Feature: Famous Metroid Fans

Our newest feature is live! I worked with our Features Manager Quadraxis to find celebrities who are known to be Metroid fans. Many of them are well known at this point, including Brie LarsonJohn Cena and Chuck Lorre, yet there are many more who might surprise you. Did you know Venus Williams loved playing Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission? Find out more by clicking the link below!

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Interview: Matthew Nightingale

Shinesparkers is delighted to share an interview with Matthew Nightingale, a former level designer at Metroid Prime Pinball developer Fuse Games! Matthew discusses his career in games, how Fuse got the chance to produce Pinball, and what went into the design of each of the tables. We want to thank Matthew for speaking to us, and giving Metroid Prime Pinball, which doesn’t get a lot of love, its chance in the spotlight!

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Metroid Prime Remastered has sold 1.09 million copies

Nintendo has released its financial report for the preceding fiscal year, which reveals that Metroid Prime Remastered has sold 1.09 million copies since its surprise announcement and simultaneous release this past February. This figure is based on physical sales. The report indicates that digital sales for Remastered were higher, since the physical version was not released until several weeks later.

All things considered, this is incredibly good going for the Metroid franchise. The original Metroid Prime on GameCube sold 2.78 million units by 2006, making it the best selling Metroid game until Metroid Dread overtook it with 2.9 million copies sold. This means that, at least physically, Metroid Prime has sold a grand total of 4,680,000 copies worldwide. With digital figures, which Nintendo doesn’t share, the number is likely higher.

The financial report still lists Metroid Prime 4 without a release date, placing it after Pikmin 4, which is due to come out on July 21, 2023.

Source: Nintendo

Neill Blomkamp wants to make a Metroid movie

District 9 and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp was recently asked on Twitter if he was interested in making a Metroid movie, and he responded “yes”. This is especially interesting as Blomkamp was once working on a fifth Alien film, and Alien as we know has greatly influenced Metroid.

It seems that the cry for a Metroid film is growing louder and louder. Mere weeks ago, the stars of the Mario movie said they want Metroid to be next, and Brie Larson has long volunteered to play Samus in it if a movie is ever made. With Nintendo having said recently that more movies based on their games will come, there’s never been a greater chance to see our bounty hunter on the silver screen.

Source: Neill Blomkamp

In Memory of Daniel Woodyer (Pirate Crab)

I am deeply saddened by the news that Daniel Woodyer, a.k.a PirateCrab, has passed away. Daniel contributed to three of our albums, making his debut on Harmony of Heroes with Pirate’s Road, and There’s No Metal on Zebes. Shortly after, he contributed a third track called Shadow of the Core for the follow-up album, Harmony of Heroes: Final Smash. His most recent work for us was in Harmony of a Hunter Returns, with Kraidosaurus.

Daniel was an outstanding musician, and incredibly hard-working. He could be counted on to deliver a high quality track to deadline, and never backed down from a challenge. He was flexible and enthusiastic about each project he was involved in, and an absolute pleasure to work with. While we didn’t speak too often outside of projects, I knew him well enough as a pretty chill, laid back guy, with a great sense of humour. I will always be thankful for his contribution to our albums, and his music will live on with us all.

On behalf of Shinesparkers, and the Harmony teams, we share our condolences with Daniel’s friends, family and those who loved him during this difficult time.

Interview: Nathan McGuinness

We are thrilled to share our latest interview with Nathan McGuinness, who directed Iron Woman, the live-action North American commercial for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes! Nathan shared how he became a filmmaker and many other details from behind the scenes, including the filming location, the visual effects, and the name of the actress. It was fantastic to hear from him and to learn more about a beloved commercial for Metroid Prime 2. We hope you’ll enjoy the interview!

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Community Spotlight: Noababoa

Our next Community Spotlight of 2023 is now live! This month we are featuring Noababoa, a talented 3D artist whose redesigns of Samus’s different suits have become very popular. These include revamps of the Power, Varia, Gravity and Fusion Suits, with more on the way. Be sure to give his spotlight a read, and follow him on his social platforms to keep up with his work!

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Mario movie actors want a Metroid movie next

Last week, we reported on a Gizmodo interview with Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, the voices of Mario and Luigi in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, who both expressed interest in a Metroid movie being made. Now, in a new interview from GameSpot, Pratt, Day and Seth Rogen (voice of Donkey Kong) all reiterated they want Metroid to be adapted next.

Rogen, proposing a “Nintendo Cinematic Universe” (NCU) said: “I always thought Metroid was cool. I don’t know how it fits into this world necessarily, but I always thought that would make a cool movie.” Pratt and Day also said a Metroid film would be “cool”.

A live-action Metroid film was in development in 2005, but only made it as far as a treatment before being cancelled. Since then, a number of Hollywood actors and producers have called for Samus to come to the big screen, most notably Brie Larson, who’s volunteered to portray our favorite bounty hunter. If the Mario movie is a success, and it certainly appears to be, maybe Nintendo will revisit the idea of adapting Metroid.

Source: GameSpot

Chris Pratt and Charlie Day call for a Metroid movie

Mario and Luigi themselves, Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, recently gave an interview to Gizmodo about The Super Mario Bros. Movie. One of the questions they were asked was, if the movie is a success and Nintendo decides to adapt their other games to film, which ones would they want to see? Day said he and Pratt had talked about Metroid, and added, “How interesting and creepy and cool a Metroid [movie] would be?”

Many fans will remember a live-action movie directed by John Woo was in the works for a time, before being cancelled when Nintendo didn’t approve of the intended story. Since then, a few people in Hollywood have said they want to direct or star in a Metroid movie, such as Brie Larson. Maybe if the Mario movie goes down well, the chances of seeing Samus on the big screen will increase!

Source: Gizmodo

Feature: Metroid Prime Remastered Review

Our next feature is now available, and it’s a review of Metroid Prime Remastered written by team member Leon. They evaluate the updated visuals and controls of the game, how the gameplay holds up after twenty years, and whether it is a worthy update to a timeless classic. You can check out Leon’s review at the link below. We were provided a day of release code by Nintendo for this review.

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