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Star Fox Zero Delayed to Q1 2016

pulsemyne

Member
My bet is a small delay until late May. Nintendo always like releasing things in May. I'm not bothered about a delay so long as they make a good game. The real question is would a month or two make the difference between the game being good or just being that little bit better?
 
It will fail worse than the Wii U if it releases this fiscal year. The competition is too strong.
Only people buying it will be "core" Nintendo fans.
The Wii U is a bad product that severely lacked demand at the time of its launch.

Those are both unknowns for the NX.
 

Ridley327

Member
Is that so? So only one device?

No, think of it more along the lines of developing a universal app. Make the necessary tweaks for it to run a particular way on one product line than another, but you're not having to worry about developing for a completely different environment, since it's now the one environment.
 

The_Lump

Banned
Is that so? So only one device?

From Iwata's comments its one development environment (ie a shared architecture), but still two (or more) devices.

They explicitly mentioned iOS and Android when talking about it - so that seems to point us toward a particular strategy.
 

10k

Banned
Someone update the title:

Starfox Zero Delayed to Who Gives a Fuck Anymore?

Lol. Ah well polish that shit up Nintendo.
 

maxcriden

Member
The Wii U is a sunken ship.

Give Platinum the time and creative freedom to turn this into a really cool NX game. Scratch that Gamepad stuff and make something that does justice to Star Fox and Star Fox 64.

My understanding from I think it was comments Alberto made is that Platinum is not working directly on the campaign, though I thought Nintendo had said otherwise originally. I might be misremembering either party's statements, though, so I'll try to find quotes.

Yeah, that makes no sense. They will announce it in the Direct if anything, which is pre-produced. Then I saw it was this guy saying this, yikes. He's not a real source.

He did post some additional statements earlier today, posted in this thread as well. I have no idea what the veracity of them is but additionally, another source was saying they've heard the same thing in a tweet posted by Platy above.
 

Nerrel

Member
At this point I feel bad for Platinum. This was their chance to work on Starfox and I can't help but feel it was taken away from them. Nintendo should have kept their hands off and just let them make the Starfox they wanted to. I have no doubt it would have been incredible, with a scale and intensity beyond what Nintendo themselves would do. Miyamoto is great and all, but this time his involvement really fucked things up.

If they take it away, it's Star Fox 64b.

A huge delay for that would be sad.

A functional, visually appealing and easy to play Starfox 64B is infinitely better than a broken game based on an unappealing gimmick, and with how much Zero is retreading SF64 anyway it's not exactly groundbreaking itself.

SF64 is almost 20 years old. Even a safe sequel would end up in some very different places due to how radically different hardware has become. Look at S&P2 on Wii, and how its levels were often huge, sprawling spaces with a dynamically shifting path through the course. You can see how different an on-rails game can be now compared to the straight, linear flight paths most levels had in the old SF games.

Not to mention that the Wii remote and nunchuk would have accomplished every innovation this control setup was intended to, but better. You could still aim and fly independently, but with total comfort. They also wouldn't have limited the graphics/processing power by rendering to two screens, so the visuals and level design wouldn't have suffered. They could have just had a perspective switch button so you could enter first person in the rare times you'd need to and that would have been that.

If you think that's Starfox 64B, I'll take it.
 

21XX

Banned
All of these posts saying "They can't release it if it's going to damage the Star Fox brand" are funny. What alternate universe are you living in that the Star Fox brand is some sterling example of an extremely successful franchise?

At this point, what would a delay prove? Shove it even closer against NX? Just send it to die.
 
The Wii U is a bad product that severely lacked demand at the time of its launch.

Those are both unknowns for the NX.

So if Nintendo is releasing it this fiscal year, what new games could they possibly have ready for this? I'm not talking about new versions of Wii U games. Those will barely matter. Between issues with the development of Starfox and Zelda, I don't see how Nintendo is ready for strong launch.
 

Ridley327

Member
At this point I feel bad for Platinum. This was their chance to work on Starfox and I can't help but feel it was taken away from them. Nintendo should have kept their hands off and just let them make the Starfox they wanted to. I have no doubt it would have been incredible, with a scale and intensity beyond what Nintendo themselves would do. Miyamoto is great and all, but this time his involvement really fucked things up.

