• Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Rikster

Unshakable Resolve - One Winged Slayer
Member
Jun 24, 2018
2,077
California
Absolutely loved this game really happy to hear it did well. Now give us a damn Prime HD collection.
 

Grunty

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,356
Gruntilda’s Lair
Honestly thought it would be a lot higher considering its high praise, great reviews, and it being on Switch. The fact Kirby has practically outsold it already in 5 weeks and Dread released 6 months ago shows how much Metroid is still Nintendo's most popular underdog but just doesn't sell comparatively to their other franchises.

But I am glad to see the franchise rebounding and becoming the best it has ever been with sales. Hopefully this one will continue to sell for a long time and Nintendo will keep that momentum going with Metroid Prime remake, Metroid Prime 4, and whatever other Metroid games they hopefully have planned for the future.
 

Jbone115

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,742
If an entry on the Switch doesn't become the best selling entry by default then i have to wonder if it's considered a bit of a failure in Nintendo's eyes. Same goes for other franchises on the Switch by this point too.
I'm sure Nintendo considers Pokémon Sword/Shield and Mario Odyssey to be massive failures…
 

PCfromNYC

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,332
Glad to see people still support the franchise after such a long drought of non-original games.

With that said, fuck MercurySteam and their policies. Hopefully Nintendo has someone else do Metroid 6 if that ever happens.
 
In addition to the quality of the game itself, the Switch is really remarkable for its ability to push smaller games to bigger sales than they've ever enjoyed before.

It seems like literally every individual title or franchise gets a "Switch bump".
 

Sander VF

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
25,966
Tbilisi, Georgia
In addition to the quality of the game itself, the Switch is really remarkable for its ability to push smaller games to bigger sales than they've ever enjoyed before.

It seems like literally every individual title or franchise gets a "Switch bump".
And people hilariously doubt the Switch bump almost every time.

It has been five+ years and I still see it whenever someone opens a thread speculating sales of a new Nintendo thing in a franchise.
 

darksider321

Member
Dec 8, 2020
675
Honestly thought it would be a lot higher considering its high praise, great reviews, and it being on Switch. The fact Kirby has practically outsold it already in 5 weeks and Dread released 6 months ago shows how much Metroid is still Nintendo's most popular underdog but just doesn't sell comparatively to their other franchises.

But I am glad to see the franchise rebounding and becoming the best it has ever been with sales. Hopefully this one will continue to sell for a long time and Nintendo will keep that momentum going with Metroid Prime remake, Metroid Prime 4, and whatever other Metroid games they hopefully have planned for the future.

Tbf, Kirby has had way more releases in comparison to 2d Metroid and the last 2d metroid before Dread was a remake of a gameboy game that came out for the 3ds long after the Switch had already been released. Honestly, I think it did well for what it is. I consider it a success that it reach Xenoblade Chronicle 2's sales while prob being cheaper than it.
 

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,636
Deserved,

The second is interesting, the first is irrelevant.

I know the first is irrelevant for sales talk, but it's just something that the conversation had me curious about. Maybe a bit off topic but it's something I wonder about in general. With how prevalent SNES emulation is and how influential it's been to the indie scene and the industry in general despite relatively low sales, I have to imagine it's up there as having a pretty high ratio pirated playthroughs/playthroughs via legitimate means for a Nintendo game (though of course it's most likely beaten handily by unlocalized games and Earthbound).
 

Mocha Joe

Member
Jun 2, 2021
9,355
Just keep making high quality Metroid games and I'll keep buying them Nintendo. No questions asked.
 

NuclearCake

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,867
I'm sure Nintendo considers Pokémon Sword/Shield and Mario Odyssey to be massive failures…
Odyssey is the best selling entry in the 3D Mario series by a significant amount and it is tracking very close to BOTW, despite BOTW being a launch title and Odyssey launching half a year later. Nintendo would never consider it a disappointment. It likely surpassed their expectations if nothing else.
 

Rexskel

Member
Aug 27, 2021
835
Nice, well deserved for a great sequel. I'm excited for the eventual Metroid 6 and also would like Fusion on Switch someday.
 

DocScroll

Member
May 25, 2021
426
Not that hard to do if it's been difficult to buy previous titles but I suppose the prime series was widely available for a decent amount of time?
 

