Retro Studios
Encyclopedia
Retro Studios is an American
video game developer
based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in October 1998 by the video game veteran Jeff Spangenberg
after leaving Acclaim Entertainment
, as an independent studio making games exclusively for Nintendo Company, Ltd.
On May 2, 2002, Nintendo acquired the studio completely by purchasing the majority of Spangenberg holding stock, which reclassified the company as a first-party developer and division
of Nintendo, with about 80 employees.
founder Jeff Spangenberg
. Nintendo hoped that Retro could provide the forthcoming Nintendo GameCube
with games targeted at an older demographic, as Iguana Entertainment developed the successful Turok
series for the Nintendo 64
. After establishing its offices in Austin, Texas
in 1999, Retro started four different projects for the future GameCube, despite not even having development kits
. From the initial staff of 25 people, mostly former Iguana employees, the crew had grown into 120 employees by the time development of projects begun, eventually peaking at over 200 employees.
The workplace was chaotic, with the teams for each project not interacting with each other, and the deadlines imposed by Nintendo not being reached. Japanese employees visited three times a year, and were mostly critical on how development was progressing. In 2000, producer Shigeru Miyamoto
visited the studio, and did not like the games being developed, but suggested that Retro could develop a new title in the Metroid
series, considering that the studio could deal well with the license after seeing the prototype of a first-person shooter engine
they created. Just a few weeks before the 2000 Space World
, Nintendo granted Retro the Metroid license, and development of an action-adventure game
was cancelled, with its team moving into Metroid Prime
.
In February 2001, over 100 employees were laid off as two games, a football
simulator and a vehicular combat game
, were cancelled. In July 2001, an RPG
called Raven Blade was also terminated, so that Metroid Prime would be the only game in development. 26 people working on the game were laid off, and 9 others joined the Prime development team. On May 2, 2002, Nintendo secured $1 million worth of Retro Studios stock from Spangenberg, which reclassified the company as a first party developer and division of Nintendo. Spangenberg had a controversial stint as president, rarely appearing to work, neglecting supervision on the company's projects, and having pictures of himself with half-naked women appearing on a website registered to a Retro Studios mailing address. His replacement on the presidency was Steve Barcia
, the founder of Simtex
who joined Retro as vice-president of Product Development.
During the last nine months of Metroid Primes development, Retro's staff worked 80 to 100-hour weeks to reach the deadline imposed by Nintendo. Despite its troubled production and initial mixed reactions from fans, Prime was released on November 17, 2002 in North America to universal critical acclaim, and commercial success, eventually selling over two million units worldwide.
, and instead used new sound models, weapon effects, and art designs. A multiplayer component was also added to the game. On April 2003, Steve Barcia left the company. Michael Kelbaugh, who had worked with Nintendo for over 15 years, was appointed president, a job he retains to this date. Retro tried to include some extras, such as a hidden version of Super Metroid
, but were halted by the short development time. Producer Kensuke Tanabe
later revealed in an interview that the game was just about thirty percent complete three months before the strict deadline Nintendo had set for a release in the 2004 holiday season. The critical reception for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was very positive, but earned some criticism on the game's high difficulty. Sales for Echoes were lower than the first Prime, with a total of 800,000 units.
Retro Studios was then put to produce the next game in the Metroid Prime series titled Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
. Retro intended to give Metroid Prime 3: Corruption larger environments than Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
, and enable the game to run at 60 frames per second. The developers were also interested in using the WiiConnect24
feature to provide additional content for the game that would be accessible from the Internet. Retro announced that Corruption would be the final chapter of the Prime series and would have a plot "about closure, told against the backdrop of an epic struggle". After the Wii Remote
was revealed, Nintendo demonstrated how Metroid Prime 3 would take advantage of the controller's special abilities with a version of Echoes modified for the Wii and shown at the Tokyo Game Show
in 2005. Originally envisioned as a launch title for the Wii in November 2006, Corruption suffered many delays, eventually being released on August 27, 2007 to generally positive reviews, and over 1.60 million copies sold worldwide.
started being developed shortly after the release of Corruption, and was released in 2009.
