Summary
- Nintendo has had several commercial failures with exclusive games despite their high quality and long anticipation.
- Bayonetta 3 and Metroid: Samus Returns are good examples of two critically acclaimed games that sold poorly.
- F-Zero Climax, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn were all commercial disappointments.
Nintendo is such an influential and beloved company that it’s almost impossible to think that any of its console exclusives could even become commercial failures in the first place. After all, not only has it spawned a multitude of iconic franchises that now have huge fan bases, but even other companies prefer to make their own products exclusive to its highly profitable systems.
Unfortunately, this has actually happened more than once: whether it was because of lackluster marketing, bad timing or questionable business decisions from either Nintendo or its affiliates, there are many great Nintendo exclusive games that, despite their quality, have sold poorly, and the following are the most egregious examples of this occurrence.
8 Bayonetta 3
An Excellent Hack-And-Slash That Took Five Years To Come Out
Bayonetta 3
- Released
- October 28, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Sales: 1.07 million copies (2023)
In 2017, Nintendo announced that not only would the excellent Bayonetta series be ported to its brand-new (at the time) console, the Nintendo Switch, but that a third entry was already in production at PlatinumGames. After that, there was little information released about this game for years until it was properly shown again in 2021, and it finally came out the very next year.
Bayonetta 3 is an excellent hack-and-slash with over-the-top set pieces and high-octane action, but despite all its positive qualities and all that anticipation, it barely managed to sell over 1 million copies. While the Bayonetta series has never been particularly profitable, especially after it became 100% exclusive to Nintendo consoles, it seems most fans did not resonate with the third entry due to its underwhelming story, while it’s also possible that many of them were just tired of waiting and the end result did not meet their high expectations.
7 Metroid: Samus Returns
The Long-Awaited Return Of 2D Metroid
Metroid: Samus Returns
- Released
- September 15, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Sales: 560,000 copies (2018)
The Metroid series went on a long hiatus during most of the 2010s and, after a few bumps in the road, the franchise finally returned in 2017, when Nintendo released Metroid: Samus Returns for the Nintendo 3DS. This was a full 2.5D remake of the Game Boy classic Metroid 2: Samus Returns, complete with incredible graphics, fast-paced gameplay, and brand-new story beats that tied directly to other Metroid titles.
Despite its positive reception, Metroid: Samus Returns didn’t sell particularly well, and the fact that Nintendo never even mentioned if it hit 1 million copies cemented it as a failure in the eyes of many. Truth be told, this franchise has never been profitable, but the long anticipation of the return of Metroid, combined with the high quality of the game and all the marketing that Nintendo did for it, should have resulted in way better sales. This can all be attributed to the fact that it was a new Nintendo 3DS game from late 2017, when the Nintendo Switch was already out, and most players did not care about the previous handheld anymore. Fortunately, this game’s spiritual successor, Metroid Dread, was a lot more successful, both critically and commercially.
6 Metroid: Zero Mission
Another High-Quality Remake That Didn’t Sell Many Copies
Metroid: Zero Mission
- Released
- February 9, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Metroidvania
- Sales: 508,000 copies (2005)
Ironically enough, the two prominent Metroid remakes are also the two worst-selling mainline games in the entire series. Metroid: Zero Mission is a remake of the original NES Metroid developed for the Game Boy Advance, meaning that it had more colorful graphics, better gameplay and a lot of quality of life upgrades that made it more accessible. Thanks to all of this and more, Zero Mission is considered one of the best games in the series, even to this day.
6 Great Open-World Games That Sold Poorly
Despite weak financial results, fans of the genre are sure to have tons of fun with these open-world games.
Metroid: Zero Mission sold roughly 508,000 copies in its first year, which means that it was far from the commercial success that its positive reputation may lead most fans to believe. It’s quite hard to pinpoint exactly why it sold so poorly, but it may have happened because it received some less than favorable reviews from critics who didn’t enjoy its short length or because it came out on the Game Boy Advance in early 2004, a few months before the release of the Nintendo DS.
5 Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
A Great TRPG That Came Out At The Worst Time Possible
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
- Released
- November 5, 2007
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Intelligent Systems
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, RPG
- Sales: 490,000 copies (2009)
Fire Emblem is such an enormous franchise nowadays that it’s very strange to think that there was a time when these games were not profitable for Nintendo, especially in North America. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is the sequel to 2005’s Path of Radiance and, despite all the positive reviews it got (combined with the franchise’s newfound reputation after Marth and Roy were included in Super Smash Bros. Melee) it still sold less than 500,000 copies.
The commercial failure of Radiant Dawn can be chalked up to many things, like the fact that most people preferred to play these games on handheld devices instead of consoles, or that Nintendo barely marketed it in the West. However, the final nail in the coffin for this game was its release date: it came out on November 5, 2007, a week before Super Mario Galaxy. It didn’t matter how good it was, a tactical role-playing game from a relatively obscure series was never going to be able to compete with the new 3D adventure of Nintendo’s most iconic character that was released on the very same console.