The problem is your scenario is ignoring that this was a game that Nintendo initiated from its inception. This was never Platinum's project to begin with.
 
They need to go back to the Original Star Fox on SNES

Get back to the fucking basics and make a fun shooter again

Drop all this dead weight gimmick bullshit
 
So if Nintendo is releasing it this fiscal year, what new games could they possibly have ready for this? I'm not talking about new versions of Wii U games. Those will barely matter. Between issues with the development of Starfox and Zelda, I don't see how Nintendo is ready for strong launch.

A 3D Mario perhaps. 3D World was released in 2013.
 

Nerrel

Member
The problem is your scenario is ignoring that this was a game that Nintendo initiated from its inception. This was never Platinum's project to begin with.

I suppose that's true. I really would have liked to see them helm it from the start with Kamiya getting his chance to head the project. If this game somehow actually does well, maybe there's a chance Platinum will do a sequel and that will happen.
 

Nerrel

Member
So if Nintendo is releasing it this fiscal year, what new games could they possibly have ready for this? I'm not talking about new versions of Wii U games. Those will barely matter. Between issues with the development of Starfox and Zelda, I don't see how Nintendo is ready for strong launch.

We already know they've been developing a 3D Mario for NX since 3D World ended. We also know Pikmin 4 is pretty much done. Zelda is almost certainly going to be ready for the NX launch. And we still have no clue what Retro is doing, but it's almost certainly an NX game that will launch early in. You don't think that's a good start?

Having separate aiming and movement controls in SF is a gimmick now?

In the needlessly complicated form it's in now? Yes. The remote+nunchuk or just the gamepad's gyro aiming on a single screen would have done the same thing better.
 

Vena

Member
So if Nintendo is releasing it this fiscal year, what new games could they possibly have ready for this? I'm not talking about new versions of Wii U games. Those will barely matter. Between issues with the development of Starfox and Zelda, I don't see how Nintendo is ready for strong launch.

Conflating Starfox and Zelda under "development issues" as if they were even remotely similar in what they are experiencing/undergoing, is funny to me.
 
Conflating Starfox and Zelda under "development issues" as if they were even remotely similar in what they are experiencing/undergoing, is funny to me.

They both had a delay (i'm aware this is an old thread, and the new delay is just a rumor). I don't give a shit what those specific issues are. The end result is the same. Less games, less often. Delayed.
 

maxcriden

Member
Nah. If it is what everyone thinks it is, it's gonna have both their console and handheld teams on it.

No, think of it more along the lines of developing a universal app. Make the necessary tweaks for it to run a particular way on one product line than another, but you're not having to worry about developing for a completely different environment, since it's now the one environment.

From Iwata's comments its one development environment (ie a shared architecture), but still two (or more) devices.

They explicitly mentioned iOS and Android when talking about it - so that seems to point us toward a particular strategy.

From what I read in the NX/sources thread, the best I was able to glean is that it is moderately unlikely each system won't have its own exclusives, or at least that the console won't have its own exclusives, because of the differential between its power and that of the HH. This was all speculation, but it sounded like those saying it knew what they were talking about in regards to the tech side of things. My understanding also is that Wii U BC is unlikely, and that shared library of many VC, eShop and some retail games is very possible.
 

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
Indeed. But it should've been. It's not too late Nintendo!

It's Nintendo's IP and their prototype. They developed all the control and mechanics, but basically didn't have the available personnel to complete a production team. Platinum Games (who I'm sure also outsourced to BeeTribe, HexaDrive and all those Japan art companies) became involved.

We've seen these collaborations fall apart before. Only time will tell if this one works, sort of works, or fails miserably.
 

Nerrel

Member
They both had a delay (i'm aware this is an old thread, and the new delay is just a rumor). I don't give a shit what those specific issues are.

There's a huge difference and it does matter. One is being delayed because it simply isn't going well. That qualifies as Nintendo having "issues." The other looks to be going extremely well and was only delayed to release on another platform. That does not qualify as Nintendo having "issues."
 

Vena

Member
They both had a delay (i'm aware this is an old thread, and the new delay is just a rumor). I don't give a shit what those specific issues are. The end result is the same. Less games, less often. Delayed.

This is like stating that "context doesn't matter".
 
