Video gaming analyst ZHugeEX has mentioned on Twitter that Star Fox Zero was not profitable at all. In fact, it did so badly that he does not see Star Fox surviving. I asked for further clarification with sales, and it turns out that the game hasn’t even sold 500,000 copies sold worldwide. ZHugeEX doesn’t expect it to surpass that amount.
This game wasn't profitable for Nintendo at all and might be the end of Star Fox.
So no. https://t.co/9beIJ4T9wb
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) June 2, 2016
I've seen data for US, Japan and half of Europe.
I'd be surprised if this game sells over half a million.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) June 2, 2016
The game was made by a team of ~130 people for at least 2 years + and when you estimate the costs its clear it was unprofitable
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) June 2, 2016
I don’t think the fate of the franchise depends on Zero’s performance. It’s a divisive game on the worst selling Nintendo home console. I can’t see how they’d think that this situation is the same as, let’s say, the recent Chibi-Robo fiasco.
What’s the chibi-robo fiasco?
“No more Chibi-Robo unless you buy the damn 3DS game, you fuckers”
-Kensuke Tanabe circa October 2015, probably.
“Let’s let a spin off decide the fate of a franchise!” Ugh! Worst decision ever!
Exactly. There’s no common sense in that.
can’t wait for the same thing to happen with federation force
Rather than it being the death of Star Fox, it should be a reason to do better. A sign that when you go against what your customers want, you fail.
Like not adding online play.
There was no way I was gonna get the game after I figured that out.
It was Such a stupid move — I partly blame Miyamoto for his aged concepts and philosophies.
The end of Star Fox? I hope not. I actually really like Star Fox Zero.
well I still see nothing in this game that interests me
Nintendo probably should have made a proper sequel and added some online multiplayer. Those are the two main reasons I skipped out on the game, which I could imagine others feeling the same way.
dude is a moron. It was made by a small team with help from a similar sized small team at Platinum near the end. lol what an idiot. 500k easily makes it profitable
The only problem that Star Fox Zero has is that it’s not a sequel. Rather, a retelling. If a TRUE sequel released, it would sell like hotcakes.
the game sold poorly because of a few things, its a niche game, people bitching about how motion the controls suck (could be that they suck at the game and the motion controls), people bitching about the graphics (which are fine), people bitching on why starfox and not metroid, basically 90% of why its selling poorly is people bitching. before anyone says, i actually like the game and while i do suck at it, both the controls and the game, i had fun and i give it a solid 7.
It didn’t sell because Nintendo didn’t listen to their fans. You see it as 90% of fans bitching, but had Nintendo listened to 90% of their fans, the game would have sold.
Nintendo listened. Linear stages with essence without multiplayer. This is what I expeted! The real problem: controller.
You didn’t want multiplayer? I think youvmight be in the minority on that one. I wanted online battles, with maybe 16 players flying around taking eachother down.
Are you seriously gonna be one of those “get good!” assholes? I refuse to get good with controls that I honestly don’t want to use. Maybe Nintendo should quit being tyrants & forcing shit on people when they clearly don’t want it! The problem is businesses like Nintendo have become corporations that forgot it’s people like us that got them to where they are today & think they can decide what we want & how we want it with phrases like “We’re going to show you why you should like it!” bullshit! Nintendo will learn one day not to bite the hand that feeds them!
I would like to say star fox zero was amazing, but it was okay. Once you get hang of the controls, it became a little more fun, but honestly, it wasn’t anything too special. It was a retelling/reboot. They both added and took away from Star Fox 64, which was both good and bad. I would have liked being able to choose any path without having to unlock the ability to do so later. I didn’t understand why they locked the ability to turn into the walker or the grav master until after you did a mission.The helicopter vehicle is pretty pointless after you’re arwing can hack things but why make us unlock that ability, we don’t get to choose to use the helicopter or the arwing so it kind of defeats the purpose of that ability. But the main problem is I think they wrote themselves into a corner with Assault and command. With assault, pigma was killed off, general pepper was okay but retired so peppy became the general. But then going into command they gave multiple path ways and all of them ended pretty tragically for me, either the star fox team was done for good, or a new team sort of arose, but there was no good ending to work off of. Star fox has always had andross as a final boss except for the two games I just listed. The aparoid queen was a fun fight, and command idk what you would call the final boss of that game, maybe the missle chase parts because those were hard. But Star Fox zero really took a bunch of steps backwards. I liked the look of the locations, though I think Assault did it better because there were levels that had actual organic design. I can only think of one level in zero and even then it was a bunch of vines in a cloudy setting which was kind of boring. I liked flying through corneria again, but again Assault spoiled me with how fleshed out corneria was. I think they really should have fleshed out the level more, and you can even see in the animation they released how fleshed out they had it with the population and everything, but the game just feels empty when you see that animation. I also wished we could have had the on ground sections again because they could have been improved and it was honestly fun imo.
