After a long wait, Metroid Prime 4 finally becomes available in the land of the rising sun. A momentous day indeed! It seems that from the very start, Nintendo was not going to just sit back and watch; right from the very beginning, they planned to shout it out and show off Samus’s helmet on every train, billboard, and vending machine in Tokyo. However, that’s not the case. Via a tweet from Genki, it came to light that things are somewhat different. Rather than ads that would welcome back the much-anticipated hunter, there are ads for Donkey Kong Bananza for the mere commuters. Yes, the big ape is up this time. The original post along with a crying emoji and a link only speaks, but the message is quite clear: treating the Metroid fans a little bit like the scorned over there.

This little marketing trivia has opened a door for a whole online debate that showed the occasionally annoying, culture divide in gaming tastes and even the frustration it brings. Why is Donkey Kong getting the best ad space over a major new release like Metroid Prime 4? The player replies sure do narrate the story.

The comments all point to the same conclusion: Metroid simply is not that big in Japan. At all. One user, Supreme Mii, voiced it very directly: ‘Metroid isn’t as big in Japan as it is in the west.’ Another, SaturnYoshi, went on to say, ‘They’ve never really cared for it over there. It has been that way since the NES days.’ It’s a franchise that has always found its most dedicated audience abroad, and one wonders at times why it still exists—but we are definitely glad that it does!

Some players trying to figure out the reasons for the Metroid fandom even went so far as to look for the deeper why. FlyingPhilip proposed a theory: ‘Generally, Japan goes for high fantasy and is not too keen on sci-fi… FPS games are not that popular in Japan.’ He certainly makes a very good point there! The Prime series, with its first-person exploration and sci-fi isolation, totally stands in stark contrast to the very nature of the light and lively, colorful, action-platformer-type-DK-game. In other words, it’s a classic case of different strokes for different folks. Or as GabagooGrimbo put it so simply, ‘It’s more marketable.’ You really can’t argue with that kind of reasoning when it is a matter of selling to the masses during their morning commute.

Not everyone was as calm and practical as the previous one. The debate was also a little spicy, as it usually is. CH4DGPT, for instance, did not hesitate to insult when they commented on the state of the game by labeling it as ‘western chungus bullshit’ and saying that DK is ‘a good game, actually.’ Ouch! DreamLeaf replied to that with a short ‘You suck,’ which counts… as a valid argument in the terms of online debate, I suppose. Another user, Shatterglass23, teased that the game wasn’t ‘exactly getting glowing reviews from most players,’ so maybe that’s why the ads? Ouch! The hype around Prime 4 has been tremendous; thus, any kind of criticism will seem very loud.

Yet, the hot takes gave way to some funny and relatable observations. below_avg_guy1 entertained himself recalling that he hardly sees any game ads on trains at all, except for one for a shower head. Neilsan98 reported to have only seen a cardboard standup in front of a game store in Shinjuku. This really makes it look like the whole launch campaign was rather quiet and low-key at least in the public places. And ryoukazehara asked whether the iconic ‘Out Now’ subway tunnel banner for the game was still up. These little things make the whole scenario feel very much alive, you know?

It is a puzzling case. In the West, the debut of a new Metroid Prime installment would be a very big event. We would have to swim through piles of merchandise and commercials. However, in its home market, it looks like just another game—actually, one that is less important than a new Donkey Kong title. This serves as a reminder that Nintendo is not only looking to one region, but their strategy is to keep the entire world in mind and to promote what sells where it sells. And Donkey Kong Country games have always been very popular in Japan, so one can see where the ad dollars go.

What does that mean for Metroid Prime 4 then? Probably not much for its global success. International fans have always been the main carrier of the series. The game will find its audience, train ads or not. But it really is a fascinating and a bit sad peek behind the curtain of game marketing. A franchise that we adore is kinda treated like a niche indie band over there, while other platforms like PlayStation and Xbox often dominate the broader conversation.