In their own manner, Nintendo has left the door wide open for discussion with their unusual and surprising announcement. To set things straight: a demo of the game Metroid Prime 4: Beyond– the version made for Nintendo Switch 2– is free for download and everyone already talked about it, Nintendo considered it and the wrong decision with the announcement. The company just told everyone that now a demo of the version made for Nintendo Switch 2- Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, is free for download.
Outsourcing is the limit, but this is a huge one; it is one thing to have it on your device but another thing to actually download it without any hindrance. You have to visit a specific Store that is part of the campaign, like Best Buy, GameStop, Target, or Walmart where you are allowed to play it. So you have to gear up and take a trip, that is a must.
This is a really crazy tactic from Nintendo, especially considering the game has been around for some time now. The tweet from Nintendo of America about the announcement was plain but the customers’ replies were not the same. It is like a war of opinions in the market.
The first to make their voices heard were the practical complaints. The in-store-only option has left a lot of players puzzled and irritated. The user ‘Console Gamer’ put the annoyance that most people feel in a very clever way: “So, I can’t demo it at home on my switch 2?” That’s exactly what is in the centre of the issue that everyone wants to know. Why should customers travel to the store when it’s so simple and user-friendly to simply have a digital eShop demo? Commentators like ‘Pierre’ and ‘AndrewCanadi’ pointed out that not long ago with the Donkey Kong Bananza demo Nintendo allowed players to have both the store and the eShop. So why the retreat for Metroid? ‘Brayden’ just put it bluntly; “Release it on the eShop.” It looks like a strange and outdated marketing tactic in the year 2024 which is a digital age.
Then again, there is the issue of timing. User ‘Super JeffTendo’ pointed it out: “Kinda late in the game as 50% players have already completed it.” He is right. Launching a demo after the game has sold millions and lots of people had already formed opinions (and maybe even finished the game) is… a choice. It feels like a last-ditch effort to win over the undecided rather than building hype. ‘Shadow Stone’ was even more direct; “Unfortunately it doesn’t matter at this point the game is very mid and it’s already pretty well known.” Ouch.
The true drama in the comments revolves around whether the game is good or bad at all. It is a total split. On one side there are defenders like ‘Tim Rose’ who exclaimed: “This game is amazing. Don’t listen to these pathetic trolls trying to bash the game.” And ‘Ludens’ just labeled it as “phenomenal.” So for sure there is love out there.
On the other side, the critique is precise and hard. One user, ‘oki’, gave a detailed opinion that many others supported, “Game has good parts but overall disappointing experience.” They mentioned an “obnoxious tutorial” character called Myles and complained about other characters talking too much during the gameplay, which they referred to as “plain bad” in terms of story and character development. This corresponds to a common complaint that the game’s isolated feel has been compared unfavorably to the more talkative and narrative-driven approach of older Metroids since its release.
The disagreement heated up. User ‘Nathan Hill’ entered claiming to be a “life-long Nintendo-only loyalist and huge Metroid fan” but still labeled the game as “major disappointment.” He threw the others with “cope” for not being hard on Nintendo. At the same time, ‘Twotimesblue’ offered his hand to provide balance, arguing that although the desert area pacing is “questionable,” the so-called “MCU writing” complaints are “overblown x10.” He also made a valid point about Metroid’s sales history suggesting that perhaps expectations were just way too high.
And no doubt there was the wildest of takes. One user, ‘Rebel Squadron’, made a really weird statement about not being interested because of the so-called original game’s “bait and switch, turning Samus into a woman.” What year is it? Another one, ‘Klassischer Mann’, who was doubtful about the game’s marketing, went full conspiracy: “They are not releasing the demo because the game is terrible, they know it and they want to trick people into buying it.” Someone else labeled it “woke nonsense,” which… sure, Jan.
So, while the demo is tied to physical stores, the conversation spans from PlayStation to Xbox players debating its merits.
