't tell from my story, I never bought Other M, but I didn't do so out of blind faith in reviews.

@madgear: I think one of the main reasons is that a lot of people didn't find it fun. I personally found it incredibly repetitive and monotonous. I pretty much just used the charge shot for the entire game unless I was forced to do otherwise (what else would you do when it's so overpowered and using missiles is clunky and slow?), and I ended up dying only a few times. I did play the game to the end but that was simply because I wanted to see the ending.

Also, I personally wasn't bothered by Samus talking. I was bothered by what she said.

It can be summed up like this:

Typical Nintendo fanboy: OH NOES! TEH GAME IZ DIFFRENT FROM METROID PRIME! I DONT LIKEZ IT! I WANTZ TEH SAME GAME FOREVERZ!!! FLAME IT ON TEH WEBZZZ!!!1!1!11

@132. Exactly. I'm done fighting irrational people over this brilliant, if slightly flawed game. The detractors of Other M have often been some of the most annoyingly vocal flamers I've ever encountered.

I have to agree with the 2 or 3 other people (both Americans) on the reason for poor sales - Metroid Prime 1,2 and 3. Especially 3, which was so good Nintendo basically remade the first 2 and sold all 3 together for $30. I personally was really looking forward to this game after seeing the first videos, but then I found out NO NUNCHUK and I was done. Even NSMB Wii gives you the option of using the nunchuck and that's a flat-out side-scroller. So they made a partial FPS where you have to hold the Wiimote with 2 hands to move, and this seemed like a good idea to somebody?

As for those who think this could possibly reach 1 million in sales due to the holidays, may I present to you Mickey, Kirby, and Donkey Kong.

Just blame the economy
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LWMucmgw8gU/S0tXTBvTj6I/AAAAAAAAAWA/_BFDebLiN_4/s400/obama.jpg
note: I have nothing against Obama.

@Token Girl.... you forgot one thing to add to your numbers. Metroid Other M started flooding Used shelves the day it launched. People were buying it used the day it launched.

Super Mario Galaxy Reviews
G4 100
GI 98

Super Mario Galaxy 2
G4 100
GI 93

Twilight Princess
G4 100
GI 100

I'm just not seeing all this Nintendo hate that has flooded this comments section at all.

@132 & 133: I haven't seen any of that on NL. :/

The biggest complaints of the game have been about the story, which just oozes Japanese cheese. I don't know about you, but it's not my cup of tea, and I don't have to deal with that in the previous entries in the series. Change can be a good thing, but I'm a firm believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

Also, the game lacks the atmosphere and exploration which are series staples. My favorite part about a Metroid game is experiencing and exploring the literally awesome environments. Other M was corridor after corridor of fighting the same enemies over and over again. There's nothing epic nor atmospheric about it.

Basically, it didn't feel like a Metroid game. The game completely relies on its (grossly repetitive) combat system and cheesy story to keep the player interested. This either makes or breaks the game for most people, and for me, obviously, it broke it.

I made a few comments above as well about why I disliked the game, if you care to read them.

Metroid: Other M is one of the most disappointing first-party Nintendo titles I have ever played. I love Metroid, and was determined to play it and love it even after reading all the reviews (both negative and positive).

Unfortunately, I did play it and didn't really want to keep playing. I kept playing anyway. I spent 4 afternoons playing it and finally could not take any more.

I don't care that they made Samus narrate or tried something new. Even if it wasn't a Metroid game it is still just a boring game.

Reggie, I solved your sales problem. The reason Metroid: Other M is not selling well is because it is not a fun game.

My biggest problem with Other M was that it stole its major plot twist from Fussion (which was my first and is probably my favorite metroid game). Also, I think they need to stop recycling bosses from previous games. I don't want to fight Ridley in every single metroid games. I realize its fan service, but thats not a very good justification. The Mario Series has done a good job coming up with new and memorable villans, (Fawful etc), and I think the Matroid series should go the same route.

^most disappointing first-party game? I thought Galaxy held that position?

The game sucks. That's how they went wrong.

@140: I think it's safe to say that you fight Bowser in every Mario game, though, lol. Honestly I hated most of the boss fights in the game because they were so unrecognizable and unmemorable.

@141: No, Other M definitely holds it. :3

Other M seems more like a spin-off than a mainstream Metroid game, though I don't think Sakamoto intended that at all.