TL;DR
Star Fox Zero is a flawed game that took several steps backwards from its predecessors, and instead of improving on past game mechanics it removed some and tried to do a retelling even though we were told it wasn’t. So the only one to blame is nintendo for releasing an updated retelling of 64 once again that took steps back rather than improving the formula.
I think it sucks when one or two bad games makes them reboot (maybe I’m not using the right word again but I don’t give a fuck at this point) an entire franchise! Just make a game that ignores the events of the one or two bad entries & continue the story from the game the new game takes place after.
Same with Resident Evil. They shouldn’t reboot the entire story of Resident Evil because RE5 & RE6’s gameplay is widely hated because the world they’ve cultivated so far is pretty damn interesting in my opinion. As for people complaining about it being confusing, they obviously haven’t played all of the games & didn’t do research on the games they HAVEN’T played. For example, Kingdom Hearts’s timeline isn’t confusing at all if you actually research the games you haven’t played like I did.
Honestly, anyone screaming for a total reboot of a franchise obviously don’t want to put forth the effort to understand the overall timeline/universe.
Yeah I can see that. I haven’t particularly been able to build myself up like when I played it on the SNES. Likely because it didn’t bring much to the table.
If there’s a sale tho I’ll bite.
It really didn’t bring much to the table. It brought the walker which was cool, but honestly it didn’t feel like it was utilized very well. Same with the gravmaster or the helicopter thing. Even when I got used to the controls the difficulty of some levels was just through the roof. Any of the alternate paths you take through the portals are really a lot more difficult than they should be. One of the levels was the weird mecha dragon thing in space and you could only defeat it by dragging it infront of the great foxes lasers, which honestly was way to difficult for what it was. Or the mecha gorrila when you have to hack it with the arwing was something special too. I think the motion controls are a neat idea and work well at times but I really don’t think it’s necessary. I actually tested out the coop mode for the game, and I found that it plays exactly like star fox 64 if you just put the game pad down and play with nothing but the second play controller. Only down side is that you can’t upgrade the laser and you still rely on 1p for the walker and tank levels. I also felt that the lack of a second ending where andross was actually defeated lacking. That and it brought up so many questions about foxes father with what andross said about his father. There was no story really or at least compared to the previous games so it felt lacking there. It’s just a really lackluster game.
Thank you for confirming my suspicion.
The control gimmick didn’t help at all, in fact I think it would have sold better if they just gave players the option to turn the gamepad dual screen controls off! I know this was one of the franchises where I just wanted to be as lazy as possible on my day off without whipping my head back and forward between two screens in order to play a game casually while relaxing!
Next time don’t let Miyamoto get involved…
As much as I respect the man, he’s beginning to worry me.
He’s been around for a long time. We need more more younger developers at Nintendo, who have that 90’s Nintendo spirit in mind for our beloved franchises. No more games like Amiibo Festival, Ultra Smash, Super Mario Maker, Splatoon, SSB4, Hyrule Warriors, etc.
Hell, I keep being reminded of their existence in Nintendo Badge Arcade, everyday. Just a sad fact that 2015 lingers and never goes away. Much like the overrated song “Stressed Out” or those stupid Disney Junior shows someone has to watch when I’m in the kitchen/living room.
Splatoon, Mario Maker and ssb4 were all good games and so was hyrule warriors. I think that Miyamoto has been declining in quality though. Star fox just was missing all the ingredients, or had them all but just not cooked right, to make it a good game. Mario maker was a good idea but some of the restrictions don’t make sense like the height and length, some of the missing items or features. I know one of the biggest complaints was no slopes and I agree no slopes is pretty annoying but if you are going to add things to super mario bros 1 to make it equal to the others, then why leave out such things as slopes if mario 1 didn’t have it? It didn’t have ghost houses or airships or thwomps, but adding those in were okay but slopes not so much. Or what about the frog suit or the hammer bro suit, the penguin suit, mini mushroom, mega mushroom. So many power up were left out just to make it even across the board, and honestly that did take away a lot from the game imo. But the game as a whole is an amazing idea that should be explored in greater depth. a 3d mario maker would be more challenging, because of the limits they would need but also with 3D people would want to link levels together because there are many many fans of the sunshine and 64 formula so that would be a thing, but the problem is while the concept is possible, even games like project spark showed us that, but the idea behind it to nintendo would just be not a good idea in their eyes. That and people would probably want a save and continue option if they make an adventure on the scale of 64. But then again that would also go against Nintendo’s policy of shutting down anything that they deem harmful to their image. ssb4 was good, but honestly, and maybe this is just me, it doesn’t feel quite balanced when you’re online. Every person I’ve come across they would be able to perfectly dodge any attack I throw at them even when it shouldn’t be possible, but when I try and do the same exact thing, I end up losing because of the hit priority or just the action isn’t possible what they do or they are just op and advanced. Splatoon was a fun distraction but it does have a lot of potiential if it were to grow and evolve. The idea is amazing and I think if the world was fleshed out more and it had more story for the campaign and wasn’t just about the multiplayer, that would be amazing. Hyrule warriors was just dynasty warriors so take it as you will there.
