Nintendo Explains Why 'Metroid Prime 4' Was Absent from E3 2018

Events at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018 have provided what fans expected: the announcements of many highly anticipated titles. However, one major video game was noticeably missing from Nintendo’s press event, namely “Metroid Prime 4.”

“Metroid Prime 4” was revealed in a landmark announcement at Nintendo’s E3 2017 media briefing, being made known 10 years after the release of its predecessor, “Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.” With that much significance to the franchise's fans, some expected that Nintendo’s E3 event this year would, as last year, feature a sneak peek of the game.

However, Nintendo offered a simple explanation for why “Metroid Prime 4” was a no-show this week. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said in an interview with Polygon, “We believe it is not fair to the fans to repeatedly tease them over time about a game.”

Fils-Aime also hinted that when they release a new preview of “Metroid Prime 4,” it will mean that the game is closing in on its actual release date. The Nintendo executive said they prefer a “six- to nine-month timeframe” from the time of launch before they “go deep in sharing content and information on a particular piece of content.”

Fils-Aime assured fans that “Metroid Prime 4” is still in the pipeline. He told IGN that the title’s development is “progressing well.”

Given Fils-Aime’s explanation for “Metroid Prime 4’s” absence from E3 2018, some fans might ask why Nintendo opted to announce the game last year, when it was still a couple of years (or possibly more) away from being released.

To this, Fils-Aime said, "There are times where we'll bend that strategy for unique situations, like 'Metroid Prime 4' last year, but mostly we want to focus on the here and now."

He added that Nintendo prefers to offer another teaser only when it is also able to announce when “Metroid Prime 4” is coming out.