I think its because of the changes they did in other M, the game is more like the original Metroid than with the fan's loved Prime series. The game also plays with the D-Pad in a 3D environment where most wii users like to play on the nunchuck, I actually dont agree with this since most PC gamers play 3D games using the wsad keys so whats the big deal? it plays just fine so...
Other aspect that just pulls some users away is samus personality shes not the usual Bada$# heroine stereotype, but i wasn't surprised with this since i read the Metroid Manga and already knew that she was emotional [ she allready was on prime just didn't express it ] and suffered from PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, i was actually suprised that they applied this knowing the risks of breaking the image of Bada$# Samus many fans though she was.
And finally the story typical Japanese conspiracy thingy [ still good by me but could be better ]
Overall i enjoyed the game and i'm still playing it in order to finish it at 100% and then fight Phantom [ From Super Metroid ]

I dont think that nintendo's first party titles can compete with the third party apps on other consoles let alone first.

Metroid Other M hasnt really put the gaming world on alert when there are so many great games that are coming out every month on HD consoles that can be played online and with DLC.

Also the fact that people can finish the game in 6 hours, well its hardly gonna please the hardcore audience either.

The game that could have turned it all around was Fatal Frame. To this day that is the scariest game ever made and the people in nintendo america had never heard of it. They have always felt in that mario, zelda etc is playing it safe. What a crime it wont come out.

Reggie Fils used to work at Pizza Hut and I think is running nintendo the same way. Not everyone wants to eat pizza even if you dress it up in a different way (as there are better alternatives )

I think it's a decent game, but not up to the high standards of the Metroid series. Maybe if it didn't have that name on it...

Reasons to consider:

1.- Metroid fans are relatively 'old'... meaning that a lot of them date back to the NES or SNES games. These fans have had less time available to play games as the years have passed. If you played the originals on the original consoles it means you're in your late 30's or early 40's. Not the demographic that is best known for placing videogames as their top priority in life. Like teens or kids do.

2. Newer generations of gamers presently gravitate to very specific games and franchises. And they will not stray away from them. Much less so if G4 tells those lemmings that Metroid: Other M is sexist to the point the reviewer yells "F*CK YOU NINTENDO" during the review.

3. Metroid has always been a niche franchise. More so in Japan. Its not Halo (thank God).

I would have preferred another Prime game to what Other M became. There are still plenty of ways to shake up and old formula without making the main character so unlikable. If Nintendo ever releases a budget collection of top sellers and Other M is on the list I may consider adding it to the collection.

@138.

Go to another site and look in the comments. IGN, Kotaku, 411mania's Games section. The knee-jerk "it's not like Prime, it sucks!' comments number in the HUNDREDS. Other M's problem is that Nintendo did what they did with Zelda II and Mario Sunshine: they took a chance. They deviated from the norm. They innovated. And they paid the price for it.

@149: Ah yeah. I tend to stay away from those sites for that very reason. I highly doubt that all those guys hate on is Metroid, though. The NL community have given much more objective and mature reasons as to why they like or dislike the game. :3

Anyway, they paid the price for not delivering. The hype was huge for Other M. Heck, it was the game I was looking forward to most this year, and it was the first game I've ever bought on day one. But when it finally hit the shelves, a lot of folks just didn't like it.

Other M had some great new ideas, especially with the combat, but it ignored too much of its heritage and threw us a curveball with its controversial story. While I played it I felt like most of the game's budget went into the high-end cutscenes instead of making the gameplay and atmosphere deep and immersive. The combat boiled down to spamming the d-pad and charge shot, and while initially fun it didn't take long for me to get bored with it. Its the game's one and only semi-successful innovation, but it wasn't fully developed. Combat's never been one of Metroid's strengths, so if you're going to make a completely combat-focused Metroid game then you need to get that down pat.

Also, as a side note, I love Zelda 2. :3

@150 was close but still way off the mark. I mean, this guy agrees that Metroid never exactly been know for it's combat system and yet he added that to M:oM shortcomings. And funny that he mentions what the real problem was (cutscenes) but only as something barely worth mentioning.

When in fact the problem with Other M was that it played like an INTERACTIVE STORYBOOK. It had too many cutscenes.