Remove amiibo Festival, Super Mario Maker, Splatoon, & Hyrule Warriors. amiibo Festival because the concept is a good idea but it’s not what Animal Crossing fans wanted from a Wii U Animal Crossing game. Super Mario Maker because it’s another great concept for a game but it’s missing some stuff like slopes & a plethora of a bunch of other things people wanted to use to create their levels. Splatoon because, like the other two games, it’s another great concept but it’s hindered by the lack of options for communication & multiple game modes. Hyrule Warriors because, you guessed it, is another great concept & is a great fun game all around if you enjoy beat ’em ups. The only problem I had with Hyrule Warriors is the story is short compared to other entries I’ve played in the Warriors/Musou franchise.
If Nintendo uses this as an excuse to not make more Star Fox games, they are out of their damn minds. This would be another prime example of just how out of touch they are, how they think they know better, and how they refuse to listen to fans. The fans wanted a Star Fox 64 sequel for years. Instead we got a bunch of other Star Fox games with different styles. Some people liked them, some hated. But everyone recognizes that none of them were true sequels, as in gameplay style (or story really) for Star Fox 64. We finally get a sequel, but oh wait, it’s not. It is a reboot that they wouldn’t call a reboot. Then, they shoehorned a control scheme no one asked for and forced it onto fans. Some people liked the controls. But most people didn’t. They could have given an option to turn off the control scheme, but since they know better, they said “nope. Play it our way or piss off.” They had no multiplayer aside from a sort of co-op. No online. So basically, they half-assed an attempt to give the fans what they want and might actually consider this a sign to not make more Star Fox games. Nintendo, this game didn’t sell poorly because fans don’t like Star Fox. This game sold poorly because you’re fucking ignorant and keep shitting on your fans. Your fan numbers are dwindling as it is for fuck sake. You think stuff like this will help? Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Nintendo, you’re insane.
Exactly right. Nintendo is just another company that got too fucking big & famous for their own god damn good! If ninjadude is right & most people could give a flying fuck about their wants & don’t mind playing games how the company tells them to play, our world is fucking screwed as it won’t be long before a dystopian world where corporations rule the world is no longer in a fucking fictional story in a book, movie, TV show, or video game for us to enjoy while we sit on our asses at home enjoying our brief moments of not having to do anything demanding like watching our kids or working at a job, if you even have a job. But I don’t think he’s right. WWE’s fanbase is proof that the majority still want what they want & won’t stand for the company’s top dog trying to force shit they don’t want down their throats.
I doubt this will be the end of star fox, just might be awhile before we see another, its not like Chibi robo
While I enjoyed the game, im not surprised it didnt sell well. This was basically a “take the easy way out” by Nintendo- just SF 64 and do it again… a second time… really? im pretty sure the entire fan base wanted an awesome sequel, not another remake…
This only shows that if you go against what your fans want it wont do well for you.
If I’m not mistaken it had a pretty short story. In my opinion, a game that should and could be a huge game, didn’t get the proper treatment to make it that large interactive game. It’s like the only effort put into the game was for the fact there wasn’t a Star Fox game for some time. It’s like it was released to pacify people in some way. At least that’s what it feels like to me. I could be wrong because I don’t follow the series, but a lot of what I read from other people, makes me think it wasn’t very well recepted.
The messed up part is that Nintendo won’t actually understand why this game is doing so badly. They’ll just assume they did nothing wrong, and that fans just don’t like Star Fox anymore. Nothing at all to do with bad, forced motion controls you can’t turn off, or the rehashing of Star Fox 64. Just a bad market.
The number one reason Star Fox Zero is failing is Miyamoto. I hate to say it, I love the guy, but his unnatural reluctance to hold on to motion control destroyed Star Fox. Couple that with no real multiplayer (dog fights) and you got two really good reasons NOT to buy the game. Miyamoto made the game HE wanted to make, not the game the fans wanted to play.
