The myth of the gaming community being toxic by default is perpetuated by people and companies that themselves don’t appear to be acting in good faith. They welcome challenges and create and adjust to change quickly. While it is still very true that there are people that behave badly, as there are in all aspects of life, the overwhelming majority of the gaming community are good people hard-working, enthusiastic, passionate.
This type of information often has to be dug up and brought to light by outside parties, and some companies attempt to invalidate criticism by calling any descent entitlement and toxicity. To speak so directly and honestly to the community about a delay in a much-anticipated title comes as a breath of fresh air in an industry where the game makers typically bury bad news. In turn, the community has responded by embracing these Nintendo Directs to the point that they have become events unto themselves. This model sprung from Satoru Iwata’s concept of Nintendo Directs, forgoing the circus of flashy style-over-substance press events, and presenting the games and information to the community, directly and unfiltered. This is the latest in a step-by-step approach the company has been taking to communicate and interact more directly with their fans. With the announcement of Metroid Prime 4's issues, Nintendo offers a great alternative for how developers should handle fans, treating them with decency by coming forward with details on the delay and information on how the company plans to proceed. This can be seen in the dynamics recently established by companies like EA, Bethesda, and Blizzard, and it comes as no surprise that players have become jaded and cynical, expecting nothing less that deceit, disrespect, and the utmost contempt from game makers. In an age where some game studios engage in questionable practices, and then call the gaming community unintelligent and toxic, the relationship between players and developers has become terribly adversarial. This air of understanding is truly a golden moment - one that Nintendo created by approaching the community with respect and transparency. YouTuber YongYea also praises the decision, saying “I love that Nintendo went out of their way to admit that the game was troubled,” and “I love that they’re telling us all these things so that consumers and fans can be aware of exactly what’s happening rather than being left waiting and wondering why the game is taking so freaking long”.įurthermore, Nintendo’s announcement video sits at over 120,000 likes, which is impressive in and of itself, as videos containing bad news are usually disliked. In the YouTube sphere, reactions are much the same. For example, in a video by Gamexplain on the subject, Derrik Bitner states that “I think just the fact that it is back to Retro is going to soften a huge blow for a lot of people, and the fact that they are just so open with it and we’re not waiting and wondering.” Comments on Reddit and IGN are filled with hopeful speculation about the game as well as applause for Nintendo’s transparency and decision to bring in Retro Studios.
Metroid Dread was also the name of a rumoured game from the Game Boy Advance era, which was never officially announced and quickly gained mythical status amongst fans.That is, the overwhelming response from players has been one of patient understanding. Samus even seems to share some of the same melee counter moves from that game. Nintendo didn’t say who the developer is but it’s likely that it’s MercurySteam, the team responsible for the Metroid 2 remake on Nintendo 3DS. Titled Metroid Dread, it features bounty hunter Samus Aran in a newly designed power suit running through some sort of facility, facing a brand new robot enemy referred to as E.M.M.I. But Metroid fans have been thrown a bone in the form of a new 2D game. Given some of the development troubles it has suffered, it was always unlikely that Metroid Prime 4 would have a major presence at E3 this year. Metroid Prime 4 was a no-show but fans have a brand new 2D game to look forward to later this year, called Metroid Dread.
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