4 MadWorld
Another Stellar PlatinumGames Project That Should Have Done Better
MadWorld
- Released
- March 10, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Hack and Slash, Beat 'Em Up
- Sales: 123,000 copies (2009)
Needless to say, Nintendo is not to blame for every single exclusive that sold poorly, because many other companies also released games exclusively on their consoles that ended up becoming commercial failures. Sega was one of them, since it released PlatinumGames’ MadWorld exclusively for the Wii back in 2009, and it was actually received extremely well.
MadWorld was a breath of fresh air because it’s a violent M-rated game that came out during a time when the Wii was considered “a children’s console.” On top of that, it was praised for its unique black-and-white art style, its hilarious comedic writing, its fast-paced combat system, and its gory motion-controlled finishers. But this excellent Wii exclusive barely sold 123,000 units in its first year, and Sega even admitted that it wasn’t satisfied with its sales, claiming it was “a mismatch with the Wii audience.” On the bright side, MadWorld gained enough of a cult following to inspire PlatinumGames to make a spiritual successor called Anarchy Reigns in 2012.
3 Conker's Bad Fur Day
Rare Stepped Out Of Its Comfort Zone With This Raunchy 3D Platformer
Conker's Bad Fur Day
- Released
- March 5, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Animated Violence, Mature Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
- Sales: 55,000 copies (2001)
The relationship between Nintendo and Rare during the 90s resulted in a lot of high-quality exclusives that quickly became critical and commercial successes, like the original Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Banjo-Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing, GoldenEye 007 and many more. However, by the end of the Nintendo 64’s lifespan, Rare took a risk with a game so egregiously raunchy that the Big N declined to publish it, and its name was Conker's Bad Fur Day.
This was basically a parody of all the colorful 3D platformers the studio had previously done, but with a lot of mature elements that shocked most Nintendo 64 players, like suggestive imagery, exaggerated levels of graphic violence, a lot of profanity, and immature toilet humor. Conker's Bad Fur Day resonated more with adults, and it slowly gained a cult following that considers it one of Rare’s most brilliant games, but, at the time, it was seen mostly as a commercial failure, seeing as it only sold 55,000 copies in its first year. Additionally, the fact that it came out very late in the N64’s lifespan certainly didn’t help.
2 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
One Of The Few Real Mario Games That Sold Incredibly Poorly
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
- Released
- January 11, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Sales: 34,523 copies (2019)
The Mario franchise is so undeniably big, iconic, and popular that it’s almost impossible to believe that one of these games could even sell poorly, with the few exceptions being its Virtual Boy entries and titles developed by other companies, like Hotel Mario for the CD-i. However, there’s one Nintendo-published Mario game that came out quite recently, and it quickly became one of the worst-selling entries in the entire franchise: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey is a Nintendo 3DS remake of the classic 2009 RPG, with a vibrant new coat of paint and a brand-new campaign in which players can play as Bowser Jr.
This is overall a very solid and very fun remake, but it barely sold 34,523 copies. Its mere existence was questionable because the 3DS is backwards compatible, meaning that players could already play the original Bowser's Inside Story on that handheld. On top of that, it came out in 2019, two years into the Nintendo Switch’s life, which led many fans to believe that it should have been developed for that hybrid console instead. Unfortunately, the commercial failure of this remake heavily contributed to developer AlphaDream’s bankruptcy and its imminent closure in October 2019.
1 F-Zero Climax
The Game That Led To The F-Zero Series’ 19-Year-Long Hiatus
F-Zero Climax
- Released
- October 21, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E
- Genre(s)
- Racing
- Sales: 5,049 copies (2004)
The early 2000s felt like the golden age of the F-Zero franchise, with many critically acclaimed entries coming out on both home consoles (like F-Zero GX) and handheld devices (like Maximum Velocity and GP Legend), but the final game released during this thriving era was such a commercial failure that the series fell into a long hiatus for nineteen years, until F-Zero 99 came out in 2023. This infamous game’s name is F-Zero Climax, and it was actually praised for its high-octane, speedy gameplay, its engaging Survival Mode, and its extensive course editor, but it still struggled to sell more than 5,049 copies during its first year.
The first mistake that Nintendo made with this title was releasing it only in Japan, which deprived it of an entire Western market that was starting to like the F-Zero series more and more. But that’s not all, because while most critics claimed F-Zero Climax was a solid game, many also criticized it for feeling more like an “expansion pack” than a full-on sequel, not to mention that it was the third entry in the series released on the GBA in four years, so most players must have been feeling an oversaturation by then. Despite its infamy as one of the worst-selling games in the company’s history, F-Zero Climax was added to the worldwide Nintendo Switch Online GBA catalog in 2024.