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F-Zero has been a dormant franchise for a couple of decades now. In fact, if it weren’t for the obvious appearances that Captain Falcon has been making in Super Smash Bros. games, you could get the impression that Nintendo has forgotten all about the series.
Well, according to a Video Games Chronicle 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-related reasons.
For example, when asked why F-Zero games need to innovate, while other franchises such as Kirby and Fire Emblem don’t, Imamura thinks that it’s due to “a question of sales”. Kirby and Fire Emblem make enough money that there isn’t a need to innovate much with those games, something that F-Zero doesn’t. There’s also the dilemma that, because the F-Zero series has been dormant for so long, a new game will have to appeal to a new generation of fans along with veterans of the series. 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”.
Lastly, in regards to reviving the franchise, Imamura says that “it is easy to revive IPs, but careful consideration is needed to produce them as something that really satisfies customers. Considering the cost, lots of people couldn’t work on franchises like F-Zero because they had more important games coming out. It’s difficult to manage everything with just Nintendo’s internal developers. That said, there are tons of people who want to make Nintendo titles, so if Nintendo has the confidence that they can make Nintendo games, they should pass it on to those people. Just look at how Donkey Kong Country turned out!”