MrPhiliasfrog

Member
Oct 25, 2017
822
I'm so glad to finally see Metroid back where it belongs. Dread was extremely fun and I'm sure MP4 will exceed those numbers or something along those lines.
 
Not that hard to do if it's been difficult to buy previous titles but I suppose the prime series was widely available for a decent amount of time?
I mean, it's not like the original game and Super haven't been made available across multiple systems over their lifetime and are currently available on their respective NSO apps. Metroid has just never been all that big where catalog availability would have any impact on how high its ceiling could be, as the genre is a more limiting factor than not being able to play the GBA installments in preparation.
 

abellwillring

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,935
Austin, TX
I knew people predicting it'd sell 5 or even 6 million were quite a ways off.

But it did feel like Dread being on Switch and being the face of the Switch OLED marketing it had the chance to crack 3 million (and I think it probably will, though that last 100 000 isn't guaranteed).
You think there is a chance this won't sell another 100k after doing 2.9m in 6 months? Come on, don't be silly. The concept doesn't even need to be approached as a possibility.

I think this is a game where Nintendo would really help it by bringing back the Player's Choice line. I hope they eventually do drop some game prices permanently and give some titles a shot in the arm.
 
Last edited:

TGB86

Member
Jan 27, 2021
1,153
I was hoping the sales would be even higher, but a 2D Metroid game at $60 was going to have a pretty low ceiling regardless of how great it is. I'm sure Nintendo is happy enough with these numbers to continue making further installments in the series, which is all that really matters.
 

Weiss

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
64,265
I was being facetious with the comment, all I was getting at was that for all its splendor and fanbase enthusiasm Metroid has sold criminally low. It selling 3m copies finally shows some heft in being a "real" success and not as much of a cult release.
3 mil is only small if your frame of reference exclusively consists of games with absurdly ballooned budgets or Nintendo's upper crust of IPs.

The drive for More Sales regardless of budget/market is what's led to the homogenization of the AAA space to begin with. You don't get Metroid Dread if it needs to sell more than what it did here.
 

DocScroll

Member
May 25, 2021
426
I mean, it's not like the original game and Super haven't been made available across multiple systems over their lifetime and are currently available on their respective NSO apps. Metroid has just never been all that big where catalog availability would have any impact on how high its ceiling could be, as the genre is a more limiting factor than not being able to play the GBA installments in preparation.
I'd mostly agree but it's always going to be a self fulfilling prophecy unless they decide to maintain availability. I won't suggest the prime remastered release would outpace this but quality titles for IP they fully own should just be available.
 

Finale Fireworker

Love each other or die trying.
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,711
United States
3 mil is only small if your frame of reference exclusively consists of games with absurdly ballooned budgets or Nintendo's upper crust of IPs.

The drive for More Sales regardless of budget/market is what's led to the homogenization of the AAA space to begin with. You don't get Metroid Dread if it needs to sell more than what it did here.
Absolutely true and agreed.
 

TGB86

Member
Jan 27, 2021
1,153
The drive for More Sales regardless of budget/market is what's led to the homogenization of the AAA space to begin with. You don't get Metroid Dread if it needs to sell more than what it did here.

Yeah, this is a good point.

And at any rate, nearly $200 million in revenue in half a year for a 2D game that primarily caters to the hardcore crowd is extremely good, when looked at in context.
 
Oct 27, 2017
42,700
The time is right to strike! Release more metroid!
That's what I've been saying. They need to release whatever Metroid Prime remasters/remakes they have THIS year and release MP4 ideally next year st the lastest if they want to take advantage of the Dread hype. Honestly, they should've at least announced the former by now if it's I'm the pipeline
 

NoobSauceG7

Member
Feb 7, 2022
1,529
Great to see it has success and got the "Switch Bump", just hope that Nintendo continues to see that the Metroid series is worthwhile and doesn't put it away again.
 

Xwing

Unshakable Resolve - One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 11, 2017
9,877
My prediction is still close to 4 million lifetime. It's gonna see a small boost in sales once Prime 4 gets a release date and Metroid hype starts again.
 

Serpens007

Well, Tosca isn't for everyone
Moderator
Oct 31, 2017
8,129
Chile
Here's an overview of the entire Metroid series sales figures, at least for the million sellers.
6kLxFL7.png

To give Metroid some credit, while it's true that it has never historically been a huge seller, it at least has had consistency on its side. All of the main original 2D and Prime games have at least sold a million, even god damn Metroid Prime Hunters made it to that point.

