Metroid Database.com

Yoshio Sakamoto, in a recent video interview with Gamespot, discussed his interest in hearing what fans have to say about the series:

I'm really looking forward to listening to any opinions from Metroid fans as well as any new players who have Other M as their first Metroid game, so I'm really looking forward to receiving any opinions, whether good or bad... What I'm very interested in is listening to the feedback... Depending on them, we might want to make some significant change to the future of the franchise, or we may want to go ahead in the direction set forth by Other M...

Mr. Sakamoto has already admitted to lurking on Japanese forums for player feedback, and maybe he has also requested summaries of feedback from American forum. This shows that the director of Metroid is very much interested in how fans react to Other M and will certainly be considering the wide range of responses that players have had - certainly all the negative comments as well as the very positive ones, of which there seems to be an equal number. Because Other M has elicited such strong reactions, it is very wise for Mr. Sakamoto to analyze this feedback.

The interview contains other revealing statements. Mr. Sakamoto explained that the reason Other M develops Samus' character so much is he felt he needed to define Samus' character more concretely because he did not feel it was beneficial for players to have so many different interpretations on who Samus is as a character. He also states that Metroid Prime is "actually another Metroid series" (i.e., canonical, but separate from the main story arc as well as the gameplay style).

Finally, Mr. Sakamoto throws his hat into the ring regarding whether or not games are an art form, viewing games as more than simply entertainment:

I am always trying to incoprorate some artistic nature into my games, but the most important element is entertainment. So if there is a way that artistic elements can be worked into the game naturally, then that is a mission I am always trying to accomplish.

Until next time...
Captain Commando