In April 2008, Retro saw the departure of three key developers, designer Mark Pacini, art director Todd Keller, and principal technology engineer Jack Mathews, who went on to form their own company, Armature Studio. Around the same time, Shigeru Miyamoto asked fellow producer Kensuke Tanabe on a studio that could develop a new Donkey Kong
game, and Tanabe recommended Retro as Kelbaugh had worked on the Donkey Kong Country
series during his years on Nintendo of America, and had interest in continuing with the franchise. Retro accepted the task, and thus started development of Donkey Kong Country Returns
. Similar to New Super Mario Bros.
, the game was developed with the intention to invoke nostalgic feelings in the player with its art style and sound, while trying to provide them with new gameplay experiences. Returns employs fully polygonal 3D graphics with three times the amount of textures
and polygons
that Corruption offered, and over the course of six months, two thirds of the game's tools and engine had to be rewritten by the programmers. Development accelerated at the outset of 2010, and the project was just "beginning to cohere as a game" around the time of E3, when it was officially announced to the press. Although the game was set for release in autumn that year, the team still had 70 levels to create or refine. After the development of Returns was completed, two more key departures happened at Retro with senior designers Kynan Pearson and Mike Wikan moving on to other studios. At E3 2011, it was announced during Nintendo's Developer Roundtable that Retro Studios would be involved in the development of Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS
. Retro has received a Nintendo Wii U development kit, and is reportedly working on "a project everyone wants us to do."
. The video game countdown show Filter
named Prime as having the Best Graphics of all time. Prime was also chosen for lists of best games: 24th in IGN's Top 100, 29th in a 100 game list chosen by GameFAQs
users, and 10th in Nintendo Power
's "Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever". GameSpy chose it as the third best GameCube title of all time, behind The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
and Resident Evil 4
, while IGN put it at first in a similar list. Nintendo Power also ranked it as the sixth best game of the 2000s.
Metroid Prime: Trilogy has an average of 91 out of 100 and 92.05 out of 100, indicating "Universal Acclaim". GamesRadar
praised it for being the compilation of three great games for the price of one. IGN
awarded the trilogy a score of 9.5 out of 10, citing the fantastic game play and brilliant presentation values, while NGamer UK cited the massive amount of game play per pound. Blast Magazine awarded the compilation a 9.7 out of 10 and said that these were the "definitive version of each game in the Prime trilogy."
Donkey Kong Country Returns received very positive reviews. It currently has an average score of 88% on GameRankings and Metacritic
.
, and hit 250,000 units in just one week. The game has since sold about 1.49 million copies in America alone, earning more than $50 million in revenue. It is also the eighth best-selling GameCube game in Australia, and sold more than 78,000 copies in Japan, and more than 250,000 copies in Europe, thus entering the Player's Choice
line in the PAL region. Echoes sold 470,000 copies in North America in 2004, and a total of 40,000 copies in Japan. By August 2009, the game had sold 800,000 copies worldwide.
Despite being released on August 27, Corruption was the fifth best-selling game of the month, with 218,100 copies sold. It also debuted at the fifth spot of the Japanese charts, with 34,000 units in the first week of release. More than one million copies of the game were sold in 2007, and as of March 2008, 1.31 million copies of the game were sold worldwide.
The game debuted third at the Japanese game charts, with 163,310 units sold, and has sold 638,305 copies in Japan as of January 2, 2011. In North America, the game debuted at sixth place in the charts, with 430,470 units sold. By the end of March 2011, Donkey Kong Country Returns had sold 4.96 million copies worldwide.
Awards, and won awards for Best GameCube Game of 2004 from IGN, Electronic Gaming Monthly
and GameSpy. It was rated the 174th best game made on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Powers Top 200 Games list, the 74th best game by GameFAQs
users, the 15th best GameCube game by IGN, and the 13th best by GameSpy.
In IGN's Best of 2007 Awards, Corruption received the awards for Best Wii Adventure Game, Best Artistic Design, and Best Overall Adventure Game. GameSpy
ranked it as the second best Wii game of the year, behind Super Mario Galaxy
, and honored it as the Best Innovation on the Wii.
Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo DS
Wii
Nintendo 3DS
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
video game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in October 1998 by the video game veteran Jeff Spangenberg
Jeff Spangenberg
Jeff Spangenberg is a video game producer and entrepreneur who has founded and presided over video game developers Team Design, Punk Development, Iguana Entertainment, Retro Studios, and Top Heavy Studios.-External links:*...
after leaving Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
, as an independent studio making games exclusively for Nintendo Company, Ltd.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
On May 2, 2002, Nintendo acquired the studio completely by purchasing the majority of Spangenberg holding stock, which reclassified the company as a first-party developer and division
Division (business)
A division of a business entity is a portion of that business that operates under a different name. It is the equivalent of a corporation or limited liability company obtaining a fictitious name or "doing business as" certificate and operating a business under that fictitious name...
of Nintendo, with about 80 employees.
