Max Factory revealed a few details on its new Varia Suit Samus figma and Zero Suit Samus model. Here’s what we know so far:

• Both figures are set for release in June, 2012.
• The Varia Suit model is 15cm (~5.9 inches) tall, while the Zero Suit one is 22cm (~8.6 inches).
• The Varia Suit comes with a Morph Ball, arm cannon accessories, changeable left hands and a stand. You can freely change its poses.
• The Zero Suit comes with a Metroid and a stand. It cannot change poses.
• The suggested prices are 3800 yen (about $50) for the Varia Suit and 7800 yen (about $100) for the Zero Suit, but you might be able to get them for less by pre-ordering.
• You can pre-order them at AmiAmi, Hobby Link Japan, Hobby Search, or Otacute. All of those are based in Japan, so don’t expect cheap shipping.

In my opinion, both figures look simply amazing. I pre-ordered a Varia Suit figma for myself at AmiAmi, for 2820 yen. They don’t have information on shipping costs yet, but I’ll keep you updated.

Here are the official pages, full of pretty pictures, for the Varia Suit and Zero Suit.

–Naner.

It took seventeen months, but it finally made it. Metroid: Other M has finally surpassed the one million global sales mark. The most controversial Metroid game to date has had a bumpy ride, with divided opinions from fans and critics. Sales for the game started off well, with just under 250,000 copies sold globally in the very first week of release, and just over 480,000 total sales in ten weeks. But sales began to drop as the months went by, and so did the price. Stores such as Best Buy were selling the game at one point for as little as $4.99! Due to the holiday period, sales of the game have risen dramatically and helped the game reach its total.

Even though it’s likely that Nintendo have lost money on the release of this game, it’s nice to know that there are so many copies out there, and due to the low price, people have given the game a chance and potentially enjoyed the experience. Congratulations Metroid: Other M! In this case, the “M” stands for million!

Source: VGChartz

Metroid Fusion is now available globally for Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors!

Nintendo had previously announced that people who purchased the console prior to the worldwide price drop in August would be eligible to ten free GBA games. However, 3DS users in Japan and Australia were treated to the games a day earlier than expected, with the US and Europe receiving the download early this morning.

There has been no announcement that other 3DS owners will receive Metroid Fusion and the other nine GBA.

In September, Nintendo sent out ten free NES games to Ambassadors which included the original Metroid and last month, Metroid II return of was released in Europe and the US as a purchasable game on the eShop.

In a recent interview with Wired, Shigeru Miyamoto discussed the future of Nintendo and how it could work with Western developers to produce some first party titles. In the interview, Miyamoto-san stated that The Legend of Zelda franchise could be a possible franchise for Retro Studios. The company has already provided Metroid fans with the Prime trilogy on the Nintendo Gamecube and Nintendo Wii consoles, as well as having an influence on Metroid Prime: Hunters from Nintendo Software Technology for  on the DS. The company has also worked on Donkey Kong Country: Returns for the Wii and more recently recently, helped in the development of Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS. Here’s a transcript from the Wired interview:

Wired.com: It’s come out since Mario Kart 7 came out, there have been some articles about how Retro Studios was very deeply involved in the making of this game, and it’s considered a landmark for the series because you had this collaboration between EAD and Retro. And I’m curious as to whether you think that this would be an interesting model for more games, like a Mario platformer or a Zelda game, to have a Western team and a Japanese team working in close concert to produce a game like that.

Miyamoto: First of all, let me talk a little bit more in detail about how we collaborated with Retro Studios this time. Of course, they were taking care of the game designing aspect. Specifically, they were taking care of the design of the courses and the artwork about that. But when it comes to the gameplay and the control mechanism itself, that’s being taken care of by EAD once again.

People often say that videogames made by Western developers are somehow different in terms of taste for the players, in comparison with Japanese games. I think that means that the Western developers and Japanese developers, they are good at different fields. And that resulted in a different taste in [their games]. Mario Kart, I believe, was good in order to express that kind of different taste because we have many kinds of different courses for the Mario karts to run and race around. So for each of the different courses, we could identify: Retro is supposed to take care of this course, and EAD is going to do that, and such and such. Then, we were able to join forces in order to realize a variety of different courses, a variety of different tastes. I think that’s one reason how it worked out well between a Japanese development team and a Western development team.

