Most tech and gaming experts will agree that the Nintendo Wii U is a "failure" due to its low sales, especially in comparison to its predecessor the original Wii. Nintendo needs a hit, and it is planning for one with Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wind. However, the big video game convention of E3 2016 revealed only footage of the new Zelda game, but not the Nintendo NX itself. We still have no idea what the new Nintendo console looks like, or what games it will have. However, all signs point to a new version of the popular Metroid game on the Nintendo NX, and this is what is known about the release date.
There is a report from iDigitalTimes saying that Retro Studios, the developer of the Metroid Prime series, has been working on an unannounced Triple-A game project for over two and a half years. This was about the time that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze came out, but this doesn't look like a Donkey Kong game.
It looks like a first person style game, and it could be a 3D Metroid game. Apparently, Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the greatest video game designers of all time, wants to have more 3D Metroid games since the Metroid Prime series, which was a huge FPS video game set in Samus Aran's sci-fi universe.
If you are not familiar with Metroid, it is not only a groundbreaking game for Nintendo, but for video games overall. The protagonist Samus Aran is arguably one of the first prominent female protagonists, and she has been in side-scroller in the original series until the Metroid Prime series shifted into first-person perspective.
The way that Metroid games could be improved is with VR. Considering that PCs are getting VR with headsets like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, and the PlayStation is getting its own VR system, it feels like Nintendo should jump on this fad (assuming it will last). There have been a lot of games that are getting the VR treatment, and Metroid, a terrific FPS game, would be ideal for getting it.
Of course, the one thing that Metroid games are known for is how Samus Aran can somehow wrap herself into a ball and roll places. Can you imagine actually being in that ball and rolling on the floor? Even though that would make users sick, it would be fun to experience in VR.
If there is a Metroid NX game, the earliest it could come out is March 2017, being one of the core games to be released with the new console. It could also be one of the planned holiday games to be released around Christmas time. Either one would be a benefit to the company.