I don’t understand people, they want star fox and then they don’t buy it. If I remember correctly some even stated here that star fox will save the wii U. I think people are just hard to please if you ask.
I never like the franchise but it does not make sense not to add the motion control. The game HAS to have the motion control.
The game is too hard… well mate you are a gamer who seek challenge don’t you???… well stop complaining
Just because it’s a Star Fox game doesn’t make us happy. It was a Star Fox 64 reimagining with a gimmick no one liked. The game doesn’t have to have motion controls? The whole series has never used motion controls and has aged amazingly! There’s a fine line between hard and unfair. If I’m playing a level and my controls screw up and make me die then that’s unfair, because it wasn’t my fault I died. A control scheme should not make a game hard. If it does then it’s a bad control setup.
Really you blame the controller for you lack of skills.it’s like me playing Mario kart 8 and complain about the motion control cause I am not 1st . Motion control is a step forward and people like you want to be stuck in of 1990 ‘s. But yet you don’t like the star fox zero which may be a rehash of the n64. I for once on Nintendo side with star fox zero. But that’s my view.
I don’t normally have a real problem with your stance on things but really? A “Get good!” mentality? Like I told the guy above, we shouldn’t have to get good with a control scheme we honestly didn’t want in the first place. In reality, motion controls was a fad that got all the casuals to flock to a Nintendo console. But once that wore off, they all left for mobile gaming. The ones that didn’t run off to mobile went to consoles that all but moved on from motion controls & only use them as an option while traditional controls remains the go-to. Sometimes things just don’t need to evolve because they are perfectly fine just the way they are. Oh & you really tried to use Mario Kart 8, a game that uses motion controls as an OPTION, to prove your case? >.<
Yeah when I wrote that and put Mario kart 8 as an example it was like … “hum shit I forgot you have the option to disable the motion control, I kind of blew my argument out…” Anyway I still stand that motion control should stay and not just for myself but in general as another control method in video game and on the fact you need diversity. Saying that I want to stress that I am not against “normal” control method (would not be good to player Street fighter with motion control). I really believe they made the right choice for star fox zero and I would not want something else. If you want know I hope the new Zelda Wii U will have a motion control but unlike star fox and like Mario kart 8 it should be optional.
I do believe some game like star fox and mario kart should have motion control only due to the nature of the game.
Paper Mario is still going, is that game profitable still?
Ugh. It’s really sad to see Nintendo like this. I really tried supporting them. I bought a bunch of games trying to support them, but they’re just TRYING to make us hate them. I haven’t bought a Nintendo game since February (Bayonetta 2 + 1). I pitched in and got an Uncharted 4 PS4 because there were just way too many games I was missing out on. I’m hoping they can make a comeback with the NX, really crossing my fingers.
Hm… Damn! I don’t even remember the last game I actually bought for my Wii U before I broke the Gamepad. Maybe it was Bayonetta. I’d have to look at all the games, digital only & virtual console games included, that came out after Bayonetta to figure that out. Now that I think about it, I think it was Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, & 3. xD That was… back in February of 2015! My god! That couldn’t be right! o.O *is honestly horrified*
Retail, last two games I bought were Star Fox Zero and Twilight Princess HD. Be glad you didn’t buy SF. Before those two, the last game I bought was Smash at launch. Which was over a year ago. But I did buy Mario Bros. 3 and Mario 64 last week. I got like 100 stars that night haha. First time I’ve pulled an all nighter for gaming in a while. Sad that it takes a game from 3 conoles ago to give me the desire to do that. Well, I might have done it with TP HD I think, but even that is an old game. Sure as shit wasn’t pulling an all nighter for Star Fox. I beat the main game way too quick to even need to bother, even with the obnoxious control scheme. I went after some medals along the way, so it wasn’t the 2-3 hour average estimate for most people, but still pretty quick. I haven’t even bothered with Guard yet.
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Star Fox Failure!
We need another Star Fox Assault
YES! I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO THOUGHT THIS.
1) He is not an analyst
2) He does not know how much the game was to make.
There’s 2 things wrong with Star Fox Zero IMHO:
1) The forced motion controls. Series old-time fans were totally turned off by this. In fact, many acquaintances of mine didn’t even give the game a chance because they have heard of the “feature”.
2) Doesn’t evolve the the game formula. And I don’t mean the stupid controls, but the game itself. Game should’ve probably had a map to explore, mission-based gameplay, etc … anything to make it last more than 2 hours.
So basically the game had an identity crisis. Wanted to appeal to fans by keeping the game formula but totally alienated them with tacked-in motion controls. Miyamoto is certainly losing his touch.
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