History
1998–2002: Creation and Metroid Prime
Retro Studios was created in October 1998, by an alliance between Nintendo and former Iguana EntertainmentIguana Entertainment
Iguana Entertainment, renamed Acclaim Studios Austin after 1999, was a video game developer operating from 1991 to 2004 in Santa Clara, California, Sunnyvale, California, and Austin, Texas in the USA, and Teesside, England...
founder Jeff Spangenberg
Jeff Spangenberg
Jeff Spangenberg is a video game producer and entrepreneur who has founded and presided over video game developers Team Design, Punk Development, Iguana Entertainment, Retro Studios, and Top Heavy Studios.-External links:*...
. Nintendo hoped that Retro could provide the forthcoming Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
with games targeted at an older demographic, as Iguana Entertainment developed the successful Turok
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is a first-person shooter video game developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo 64 console and personal computer platforms. It was released in 1997 in North America and Europe. Turok is an adaptation of the Acclaim Comics comic book series of...
series for the Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
. After establishing its offices in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
in 1999, Retro started four different projects for the future GameCube, despite not even having development kits
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
. From the initial staff of 25 people, mostly former Iguana employees, the crew had grown into 120 employees by the time development of projects begun, eventually peaking at over 200 employees.
The workplace was chaotic, with the teams for each project not interacting with each other, and the deadlines imposed by Nintendo not being reached. Japanese employees visited three times a year, and were mostly critical on how development was progressing. In 2000, producer Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
visited the studio, and did not like the games being developed, but suggested that Retro could develop a new title in the Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
series, considering that the studio could deal well with the license after seeing the prototype of a first-person shooter engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
they created. Just a few weeks before the 2000 Space World
Nintendo Space World
Nintendo World, formerly called Nintendo Space World, Nintendo 64 Space World, Super Famicom Space World, Famicom Space World, and , is a video game trade show hosted by Nintendo, typically to unveil new consoles or handhelds...
, Nintendo granted Retro the Metroid license, and development of an action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
was cancelled, with its team moving into Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002...
.
In February 2001, over 100 employees were laid off as two games, a football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
simulator and a vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players...
, were cancelled. In July 2001, an RPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
called Raven Blade was also terminated, so that Metroid Prime would be the only game in development. 26 people working on the game were laid off, and 9 others joined the Prime development team. On May 2, 2002, Nintendo secured $1 million worth of Retro Studios stock from Spangenberg, which reclassified the company as a first party developer and division of Nintendo. Spangenberg had a controversial stint as president, rarely appearing to work, neglecting supervision on the company's projects, and having pictures of himself with half-naked women appearing on a website registered to a Retro Studios mailing address. His replacement on the presidency was Steve Barcia
Steve Barcia
Steve Barcia is a game programmer, game producer and entrepreneur, having founded the computer game developer Simtex Studios Inc. in 1988. The company released computer games such as Master of Magic, Master of Orion and Master of Orion II....
, the founder of Simtex
Simtex
Simtex was a video game developer established by Steve Barcia in 1988. It created a number of well-known turn-based strategy games for the PC, most notably the first two Master of Orion games...
who joined Retro as vice-president of Product Development.
During the last nine months of Metroid Primes development, Retro's staff worked 80 to 100-hour weeks to reach the deadline imposed by Nintendo. Despite its troubled production and initial mixed reactions from fans, Prime was released on November 17, 2002 in North America to universal critical acclaim, and commercial success, eventually selling over two million units worldwide.
2003–2008: Metroid Prime sequels
After the critical and commercial success of Metroid Prime, Nintendo asked Retro Studios to produce a sequel. The developers decided against recycling the features of the first game while creating Metroid Prime 2: EchoesMetroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, known as in Japan, is a first-person, action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube video game console. It is the seventh game in the Metroid series, a direct sequel to Metroid Prime, and the first game in the series with...
, and instead used new sound models, weapon effects, and art designs. A multiplayer component was also added to the game. On April 2003, Steve Barcia left the company. Michael Kelbaugh, who had worked with Nintendo for over 15 years, was appointed president, a job he retains to this date. Retro tried to include some extras, such as a hidden version of Super Metroid
Super Metroid
, also known as Metroid 3, is an action-adventure video game and the third game in the Metroid series. It was designed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, programmed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console...
