F-Zero has been a dormant franchise for several decades. In fact, if it weren’t for the obvious appearance of Captain Falcon in the Super Smash Bros. games, you might get the impression that Nintendo has completely forgotten about the series.
Well, according to Video Games Chronicle’s interview with former Nintendo designer Takaya Imamura, it’s not that Nintendo has completely forgotten about the F-Zero franchise, it’s that they’re having a hard time bringing F-Zero back for various business reasons.
For example, when asked why the F-Zero games need to be innovated while other franchises like Kirby and Fire Emblem don’t, Imamura thinks it’s because of a “sales issue”. Kirby and Fire Emblem make enough money that there’s no need for much innovation in those games, something F-Zero doesn’t have. There’s also the dilemma that the new game will have to appeal to a new generation of fans, along with series veterans, since the F-Zero series has been dormant for so long. Another reason why, according to Imamura, is because “Mario Kart is Nintendo’s most popular racing game, and a new F-Zero would cost a fortune.”
Finally, regarding reviving a franchise, Imamura says that “it’s easy to revive IPs, but it takes careful consideration to produce something that really satisfies customers. Given the cost, a lot of people couldn’t work on franchises like F-Zero because more important games were coming out. It’s hard to manage everything with just Nintendo’s in-house developers. Still, there are tons of people who want to make Nintendo titles, so if Nintendo has the confidence to make Nintendo games, they should pass that on to those people. Just look at how Donkey Kong Country turned out!”
