the cutting room mirror

Metroid Prime Hunters

This article has a talk page!
view on tcrf.net

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Metroid Prime Hunters.

To do:
Plenty of prerelease screens and vids, among other dev details.

As Retro Studios was busy with their own stuff, it was up to Nintendo Software Technology to bring Samus' 3D action to the DS. As the multiplayer ended up being a priority in the game's development, Hunters ended up being something of a black sheep in the series, let alone the other Prime games, due to it coming off as more of a standard arena shooter akin to Quake or [[Unreal Tournament (PC, 1999)|Unreal Tournament]]''. Not to mention Robert Champagne, lead programmer of the Game Boy Faceball 2000, was a producer for the game.

Development Timeline#

2004

  • May 11-14 - A playable multiplayer demo of Hunters is present at E3 2004, with touch controls for aiming and shooting, and graphics adapted from Metroid Prime.12
  • May 12 - IGN reports that Nintendo Software Technology is developing the game, and Retro Studios is providing visual assets.3
  • September 21 - Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt is revealed to be a pack-in demo for the DS.4
  • November - The First Hunt demo is shown off at Nintendo Enthusiast Summit 2004.56
  • November 11 - The full version of Hunters is listed as scheduled for release in Q2 2005.7
  • November 21 - First Hunt is released as a pack-in title with the DS in North America.

2005

  • January 10 - The release of Hunters is delayed, now being listed as TBD.8
  • February 24 - First Hunt is released as a pack-in title with the DS in Australia.
  • March 11 - First Hunt is released as a pack-in title with the DS in Europe.
  • May 18-20 - Hunters appears in multiplayer-only demo form once again at E3. According to IGN, the interface has reportedly changed slightly, and the maps are reportedly different. Spire and Noxus appear in this build, as does what seems to be what became the Nodes multiplayer mode in the final game. IGN also mentions the release window being October.9 There is apparently criticism over the lack of Wi-Fi support.
  • August - Nintendo reveals that the game is delayed to 2006 to give the developers time to implement Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection capabilities.10
  • August 26-28 - A demo of the singleplayer campaign is playable at Penny Arcade Expo 2005, which also serves as the reveal of Sylux, Trace, and Weavel.
  • November 3 - A trailer for the game that looks quite close to the final game is released. Only minute details such as weapon icons and a sound effect in the Cretaphid FMV are different. The music used also sounds like a unique variation of the "Hunter Incoming" music.

2006

  • February 9 - Nintendo reveals that the game will support voice chat.11
  • March 20 - Metroid Prime Hunters is released in North America.
  • May 5 - Metroid Prime Hunters is released in Europe.
  • May 25 - Metroid Prime Hunters is released in Australia.
  • June 1 - Metroid Prime Hunters is released in Japan.

2007

  • December 6 - Metroid Prime Hunters is released in Korea.

Concepts#

Multiplayer#

Director Masamichi Abe and Lead Technical Engineer Colin Reed both elaborated a bit about the multiplayer aspect of the game in an interview with Nintendo World Report a few weeks before the game's initial release. As wireless functionality was apparently one of the main focuses of the DS hardware early on, the team knew pretty much all along that the multiplayer aspect was important. The multiplayer was local wireless only until feedback following E3 2005 led the team to implement Wi-Fi support. Voice chat was added while finishing things up, and was apparently "really easy" to implement.12

The Hunters#

The initial idea for the different hunter characters was a result of brainstorming new ideas to fit in with the multiplayer focus. The creation of the bounty hunters other than Samus was a collaboration between NST and NCL, while Retro Studios handled the concept art and character models.13

According to Richard Vorodi, numerous names for the hunters were considered that didn't get used. In particular, Noxus was originally named "Nox".14

References#

  1. Nintendo E3 2004 Press Kit - Nintendo DS Software Fact Sheet↩︎
  2. E3 2004: Hands-on: Metroid Prime: Hunters↩︎
  3. E3 2004: NST's Metroid Prime: Hunters↩︎
  4. Metroid a DS Pack-in↩︎
  5. Nintendo Enthusiast Summit 2004 - nsidr↩︎
  6. GameMethod.com: Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt (DS) Preview↩︎
  7. Nintendo DS Release Dates for 2005↩︎
  8. Nintendo's DS First-Half Line-up↩︎
  9. E3 2005: Metroid Prime Hunters Hands-on↩︎
  10. Metroid Goes Wi-Fi↩︎
  11. Metroid Gets Voice Chat↩︎
  12. NST Discusses Metroid Prime: Hunters↩︎
  13. E3 2005: Metroid Prime Hunters Creator Interview↩︎
  14. Interview: Richard Vorodi | Shinesparkers↩︎