, but were halted by the short development time. Producer Kensuke Tanabe
Kensuke Tanabe
is a Japanese video game designer and producer working for Nintendo. After he had graduated from the Visual Concept Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, he decided to enter the video game industry, and joined Nintendo in April 1986. At first, Tanabe was part of the Entertainment...
later revealed in an interview that the game was just about thirty percent complete three months before the strict deadline Nintendo had set for a release in the 2004 holiday season. The critical reception for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes was very positive, but earned some criticism on the game's high difficulty. Sales for Echoes were lower than the first Prime, with a total of 800,000 units.
Retro Studios was then put to produce the next game in the Metroid Prime series titled Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a first-person action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It is the tenth game in the Metroid series, and the final entry in the Metroid Prime trilogy—excluding two spin-off titles. It was released in...
. Retro intended to give Metroid Prime 3: Corruption larger environments than Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, known as in Japan, is a first-person, action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube video game console. It is the seventh game in the Metroid series, a direct sequel to Metroid Prime, and the first game in the series with...
, and enable the game to run at 60 frames per second. The developers were also interested in using the WiiConnect24
WiiConnect24
WiiConnect24 is a feature of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for the Wii console. It was first announced at E3 2006 by Nintendo. It enables the user to remain connected to the Internet while the console is on standby...
feature to provide additional content for the game that would be accessible from the Internet. Retro announced that Corruption would be the final chapter of the Prime series and would have a plot "about closure, told against the backdrop of an epic struggle". After the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
was revealed, Nintendo demonstrated how Metroid Prime 3 would take advantage of the controller's special abilities with a version of Echoes modified for the Wii and shown at the Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
in 2005. Originally envisioned as a launch title for the Wii in November 2006, Corruption suffered many delays, eventually being released on August 27, 2007 to generally positive reviews, and over 1.60 million copies sold worldwide.
2009–present: Donkey Kong Country Returns and Mario Kart 7
In 2004, while Retro Studios was finishing Echoes, senior producer Bryan Walker suggested to studio president Michael Kelbaugh to "do something for the fans by putting all the games together on a single disc in a collectors 'trilogy' edition". Kelbaugh sent the proposal to Nintendo, and the company accepted. The compilation Metroid Prime: TrilogyMetroid Prime: Trilogy
Metroid Prime: Trilogy is an action-adventure video game compilation developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The compilation features three games from the Metroid series: Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption...
started being developed shortly after the release of Corruption, and was released in 2009.
In April 2008, Retro saw the departure of three key developers, designer Mark Pacini, art director Todd Keller, and principal technology engineer Jack Mathews, who went on to form their own company, Armature Studio. Around the same time, Shigeru Miyamoto asked fellow producer Kensuke Tanabe on a studio that could develop a new Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong
is a fictional gorilla in the Donkey Kong and Mario series. He is roughly twice the size of a normal gorilla, weighing approximately 800 pounds. Donkey Kong first appeared in Nintendo's popular 1981 video game of the same name. Since then he has appeared in over 20 games in his own series, as well...
game, and Tanabe recommended Retro as Kelbaugh had worked on the Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer video game developed by Rare, featuring the character Donkey Kong. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Following an intense marketing campaign, the original SNES version sold over 8 million copies worldwide, making...
series during his years on Nintendo of America, and had interest in continuing with the franchise. Retro accepted the task, and thus started development of Donkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong Country Returns, known as in Japan, is a side-scrolling 2.5D platform game developed by Retro Studios and released by Nintendo for the Wii console on November 21, 2010, in North America, December 3, 2010, in Europe, and on December 9, 2010, in Japan...
. Similar to New Super Mario Bros.
New Super Mario Bros.
is a side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was released in North America and Japan in May 2006 and in Australia and Europe in June 2006...