It's like watching a boring movie of a character that goes on and on about her inner thoughts. They should've released that long arse story as a DVD included with a game filled with actual gameplay. That would've been much better than including it in the game.

Any of those sites have, usually in the forums or comments sections, whole senior theses dedicated to why Other M sucks.

I've enjoyed the cutscenes. I actually like that the game has a story, and not just a flimsy one you have to discern through clues and hints. Are the cutscenes a bit overkill? On occasion ... and the dialogue is rather ponderous (it reminds me of the dialogue in the Legacy Of Kain games), but they aren't approaching Metal Gear Solid/Final Fantasy levels of overkill.

But again, this is one of the main complaints I've read: nobody likes that the game HAS a story. They just want more exploration, more Chozo, more same ol' Metroid. They can't accept something new, something different. I think it speaks to the hypocrisy of Nintendo's core fanbase: they cry for mature games, they cry for the same kind of innovation in software that Nintendo has shown in hardware. And look what happens: Little King's Story ... Red Steel 2 ... No More Heroes (both of them) ... Madworld ... and now, Metroid: Other M. All of these delivered what the fanbase demanded -- mature content, intelligent storylines, innovative gameplay -- and that fanbase stayed away in droves, or rejected them because they didn't fit the mold of the safe comfortable titles they've played for years now. If this derails Metroid evolving as a franchise and makes them run back to Retro, I'll be angry ... and I blame the so-called hardcore Nintendo fans for being closed-minded hypocrites. [end soapbox]

I think it was all the bad points brought up in reviews. Gamers are getting smart now, so you can hype a game up and advertise it as much as you want, but when bad word gets around, that can really put a cork in the money bottle. It isn't a bad game, but the lack of control options knocks it down a few pegs for me. I bought the game, but I'm not 100% satisfied, so I hope they take into consideration the feedback they get in those forms they have people fill out who register their games.

@brainofj Games with all that mature content also need to be good. I'm grateful Wii owners aren't so desperate for games as to buy anything that's presented to them.

Apart from the mixed reviews, it's also a short game with little replay value (unless you're one of the few that decide to be bold and take on the harder difficulty).
I bought the game of course, but if I wasn't a die-hard Nintendo/Metroid fan, I would say it's not worth more than a rent. I need to have it in my collection, but most players would benefit more from renting it, beating it, and returning it.

@145 That first sentence is the most ridiculous thing I think I've ever read on Nintendo Life.

Have you played Metroid Prime 3 : Corruption? It's not a game, it's a friggin' experience. And, yes. Retro is a first party developer. If you've got a first party property from someone else that you think stacks up to it, please, let's hear it. I'd love to check it out.

Online? Downloadable content? Well, multiplayer gaming does add a little more life to a title, espectially if the single player game is under-developed, but I expect that from the other two, Ninty's always been that rare breed who consistantly delivers a quality single player game.

I like the way people talk about DLC like it's a boon or something. As a PC gamer, patches and expansions are often times free, not to mention user created content in mods and what-not. On the consoles it's a cash grab. I especially like when a game comes out, and DLC is immediately released for it. How 'bout this, just include it in the game where it's supposed to be in the first place.

To claim that Nintendo's first party titles can't even compete with third party titles on other systems, is to be completely blind to what makes the big N stand out from the 'me too' crowd.

Most obvious is their unmatched quality, thanks Treehouse! The other guys got anything like that?

Yet, to be oblivious to the singular superiority of Nintendo's first party products, is generally do to preferring other genres. 'Cause if you really think Sony, or Microsoft do better sidescrolling, platforming, adventure, retro, family, ( and at this point, I'd even throw motion gaming into the ring, because the software, when it isn't a direct copy, IE adventure/sports/dancing, aint there yet, my friend. ) by all means, list some examples.

I might not care for Other M, but Metroid is just one of many first party properties, that I wouldn't trade for a bucket load of the other guys'.

Metroid: Other M failed to sell well because it strayed too far from what many fans consider a good Metroid game. I'll try to be brief but informative so if any developer reads this it won't take too much time.

1. Metroid games since the first have been very focused on exploration. In Metroid: Other M, there is very little exploration. Most rooms have one way in and one way out. For the places that have more than one entrance and exit the extra doors are constantly locked or blocked, impeding progress that does not take you directly to your goal. Once you possess the item you need to open a blocked door you can't get back to it anyway because the doors lock behind you. Not even Metroid Fusion was as linear as Metroid: Other M, and that was previously the most linear Metroid game to date. Any fan who played the Metroid games for the exploration surely did not like this.

