Metroid Database.com

Un-linked Metroid page found at Retro Studios' website

People who have gone digging around at Retro Studios' website have uncovered a page which is NOT linked-to from the actual Retro website. Check out www.retrostudios.com/metroid.htm to see what's there.

If Retro is still hiring programmers, chances are next to nil that we'll see Metroid 4/Cubed/whatever by GameCube's launch date.

Let's see if Nintendo makes 'em take THIS down, too! (UPDATE: They did.)

--TJ

It's true...FINALLY!?
Samus Aran has been seen at SpaceWorld!
But does that mean anything?

Spaceworld 2000 has come and gone, and for the first time in years, it has hit the gaming world like a bombshell. Thanks to the unveiling of the Nintendo Gamecube and GameBoy Advance, people are once again buzzing about the company that made apes, plumbers and elves famous.

Demonstration footage of what the Gamecube can do shocked us all with incredible-looking clips featuring Wave Race, Link & Ganondorf, and Luigi; but of course, one of the biggest shocks of all was the sight of Samus Aran hightailing it down a corridor, being chased by hundreds of bug-like alien creatures. If you saw the camcorder version of the demo that IGN showed, you heard the huge pop from the crowd when they saw Samus onscreen -- it was the loudest cheer any segment of the demo received.

Immediately, the press was shooting off reports that we fans were finally getting what we've wanted since 1994 -- another Metroid game, or at least another adventure with our favorite space-age bounty huntress. However, as soon as word spread about Ms. Aran's long-awaited return, Nintendo stepped in and assured us that everything we saw on that demo video was just that -- demonstrations, and not necessarily indicative of games that will be released on the Gamecube.

So what do we know? What don't we know? What do we think we know? What's been said, what's been shown, and who's behind it all? Since Nintendo says that what we saw and heard at Spaceworld is all we're going to get until E3 next May, I've decided to compile a report of the information that's available on Metroid and point you in the direction of media files pertaining to the Metroid topic on other news sites.

>>More...

--TJ

Well, Samus Aran did indeed show up at Nintendo's SpaceWorld trade show in Japan in the last 24 hours. She was seen in a very brief glimpse of demo graphics for Nintendo's next console, the Gamecube. We're told that Metroid 4 will be developed not by Nintendo Co. Ltd., but rather by a second party, Texas-based Retro Studios (headed by Iguana Entertainment alumnus Jeff Spangenberg). Unfortunately, all Nintendo.com has to say about Metroid is...nothing. They show the screenshots, but offer the disclaimer that it's only for demonstration purposes. IGN reports that Metroid 4 is actually on the way. Hopefully more will be revealed as SpaceWorld progresses.

Check the following links for more information:
Nintendo.com
IGN
Daily Radar

--TJ

As reported by Tendobox, Metroid was once again mentioned/asked about/hinted at at today's Nintendo press conference. Quoth the Box:

In Nintendo's press conference earlier today, Nintendo let loose the implication of an upcoming Metroid game. During the Q&A session when prompted about it, Mr. Arakawa replied, "Not this season."; followed by some direct smiles to Peter Main, which led to an awkard silence filled with smiles by both. Despite not releasing any further information on which platform we might see on, it's at least a sign that Nintendo knows Metroid is in demand.

And as reported by Daily Radar's Michael Wolf:

...Neither Arakawa nor Main had an answer to a question posed regarding the state of Earthbound 64, although when Arakawa asked Shigeru Miyamoto if he had an answer, the resident Nintendo genius declined to comment. In the same vein, when asked about the possibility of another Metroid game, Peter Main stated that although Nintendo would love to use Samus as a character again, Nintendo isn't ready to announce a Metroid game at this time.

Guess what? We get to play "wait and see" some more. SIGH.

--TJ

There really has been nothing solid as far as news or announcements on the Metroid front. Tons of rumors and speculation have spread throughout the gaming world which often just center on tiny quotes by someone at Nintendo. This particular MDb News segment -- the first in 9 months -- examines the current state of the Metroid series.

Metroid has been mentioned by Nintendo employees. Shigeru Miyamoto is asked about the game so often that at one point, when receiving another "will there be another Metroid game" from an interviewer, he just laughed and said that his interpreter could answer that question by now because he is asked about it so often. He has been quoted as saying that they have made next-gen sequels to many of their biggest franchises like Mario and Zelda, and Metroid is one that they must consider so as not to disappoint the fans. Another quote of Miyamoto's said something along the lines of Nintendo wanting to do something different with the launch of the Dolphin, and rather than another new, more beautiful Mario or Zelda game, perhaps they might look to another series to kick off the system with. I have personally been informed (by a good source who shall remain anonymous) that a Nintendo rep told him that there will be no Metroid on the N64, but rather Nintendo is holding off on the series until the Dolphin's release. Weeks ago, Ken Lobb of Nintendo of America, when showing Perfect Dark to the press, said, "You will be playing another Metroid game." More recently, there was the interview by the Japanese magazine 64 Dream with Nintendo Co., Ltd.'s head of PR, Yoshio Hongo, in which Hongo gave no real answer to the question of another Metroid game on the Dolphin, but brought up the point that Sakamoto's team (who is responsible for the Metroid series) is currently at work on Game Boy Advance (Nintendo's newly-developed handheld) stuff, making a GBA Metroid game more likely, not to mention that the 2D style of previous Metroid games would fit in better with the GBA's architecture. Finally, Nintendo Power magazine recently published some fan art of Samus saying, "When's it gonna be my turn?" (Certainly not informational, but neat nonetheless ^_^)

What does all this mean? Well...not a whole heck of a lot. Nintendo is more than aware that the fans want to see Samus again, and we're not talking about Smash Brothers 2. If anything, the quotes and shreds of info and rumors just raise more questions. Do they have anything in development? For which system? Are they hiding something from us, or is there really nothing to report? Who would be developing a new Metroid game, Sakamoto's team at NCL or perhaps the new American development team, Nintendo Software Technologies?

At this point, only time will tell. All we can do is wait for some real, solid information to show up -- an official announcement, some screenshots, something along those lines. While some of the quotes sound very promising, none of them are too conclusive. We pretty much know that there WILL be another Metroid game, but all the other questions (namely the where and when) are still way up in the air. Perhaps Nintendo will pull out some surprises at E3 in May. The MDb will have spies there with orders to report back with any Metroid information! ;) I also have made a few other connections which hopefully will help me to turn up info as soon as it becomes available. At this point I must also thank all the MDb visitors who write and let me know what they hear -- it is helpful! Keep watching the skies, and remember, if any solid Metroid news shows up, you WILL find it here at the Metroid Database!

--TJ