, the game was developed with the intention to invoke nostalgic feelings in the player with its art style and sound, while trying to provide them with new gameplay experiences. Returns employs fully polygonal 3D graphics with three times the amount of textures
Texture mapping
Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
and polygons
Polygon (computer graphics)
Polygons are used in computer graphics to compose images that are three-dimensional in appearance. Usually triangular, polygons arise when an object's surface is modeled, vertices are selected, and the object is rendered in a wire frame model. This is quicker to display than a shaded model; thus...
that Corruption offered, and over the course of six months, two thirds of the game's tools and engine had to be rewritten by the programmers. Development accelerated at the outset of 2010, and the project was just "beginning to cohere as a game" around the time of E3, when it was officially announced to the press. Although the game was set for release in autumn that year, the team still had 70 levels to create or refine. After the development of Returns was completed, two more key departures happened at Retro with senior designers Kynan Pearson and Mike Wikan moving on to other studios. At E3 2011, it was announced during Nintendo's Developer Roundtable that Retro Studios would be involved in the development of Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
. Retro has received a Nintendo Wii U development kit, and is reportedly working on "a project everyone wants us to do."
Reception
Retro Studios have received very positive reception for their games. On GameRankings, Prime is the 7th highest rated game ever reviewed, with an average score of 96.30% (as of June 2010), making it the highest reviewed game of the sixth generationHistory of video game consoles (sixth generation)
The sixth-generation era refers to the computer and video games, video game consoles, and video game handhelds available at the turn of the 21st century. Platforms of the sixth generation include the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Microsoft Xbox...
. The video game countdown show Filter
Filter (TV series)
Filter is an American television series on the G4 cable television channel which follows a countdown format. It was canceled in December 2005, resurrected in a re-formatted form, and then once again was canceled in August 2006. It is currently airing as a commercial break hosted by Candace Baily....
named Prime as having the Best Graphics of all time. Prime was also chosen for lists of best games: 24th in IGN's Top 100, 29th in a 100 game list chosen by GameFAQs
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
users, and 10th in Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
's "Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever". GameSpy chose it as the third best GameCube title of all time, behind The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, released as in Japan, is an action-adventure game and the tenth installment in The Legend of Zelda series. It was released for the Nintendo GameCube in Japan on December 13, 2002, in North America on March 24, 2003, in Europe on May 2, 2003, and in Australia on...
and Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
, while IGN put it at first in a similar list. Nintendo Power also ranked it as the sixth best game of the 2000s.
Metroid Prime: Trilogy has an average of 91 out of 100 and 92.05 out of 100, indicating "Universal Acclaim". GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
praised it for being the compilation of three great games for the price of one. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded the trilogy a score of 9.5 out of 10, citing the fantastic game play and brilliant presentation values, while NGamer UK cited the massive amount of game play per pound. Blast Magazine awarded the compilation a 9.7 out of 10 and said that these were the "definitive version of each game in the Prime trilogy."
Donkey Kong Country Returns received very positive reviews. It currently has an average score of 88% on GameRankings and Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Sales
Metroid Prime became one of the best-selling games on the GameCube. It was the second best-selling game of November 2002 in North America, behind Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
, and hit 250,000 units in just one week. The game has since sold about 1.49 million copies in America alone, earning more than $50 million in revenue. It is also the eighth best-selling GameCube game in Australia, and sold more than 78,000 copies in Japan, and more than 250,000 copies in Europe, thus entering the Player's Choice
Player's Choice
Nintendo Selects is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Nintendo Selects titles are sold at a lower price point than other games...
line in the PAL region. Echoes sold 470,000 copies in North America in 2004, and a total of 40,000 copies in Japan. By August 2009, the game had sold 800,000 copies worldwide.
Despite being released on August 27, Corruption was the fifth best-selling game of the month, with 218,100 copies sold. It also debuted at the fifth spot of the Japanese charts, with 34,000 units in the first week of release. More than one million copies of the game were sold in 2007, and as of March 2008, 1.31 million copies of the game were sold worldwide.
The game debuted third at the Japanese game charts, with 163,310 units sold, and has sold 638,305 copies in Japan as of January 2, 2011. In North America, the game debuted at sixth place in the charts, with 430,470 units sold. By the end of March 2011, Donkey Kong Country Returns had sold 4.96 million copies worldwide.
Awards
Echoes won an award in almost every category it was nominated for at the 2004 Nintendo PowerNintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
Awards, and won awards for Best GameCube Game of 2004 from IGN, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
and GameSpy. It was rated the 174th best game made on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Powers Top 200 Games list, the 74th best game by GameFAQs
GameFAQs
GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
users, the 15th best GameCube game by IGN, and the 13th best by GameSpy.