All of these posts saying "They can't release it if it's going to damage the Star Fox brand" are funny. What alternate universe are you living in that the Star Fox brand is some sterling example of an extremely successful franchise?

At this point, what would a delay prove? Shove it even closer against NX? Just send it to die.

If they send Zero out to die without any improvement then what was even the point of delaying the game in the first place? Just to screw with the fans?

I've been critical of how it looks and the lack of content compared to past titles, but at the same time I'm not actively hoping it fails either. I'm still holding out some hope that the Star Fox series can finally treated with above-average respect for once with a genuinely good game that doesn't diverge from what people expect from the IP.

Besides, how does rushing out another half-baked game make Nintendo look, especially after 2015's Federation Force reveal and the simultaneous holiday releases of Mario Tennis and amiibo Crossing? Is this really the image Nintendo wants to maintain on how they treat their IPs, major or otherwise?
 
There's a huge difference and it does matter. One is being delayed because it simply isn't going well. That qualifies as Nintendo having "issues." The other looks to be going extremely well and was only delayed to release on another platform. That does not qualify as Nintendo having "issues."

If it was going extremely well, we would have seen more about it in the last year, and we wouldn't have seen Aonuma pivot from the "we focus on surprising fans, not fan feedback" position to "we're taking player feedback very seriously" position in the year since the delay. We wouldn't have seen them release a video where they talk endlessly about how well Twilight Princess was first received, either; this kind of reaction was definitely missing from the new Zelda for Wii U.
 

Glass Rebel

Member
All of these posts saying "They can't release it if it's going to damage the Star Fox brand" are funny. What alternate universe are you living in that the Star Fox brand is some sterling example of an extremely successful franchise?

At this point, what would a delay prove? Shove it even closer against NX? Just send it to die.

They're trying to relaunch a brand here. Why bother doing all that if it's just going to tank the franchise even harder than before?

Personally speaking though, fuck it. I'm over Star Fox.
 
Bad product? The Wii U is great, the Wii on the other hand...
As a Nintendo fan, I like the Wii U but it's not a strong product and never was. Whereas the Wii was the right thing in the right place at the right time. The huge gulf in sales between the two backs that up.

So if Nintendo is releasing it this fiscal year, what new games could they possibly have ready for this? I'm not talking about new versions of Wii U games. Those will barely matter. Between issues with the development of Starfox and Zelda, I don't see how Nintendo is ready for strong launch.
I think they certainly could have a new 3D Mario and a new game from Retro. If the NX launches Holiday 2016, it'd be about three years since 3D World and Tropical Freeze. I think there are other developers under their banner that haven't shipped a new, substantial game in a while. And then there's always the possibility of third-party partnerships, like with Bayonetta 2.

Zelda should definitely be on the NX, in addition to the Wii U. That, and a new 3D Mario game would constitute a "strong launch", IMO. And there's potential for more than that.

But I don't think the launch lineup in and of itself will dictate how successful the NX will be. Great games at launch is great, but is the system itself attractive? What about its features? Price? Third party support? Will there be a steady flow of games post-launch, or more droughts? A lot of questions still remain.

I have a pretty high level of confidence in Nintendo delivering a strong software launch. What I don't know is if the NX is going to be a product that people who aren't Nintendo fans are going to actually want. I think until we know more about what the NX actually is, it's crazy to predict how well we think it's going to do.
 

Nerrel

Member
If it was going extremely well, we would have seen more about it in the last year, and we wouldn't have seen Aonuma pivot from the "we focus on surprising fans, not fan feedback" position to "we're taking player feedback very seriously" position in the year since the delay. We wouldn't have seen them release a video where they talk endlessly about how well Twilight Princess was first received, either; this kind of reaction was definitely missing from the new Zelda for Wii U.

Are we talking about different games here? People lost their shit when Zelda U was unveiled, and have done so every time it's been shown since. What negative feedback has there been for them to even consider?

They're not showing it because they've had numerous Zelda projects that they want to focus on. They did confirm that they had "great footage" to show at last year's e3, but chose not to show it because they delay meant it wasn't really necessary to hype the game up yet. They also may not be showing it because porting to NX may have changed things in a way that they're not ready to reveal yet. And, above all else, not showing it has allowed people's imaginations to fill in the blanks and it's been very good for them. People are so hyped up for this game and we know fairly little about it- not even the title.
 