2. Samus' characterization was less than ideal. The old games had very little development of Samus' character but many gamers had vague ideas about her character anyway. Most of these gamers did not read the manga and had no idea she would be the way she was in Metroid: Other M. In my personal case, the only understanding I had of Samus was that she was "strong," and "bad-ass." In Other M, Samus may be physically strong, but emotionally and psychologically weak. The Ridley cut-scene produced strong negative reactions from fans because it directly contradicts a psychologically strong Samus. Samus also frequently got into situations where she needed to be rescued in Other M due to carelessness and this is not typical of her. While Samus has needed to be rescued before in the Metroid series it was because she was over-powered, and not because she did not check the battlefield or area first. The fighting by fans over these shows that a large portion of Metroid fans did not like this characterization at all. I personally hope it is ret-conned.

3. The decision to make Samus defer to Adam in weapon authorization may have worked but it was implemented poorly. Most people hated it, especially after the magma cavern area. It certainly did not help Samus' character because it made her seem deferential even when it threatened her life. Contrast this system with the old system of finding your power-ups hidden around the game that worked brilliantly in the older Metroid games and you can see why people were upset with this change.

4. The environments and models were very bland looking for most of the game. These may have been detailed in Other M but the use of color was terrible and the overall affect was that they were very uninteresting to look at. "Ugly," if you will. The only area that stood out visually was the magma chamber. The older games had gorgeous environments and models. I can't say the same for Other M.

5. The majority of items were not hidden cleverly at all. A lot of them were so easy to find it took any joy out of discovering them. In my game I stopped looking for them because it was no fun to find them when they were so easy to find. They were hidden much better in the old games.

6. The combat did not feel very good for an action-type game. All you had to do was mash the d-pad and it was difficult to get hurt. Most of the game was easy and boring because of this. The post-game boss suffered the most from this because it was clear you were supposed to mash the d-pad against him, and it made for a very boring fight. Final bosses should be epic fights whenever possible, and this one was just a let-down.

7. The music was almost non-existent in Other M. The older games (Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 1 in particular) had great music that was at times fantastic and iconic. Other M barely even had music, and the best tune in the game was a remix from the older games that was heard only briefly.

After all that, I would like to point out that I am very very happy that I rented Metroid: Other M instead of buying it for full price. If I had paid the full $50 price I would have felt ripped off. Even so, I wish I had never played Other M because it has tainted my perception of Samus and I consider it the absolute worst Metroid game I have ever played (and I've played every one except for Hunters and Pinball). It is different from the other Metroid games but different is only good when it is as good or better than the old.

I thought this game was called "Metroid: CDi" was I wrong?

@irken004
um, no i didn't say that. I just picked up Kirby for Wii and it is awesome. I just meant that they shouldn't have changed up the formula without there being a good reason. The old "Why fix it if it aint broke" argument

@152 brainofj: So we're supposed to be happy simply because of the fact that the story exists, even though a large part of the fanbase thinks it's terrible? I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous man. If Nintendo's going to force a story on us then do it effin' right.

I'm really sick of people complaining that Metroid fans don't like change, because I've seen this a lot. So Metroid Prime wasn't any different from Super Metroid? Even though it was a first person shooter rather than a 2D platformer? And most of the fans hate Prime? Actually, pretty darn sure both of those are at the top of most people's favorites list.

AGAIN, if you want to change something then DO IT RIGHT. Don't half-donkey it and piss on your fanbase.

@hendrix: Right on man, you nailed pretty much everything I hated about the game. I'm one of the unfortunate few many who bought this day one, and I lost 50 bucks on a game I hate. I'm getting 15 of it back in trade-in credit, but I still feel pretty ripped off.

Other M was on the recieving end of a perfectly manufactured and brilliantly executed Halo effect, or in this case a reverse halo effect or 'devil' effect.

A Halo effect is a psychological phenominon where people take one likable attribute of something, and blinded by this, trick themselves mentally into thinking everything else about the subject is also better, even when it isn't. The person will even create fictional reasons for these improvements of other areas, and believe them wholeheartedly.

