Nintendo is working with reviving old games and series like Metroid Prime, Pikmin 1 + 2, and most recently announcing Super Mario RPG. However, one franchise that hasn’t made a huge comeback is the F-Zero futuristic racing series.
So, what exactly is going on with her? Takaya Imamura, a 30-year-old Nintendo veteran who was also the artist and designer behind characters like Captain Falcon and Fox McCloud, shared his own thoughts on Nintendo’s potential logic, during an interview with VGC.
It’s believed to be because Mario Kart is Nintendo’s main focus, being the company’s most popular racing game. That translates to sales, too, with the latest Mario Kart 8 Deluxe entry on Switch turning in over 53 million units to date. And according to Inamura, the new F-Zero could “cost a fortune.”
As for F-Zero getting “less attention” than series like Star Fox, this is clearly related to Shigeru Miyamoto’s love for this particular series. Here is the full exchange:
So why do you think F-Zero gets less attention from the company than Star Fox does? There hasn’t been a new F-Zero in nearly 20 years now.
Takaya Imamura: “I think it’s because Mario Kart is Nintendo’s most popular racing game, and a new F-Zero game would cost a fortune. My impression is that Miyamoto-san is very affectionate about Star Fox.”
Inamura also notes how Miyamoto is “always thinking about Nintendo as a whole” so this could be another reason he didn’t get much time to think about F-Zero. He also believes that it is down to “careful consideration” when reviving the IPs, and in the event of a Metroid resurgence, that the Western studios involved are “the result of careful selection”.
While there are no new F-Zero games to try on the Switch, Captain Falcon fans can still get their fix with the Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription service with titles like F-Zero X for the Nintendo 64. The series also has special feature tracks and even Vehicle in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Takaya Imamura has previously mentioned how it takes a “big idea” for F-Zero to bring a new generation to life:
“Friendly food geek. Communicator. Hipster-friendly creator. Bacon evangelist. Zombie nerd. Pop culture advocate. Beer aficionado.”