In IGN's Best of 2007 Awards, Corruption received the awards for Best Wii Adventure Game, Best Artistic Design, and Best Overall Adventure Game. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
ranked it as the second best Wii game of the year, behind Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...
, and honored it as the Best Innovation on the Wii.
Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
| Year released | Title | Publisher | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Metroid Prime Metroid Prime Metroid Prime is a video game developed by Retro Studios and Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube, released in North America on November 17, 2002... |
Nintendo | First-person adventure Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres... |
| 2004 | Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, known as in Japan, is a first-person, action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube video game console. It is the seventh game in the Metroid series, a direct sequel to Metroid Prime, and the first game in the series with... |
Nintendo | First-person adventure Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres... |
Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
| Year released | Title | Publisher | Genre | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Metroid Prime Hunters Metroid Prime Hunters Metroid Prime Hunters is a first-person shooter and adventure game for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was developed by American video game developers Nintendo Software Technology, and was released by Nintendo in North America in March 2006, in Europe and Australia in May 2006, and... |
Nintendo | First-person adventure Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres... |
Supervision and art direction only. |
WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
| Year released | Title | Publisher | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a first-person action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It is the tenth game in the Metroid series, and the final entry in the Metroid Prime trilogy—excluding two spin-off titles. It was released in... |
Nintendo | First-person adventure Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres... |
| 2009 | Metroid Prime: Trilogy Metroid Prime: Trilogy Metroid Prime: Trilogy is an action-adventure video game compilation developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The compilation features three games from the Metroid series: Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption... |
Nintendo | First-person adventure Action-adventure game An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres... compilation |
| 2010 | Donkey Kong Country Returns Donkey Kong Country Returns Donkey Kong Country Returns, known as in Japan, is a side-scrolling 2.5D platform game developed by Retro Studios and released by Nintendo for the Wii console on November 21, 2010, in North America, December 3, 2010, in Europe, and on December 9, 2010, in Japan... |
Nintendo | Side-scrolling Side-scrolling video game A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology... 2.5D 2.5D 2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is... platform game Platform game A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps... |
Nintendo 3DSNintendo 3DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
| Year released | Title | Publisher | Genre | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Mario Kart 7 | Nintendo | Kart racing game | Donkey Kong-related assets and redoing Classic Courses |
Wii U
| Year released | Title | Publisher | Genre | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Untitled Game | Nintendo | TBA | "a project everyone wants us to do" |
Cancelled projects
The four initial GameCube projects Retro had before the development of Metroid Prime were cancelled:- An action-adventure gameAction-adventure gameAn action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
with the working title "Action-Adventure". It was mostly concept artwork and a mock up first-person engine before cancellation, but allegedly inspired Shigeru Miyamoto to hand Retro the Metroid license. The development team moved onto production of Metroid Prime. - An American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game, NFL Retro Football. The game designers initially wanted to make a MarioMariois a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
Football game, but since Nintendo settled on a realistic simulator with the NFL license due to Retro's purpose of creating mature games. The game was cancelled in February 2001. A possible cause was Electronic ArtsElectronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
and SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
agreeing to port the Madden NFLMadden NFLMadden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
and NFL 2K series to the GameCube. - A vehicular combat gameVehicular combat gameVehicular combat games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players...
, with the working titles Car Combat and Thunder Rally. It was initially pitched to Nintendo as a mix of "QuakeWorldQuakeWorldQuakeWorld is an update to id Software's seminal multiplayer deathmatch game, Quake, that enhances the game's multiplayer features to allow people with dial-up modems to achieve greatly improved responsiveness when playing on Internet game servers...
, Twisted Metal 2Twisted Metal 2Twisted Metal 2 is the second and most successful game in the vehicular combat Twisted Metal series...
, and Mario Kart 64Mario Kart 64is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the second installment in the Mario Kart series. It was released in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in North America and Europe. In January 2007, Mario Kart 64 was released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii...
with shades of Mad MaxMad MaxMad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
and Street Fighter IIStreet Fighter IIis a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
." Despite being the project with most progress at Retro, it was cancelled along with NFL Retro Football in February 2001. Two members of the development team, programmer David "Zoid" Kirch and modeller Rick Kohler, joined the Metroid Prime project. - A role-playing video gameRole-playing video gameRole-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
, Raven Blade. The game was showcased on E3 2001, but production was plagued with technical setbacks, and the game eventually got cancelled on July 2001 so Retro could focus on Metroid Prime. 9 members of its development team joined Prime.