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Sakamoto explains Metroid's lack of popularity in Japan, explains lack of Nunchuk support

by rawmeatcowboy
17 March 2010
GN Version 3.1

A portion of an IGN interview with Sakamoto…

IGN: You admitted during during your GDC panel that the Metroid series isn’t nearly as popular in Japan as it is in the US. But do you understand why that’s the case?

Sakamoto: In Japan, the people who are into Metroid tend to be hardcore game fans. It’s not a series that’s necessarily found acceptance in Japan outside of that niche. You can also say that it’s the same as how science fiction is embraced in the United States compared to Japan. Science fiction seems to be a niche genre in Japan as a whole, where it seems to have found more mainstream success in the US.

IGN: Yes, she’s very nice indeed. During your GDC panel you said that you were adamant about having the game control with the Wii remote exclusively. Why were you so set against incorporating nunchuk for Metroid Other M?

Sakamoto: Two reasons. The first, with the team I’ve been working with, we’ve been making the Metroid series in 2D up to this point. Even though we’ve been looking for a way to control Samus in 3D, we wanted to achieve the feeling that you had when Samus was in 2D. We decided that the traditional D-pad for movement plus jumping and shooting on buttons was the most appropriate control scheme for this direction. The second reason, and let me preface this by saying I don’t think bad games use the nunchuk because there are a lot of great games that do, there’s a certain image created with the nunchuk, it’s a bit of a barrier in accessibility because it’s a “different” control. The nunchuk I think is more appropriate for core audiences. At the same time, I feel that showing people a 3D game where you can control it using the remote really does stir the imagination, they’ll think “How’s it possible to control the character using the sideways remote in 3D?” I also think it’s attractive to those who grew up playing games using this kind of control.

Full interview here