As you know, we have already collaborated with Retro for the Metroid Prime series in the past. And I think when we talk about any other franchise, Zelda might be a possible franchise for that collaboration.

How do you feel about Retro Studios taking on The Legend of Zelda franchise? Do you think they could do a good job?

Back in July, Nintendo announced that Metroid Fusion would be available to Nintendo 3DS ambassadors that purchased the system prior to the global price drop. This game will be available with nine others this Friday in Japan and Europe. It’s likely that this will be the same for other parts of the world, as the NES titles released for Ambassadors back in September released very shortly after one another.

Metroid Fusion was announced along with Yoshi’s Island (Super Mario Advance 3), Mario Kart: Super Circuit, WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgames and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Nintendo have also revealed that F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, Kirby & The Amazing Mirror and Wario Land 4.

To download the games when they become available, enter the 3DS eShop on the 3DS home screen. From there, scroll left to Settings / Other. From there, scroll down to Your Downloads (or Titles You’ve Downloaded). If you are eligible as a Nintendo 3DS Ambassador, your ten free games should be in the list of already downloaded titles. You simply click “Redownload” to download the games to your system. If you’re a member of the United States and want to check your eligibility to the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program, you can do so here. You can also download and check out the Nintendo Ambassador Certificate for further information.

No sign of Metroid: Zero Mission but on a personal note, I am thrilled to see Minish Cap, it’s one of my favourite games outside of the Metroid series!

Back in August we reported that Metroid II: Return of Samus was confirmed to be released in Europe before the year was out, and it would appear that Nintendo have kept their word. The game will launch this Thursday, 24th November 2011 on the 3DS virtual console via the eShop for£3.60 (€4.00). The game launched on the 3DS back in September, but now European fans will be able to enjoy this classic for the first time since its original release back in 1991.

Update: We can also confirm that Metroid II will also be launching in North America on the same day as the European release.

The Game Boy’s exclusive chapter in the Metroid series sees Samus Aran on a mission to rid planet SR388 of the Metroid menace.

Battle through a sprawling underworld, seeking out every last Metroid, and build up your arsenal by discovering mysterious artefacts.

Enjoy new abilities like the Spider Ball, and powerful new weapons like the Plasma Beam, as you attempt to eradicate the Metroids once and for all.

Nintendo have also promised the release of Metroid Fusion for Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors before the year is out.

Source: Nintendo UK, Nintendo of America

Metroid Database have recently translated a short Metroid Fusion story called Rebirth of Samus that can be found in Samus & Joey Vol. 1 and although only eight pages, it’s rather enjoyable. Metroid Database have recently finished translating the remaining pages of Samus & Joey and it’s nice to see that there are still things out there that fans have never had a chance to see, and just goes to show how vital the Metroid Database and their team are to the Metroid community.

A huge thanks to the team involved in bringing us these great translations, we hope to see them continue in the future!

Metroid Database have further translated the Samus & Joey manga into the fourth volume. They have also cleaned up a few previous pages to improve the experience. If you haven’t read the manga yet, be sure to head over to the website and check it out!

The Nintendo Community Fangame Convention is back again featuring a variety of fan games developed by talented people. Metroid has not been overlooked at the NCFC and has not one, not two, but five Metroid fan games showcased. One of these games is AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake) created by DoctorM64 and features a  demo of the game for people to download and check out. It offers a taste of what is to come in the final game and features some Alpha Metroids, a mini boss and some great music. The game also features a log book which provides information on the many areas and creatures around SR388. It’s quite exciting to see and has already received quite a lot of ‘likes’ on the website.

Check out the AM2R booth here

Two other games I should mention are Metroid Defense and Metroid Remix by Metroid Headquarters staff member Emperor. Both look to be pretty fun games and you should certainly check them out!