Nintendo Switch 2020 Wish List: 10 Things We Need To See

Retro Studios has been one of Nintendo’s most productive subsidiaries for over 20 years, working on recent Mario Kart titles, the lauded reboot of the Donkey Kong Country series, and Metroid Prime (on which more later). Rumblings on the grapevine, however, would suggest that all is not right at the company.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze dropped in 2014, and since then there has been little coming out of the company other than rumours of discontent. Metroid Prime 4 was, it seems, close to the finished article before Nintendo scrapped the work and asked Retro to take another swing at it (causing a 2.8% drop in their share price). Other titles, including a new instalment in the Star Fox series and a handful of racing games, have been floated and abandoned. A worrying number of employees have spoken out against the leadership of the company, suggesting that there are issues in upper management - and even that Retro is on its way out.

This would be a huge loss for Nintendo if it were the case, but as fans, we’d appreciate a little more transparency on these matters. After a while, being left in the dark can feel a lot like being messed around.