For example, a manager has two employees, one that is good looking, and charismatic, but slacks in actual work and competence. A manager caught in the halo effect would think the slacking employee was better at work than he actually was, his other attributes raised in his mind because of the one good attribute.

His other employee is ugly and not a social butterfly. But his work is much better, he has better ideas, hes always on time, except when emergencies come up and he always calls.... But because of these negative attributes that have no effect on his work, he is percieved to be less capable than he actually is.

Companies lose buttloads of money because of poor management decisions thanks tot he blinding halo/devil effect.So much that there are DOZENS of books written about overcoming, and using the Halo effect for management purposes.

If dozens have been written for management... there are HUNDREDS for marketing and advertising, including counter advertising. Sadly this is why we have celebrities endorse products.

The plant for other M was snuck in the previews, and stuck all the way through. It was 'Team Ninjas making metroid'. 'Team Ninjas Metroid'.

90% of all complaints with the game, stem from this alone. 95% of the negative comments in this thread are still convinced this lie is the truth.

What none of the previews or reviews ever mentioned was only the biggest peice of videogame news inthe past 20 years.

Nintendo brought the original members of R&D1 from all the different sections of Nintendo and even OUT OF RETIREMENT for Other M, including

Yoshio Sakamoto (Metroid Creator, Classic series director and story writer) if there was ever any mention of anyone other then team Ninja it was him. And 99% of reviews never mentioned him.

Hiroji Kiyatake (Metroid Creator, original Samus character designer, and classic series art director, this is why every screencap of other M looks like it was ripped from the pages of original metroid game concept art. An absolute flawless job, Of course... kids who thought prime was the original metroid never understood this.... It was the 'journalists' job to tell them)

Makato Kano (Metroid creator Game concept creation)

These were the people who were in charge of making metroid other M, the original metroid team. Team Ninja simply took the place of intelligent systems.

But not one single review ever mentioned this. They stuck to the team ninja lie. The percieved negative attribute that would make it OK to create negatives that didnt exist in other areas.

FOr example, every review you will read will tell you you are completely immobile and a sitting duck while in first person mode. This was a lie, (the journalist didnt know they were lying, they actually believed the fiction because of the influence of the halo effect), the player can actually dodge enemy fire in 4 directions while in first person mode, and even maintain a lock on to fire missiles immediately after the dodge.

Missiles can even be fired while airbourne, and linked together with other moves to create elaborate custom combos for example:

The player can charge up a beam, jump over an enemy, fire a charge shot, getting propelled into the air, push 2 to go back into a spin jump, jump off the wall, land on the baddie, do an overcharge attack, then immediately after the overcharge attack, as the blast propels the player upwards, can go into first person mode and fire a missile before ever hitting the ground. If the player is early enough in the game, the enemy might even survive, albeit knocked across the room, and the player can go into a lethal strike. No review mentions these excellent controls. The reviews wrote the game off before they ever played it because of the halo effect. They never bothered to actually learn how to play the game, and simply ran through it, using the lamest most repetitive moves imaginable, charge beam spamming and button mashing the d-pad (try that on hard mode, lol), instead of utilizing the smooth as butter custom combo system.

Most reviewers never finished the game, turning the system off and writing a review whining about a lame ending in first person mode without ever playing the finale.

Most reviewers dont know about the fact that metroid prime and metroid classic are two different stories... They don't know about the history other M's flashbacks are constantly referencing. When Sakamoto said this was a game made for the real metroid fan, he wasnt kidding. If you want to make any sense of Other M's story, you need to know ALL of the metroid story.

Then the halo effect made it all right to have double standards, complaining about the same things as the game they lauded in the review.

In super metroid enemies fired from off screen, in super metroid, items were shown on the map (More items than in other M, as other M only showed a quarter of the power ups on the map, only after defeating every enemy in specific rooms, until the finale, where all items are displayed like in super metroid).

They complain about the yellow dot (Hell, I HATE the yellow dot), yet the yellow dot wasn't the apocolypse of the metroid series when it first debuted in fusion, or when it appeared again in zero mission, or its equivilant in corruption.

All these 'bastardizations' complained about in the other M reviews, and even here in these comment sections are all present long before other M. But not according to these reviews, and according to these reviews, these 'horrible horrible new changes' didnt stop fusion and zero mission, the games the changes debuted in nearly a decade ago, from getting 9's and 10's.