Are we talking about different games here? People lost their shit when Zelda U was unveiled, and have done so every time it's been shown since. What negative feedback has there been for them to even consider?

They're not showing it because they've had numerous Zelda projects that they want to focus on. They did confirm that they had "great footage" to show at last year's e3, but chose not to show it because they delay meant it wasn't really necessary to hype the game up yet. They also may not be showing it because porting to NX may have changed things in a way that they're not ready to reveal yet. And, above all else, not showing it has allowed people's imaginations to fill in the blanks and it's been very good for them. People are so hyped up for this game and we know fairly little about it- not even the title.

Not that I was part of this, but there was quite the "discussion" of the possible gender change in Link.
 
We already know they've been developing a 3D Mario for NX since 3D World ended. We also know Pikmin 4 is pretty much done. Zelda is almost certainly going to be ready for the NX launch. And we still have no clue what Retro is doing, but it's almost certainly an NX game that will launch early in. You don't think that's a good start?

So that's your prediction? 3 new games?
I'm not counting Zelda because that will be on Wii U.

No, I don't see 3 new (made by Nintendo) exclusive games being enough. Looking at the competition this year, it will be an uphill battle. They need to price themselves under $300 / closer to $250 to get any attention from average consumers. You will be able to find a XB1 and PS4 this holiday for under $300. I'm sure of it. Hell, it's already happening for XB1. Both systems have libraries that dwarf the Wii U and have been out for a shorter time. I think we can all safely assume that the NX at launch will have less games than Wii U. This is a real problem for them that already exists. That doesn't even need a "prediction".

Let's say they release in March 2017. This is also a bad time since they lose potential customers to the previous holiday season. Holiday 2017 in my opinion is probably the best time for them at this point.

Whatever 3rd party support they have for launch needs to be current games. Half-ass late ports aren't going to help anyone. Wii U released with 3rd party games that had been out for awhile and not enough people cared about at that point. Zombi U was cool though and it was a 3rd party Nintendo exclusive for a time. Something like that fits the bill for a good launch but it obviously did terrible.

I don't see Nintendo making a success this gen in the home console space. Let's see how the mobile efforts go.

So in order to try and bring this back around on-topic:
I originally expressed my doubts in a Starfox NX exclusive release because the player pool would be just that much smaller. Cancelling it for Wii U would just do more damage to their brand.
 

Domaje

Member
Someone update the title:

Starfox Zero Delayed to Who Gives a Fuck Anymore?

Lol. Ah well polish that shit up Nintendo.
Someone still cares. But sadly they are a minority. The people who cares about new gameplay mechanics and that judges a game after trying it, not before...
 

PooBone

Member
The Wii U is a sunken ship.

Give Platinum the time and creative freedom to turn this into a really cool NX game. Scratch that Gamepad stuff and make something that does justice to Star Fox and Star Fox 64.

This is the only non-Zelda game I've ever looked forward to for the Wii U. The only reason I bought a fucking Wii U is because both of these games were supposed to be out in 2015. Now public opinion says turn them both into NX launch games. Fuck this, I'm sorry. If you can't supply a library of games to a platform, don't build one.
 

PooBone

Member
Suddenly April is empty aside from Quantum Break, May is now stacked with Uncharted, Doom, and Mirror's Edge. Jeez. Mirror's Edge it is.
 

arevin01

Member
I don't honestly why they would bother releasing this on Wii U. Console is already dead, just move it to NX. Same for Zelda.
 
I don't honestly why they would bother releasing this on Wii U. Console is already dead, just move it to NX. Same for Zelda.

Nintendo wants to keep their existing fans happy. I don't think canceling Wii U games, regardless of quality, really does that.

Plus, they can still profit off Wii U software, as a lot of the bigger titles have huge attach rates. Even if the console is at 10-11 mil, when a game sells 1 million units or more, it's still profitable for Nintendo.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
I don't honestly why they would bother releasing this on Wii U. Console is already dead, just move it to NX. Same for Zelda.

You don't understand because you don't pay attention.

For example, Nintendo just increased the forecast for Wii U software sold for this FY.
 
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