The only Metroid branded games that have not sold over a million are the remakes and the meme games like Other M and Fed Force. Like, compare Metroid's trajectory to other sci-fi Nintendo IPs like F-Zero, or Star Fox, and you'll see that it never truely dropped off as hard as those two did.

(kinda glad dread outsold f-zero snes, which outsold metroid prime by a hair hinch, so we no longer have to say that f-zero sold better than metroid lolol)

Never knew that Metroid NES and Metroid 2 GB sold so much. I wouldn't have guessed they sold more than Fusion and Super.
 

Kindekuma

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
4,730
A game that was considered an urban legend in the franchise for the longest time is now the best selling game in the series. Incredible.
 
Never knew that Metroid NES and Metroid 2 GB sold so much. I wouldn't have guessed they sold more than Fusion and Super.
Those two are interesting outliers as they're the only two installments that Japan went for as hard as they did. Super was where you started to see the sudden sharp decline in the region that's been difficult to curb since, though Dread did do quite well for itself in Japan to show that there is some interest in the series, if not nearly as much as there is in the west.
 

Wil Grieve

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,075
Well deserved. Admittedly I'm a little biased because I've been waiting for Dread since the day I got Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion for my birthday, my first Metroid games. I can't believe I was in like, middle school when I got to the end of Fusion and now I'm in my 30s before getting to see the story continue on.

Dread was easily my game of the year.
 

Weiss

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
64,265
Absolutely true and agreed.
Oh my bad. I misread your post as "3mil is a cult release" as opposed to "3mil shows Metroid rising out of a cult release."

I still hold to my broader point of "the value of a game's sales has nothing to do with what another, more popular game is selling" but yeah I get what you mean now.
 

Deleted member 34949

Account closed at user request
Banned
Nov 30, 2017
19,101
Well deserved. Absolutely bizarre that a game that was pretty much a myth for the longest time went on to become the best selling game in the series.

Would definitely love to see MS do another game, though that upper management at the studio definitely needs to sort it's shit out before anything else.
 

Burny

Member
Oct 26, 2017
581
Deserved. Great series and a great game.

I'm still waiting for the "BotW" moment for Metroid though - a rethink of what constitutes the franchise and its games. What I played of the series has been great and polished to a fault, but similar to Zelda, it's a formula established in the late 80s and early 90s, just reiterated, very slightly adapted and paired with some technical bling.

But I may be in the minority of the Metroid fanbase here. The reimagined Metroid I'd like to see would not be a classical Metroid or Metroidvania anymore. Rather something that can explore the concept of a bounty hunter in a sci-fi/fantasy universe largely free of the 1986 formula and plot ties.
 

SirNinja

One Winged Slayer
Member
A game that was considered an urban legend in the franchise for the longest time is now the best selling game in the series. Incredible.
It's pretty surreal, yeah. It's like if Chrono Break suddenly released and outsold Trigger.

Hopefully Nintendo keeps the momentum going. That rumored Prime 1 remaster later this year should help keep the momentum up until Prime 4, which will ideally set some new records itself.
 

Xtortion

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,646
United States
Deserved. Great series and a great game.

I'm still waiting for the "BotW" moment for Metroid though - a rethink of what constitutes the franchise and its games. What I played of the series has been great and polished to a fault, but similar to Zelda, it's a formula established in the late 80s and early 90s, just reiterated, very slightly adapted and paired with some technical bling.

But I may be in the minority of the Metroid fanbase here. The reimagined Metroid I'd like to see would not be a classical Metroid or Metroidvania anymore. Rather something that can explore the concept of a bounty hunter in a sci-fi/fantasy universe largely free of the 1986 formula and plot ties.

Honestly, Prey 2: Samus Edition could be pretty dope
 

Nucarn

Member
Jan 15, 2020
565
Belgium
This is just fantastic. Great game for the series. I hope the future is bright for Metroid and a new story arc starts in the coming years.
 

Watershed

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,818
I think I predicted 3 mil in a previous thread. Feeling pretty good about that prediction. Curious to see how high it will go LTD.
 

xyla

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,385
Germany
Well deserved! Hope it will go and sell somewhat steadily to reach 4-5m lifetime. Prime coming out eventually could even boost it a little since it's not direct competition with it being 2D.

Really loved the game and hope we'll see another 2D one in a few years.