If other mission was the game described in 99% of the reviews I've read I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

However, its not, not even close. Behold the power of the Halo effect.

@161 I understand that you may have enjoyed Other M and feel that the hate is unjustified. However, your "Halo" effect argument is based on logical fallacies: that people aren't buying and dislike Other M because they perceive that Team Ninja wrecked Metroid and that the review scores tanked the game. There are only a few reasons why games don't sell well, and they are that the title isn't marketed very well so few people know about it, it is too niche and doesn't appeal to enough people, that it is released at a bad time and there are too many fantastic games to compete with, or that it is simply a bad game. Word of mouth does trump poor review scores in time, and this has been shown many times in video game history so only time will tell if Other M will achieve high sales.

I'm not going to respond to each of your other points because it would make this post too lengthy, but I would like to point out that all games are flawed. A perfect game simply has not been made yet. Games that are spectacular are so great that people simply overlook and forget about the flaws when they are playing them. This was the case in both Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 1. While Other M shares some of the flaws of Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 1, those 2 games were exponentially better than Other M and so you don't see as much complaining in regards to those 2 games. It has nothing to do with people seeing Team Ninja on the game case and immediately calling Other M bad, and everything to do with them not liking Other M very much and trying to articulate what it was that they didn't like about it - even if they didn't know exactly what it was.

I suggest, if you are going to respond to something about the halo effect, you read about it to understand what it is, so your entire response isnt wasted space.

I will respond to your argument even though its pointless, as you steer it off course with the very first sentence, as its completely wrong. Pointless for you, but for anyone else reading who isnt already running a full blown self fulfilling prophecy it could be an eye opener.

"based on logical fallacies: that people aren't buying and dislike Other M because they perceive that Team Ninja wrecked Metroid and that the review scores tanked the game."

Completely wrong and 100% miss of the point. Your argument only works in a world where the Halo effect doesnt exist or if I didnt base mine off the halo effect. In fact, you COMPLETELY ignored the halo effect and focused soley on the plant, because you have no idea what is going on.

Halo effects are NOT based on logic. There are no logical fallacies in my argument. There is a glaring one in yours though, and that is a lack of knowledge on the subject. Thats a gaping one.

Other M recieved incredible marketing, more money was spent on other M's marketing campaign than any other Nintendo game in history.

The reviews were UNDER the halo effect.

Metroid has NEVER been a big seller, and the projections for other M sales that the games not meeting are projections for a METROID game, not an 8 million projection for a zelda or mario game. Nothing unreasonable here.

You then somehow erroneously claim that I said other M was perfect (Despite me bringing up flaws I didnt like in the post you responded to) and then, hilariously go on to unwittingly explain how the HALO EFFECT blinded people to the flaws of the primes and super metroid, and show your very own halo effect you are unaware of being under, and then completely fail to grasp the concept of the halo effect again in your last sentence, responding soley to the plant... again.

Please, if you are going to take the time to talk about this, take the time to learn what you are arguing against.

@163 I understand precisely what you are getting at with your "Halo" effect argument (now). Perhaps I should have read it a bit closer because I thought you implied that this was the reason people didn't like the game. It's basic psychology for people to overlook flaws in something they like and focus on them in something they hate. What I was pointing out is that bad reviews come from people not liking the game and trying to explain where this dislike comes from (ie Team Ninja wrecking Metroid).

I do however find it interesting that you put words in my mouth. I did misread your post a bit, but perhaps you should work on your reading comprehension as well because I never said you implied Other M was perfect. I was using that sentence to point out the fact the Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 1 were not perfect but people overlook and forget the flaws in time.

I wonder too. Nintendo has tried really hard for Other M. The marketing was spot on too. I'm guessing it's because of the damage control from so called "reviewers." I'm pointing at you G4 and Game Informer.

The game didn't sell well because it sucked.

I have learned that I am not one of the only people that liked metroid other m, so that's a relief. And i still fail to see how the story was so bad. I personally really liked the story. However, a flaw I MUST point out is that stupid part in the game game (not hard hard just stupidly planned out) where you have to run through the lava sector taking damage from heat. Why samas didnt just switch to her varia suit is still unbelievable, regardless of adam's authorization. Still fantastic game besides that one mess-up.

In 2017, 2 new metroid games were announced, was a long wait, but Samus is returning