Nobody likes it when the game they’ve been waiting on for years gets pushed even farther into the future. It’s that never-ending feeling of sadness that comes over you when that game’s release date seems like it will never come to fruition. It’s a disappointing reality for many gamers. However, when it comes to Nintendo, there is a certain comfort fans can feel when a game gets delayed. Nintendo has a design philosophy that speaks volumes about the quality of their games. They are never afraid to push back a highly anticipated game to ensure its quality when it releases. 
On Jan. 25, in an online video, Nintendo issued an official statement updating fans on the current state of Metroid Prime 4’s development. The message came from Shinya Takahashi, Senior Managing Executive Officer at Nintendo.
“Although this is very regrettable, we must let you know that the current development progress has not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series,” Takahashi said.
Essentially, development for the game is completely starting over. Instead of one to two years, the game will most likely not be out for three, four, or even five years from now. When a game gets delayed, fans tend to be extremely disappointed. In this case, however, fans have reacted in a much more understanding way.
It takes guts to openly admit to fans that a game will have to be delayed. Many companies remain dead silent or push out games before they are ready with promises to fix them later in patches. I think it’s the way that Nintendo delivered this update, that caused this reaction from fans. The message seemed genuine, professional, and apologetic. Simply put, transparency with your fans works.
I think Metroid fans can sleep soundly at night with the fact that Retro Studios, the original developers of the Metroid Prime series, is now taking over the project.
After this update, Nintendo will most likely be utterly silent about Metroid Prime 4 for at least a few years. Hopefully, Metroid fans will receive good news in the coming months, as rumors have been circling the internet that a Metroid Prime Trilogy in HD will be announced soon. This announcement would excite fans and allow new gamers to be introduced to the series before Metroid Prime 4 inevitably releases to the public. 
As a Nintendo fan, I have much respect for Nintendo in their decision to start over with Metroid Prime 4 completely. I believe it’s always better for a game to come out at a later date finished and of high quality, then have a rushed product that does not meet fan expectations. Nintendo likely lost millions of dollars on all the resources and development that went into the game before it was scrapped. It makes you wonder what exactly went so wrong with development that drove Nintendo to make this decision in the first place. We will probably never know the exact reason.
Metroid Prime 4 is a huge and vital game for Nintendo, the Switch, and especially Metroid fans. I think the Nintendo community agrees with me when I say that I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for Nintendo to get this game right. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!