A former staff member at Nintendo recently shed some light on why there hasn’t been a newF-Zerogame in almost two decades. The originalF-Zeroraced onto the Super NES back in 1990 and wowed gamers with its groundbreaking “Mode 7” pseudo-3D graphics and imaginative futuristic setting, paving the way for anentire genre of futuristic racing gameslikeWipeoutandStar Wars Episode 1: Racer. TheF-Zeroseries is set in the far-off year of 2560, where Earth’s contact with aliens eventually led to a new high-stakes sport where competitors race hyperfast hovercraft across intergalactic landscapes.
FourF-Zerosequels were released across various Nintendo systems, an anime adaptation was produced in the mid-2000s, and franchise protagonist Captain Falcon has since become astaple of theSuper Smash Bros.seriesthanks to his infamous “Falcon Punch” attack. However, there hasn’t been a newF-Zerogame released outside of Japan since 2004’sF-Zero GP Legendfor the Game Boy Advance and a new release at all afterF-Zero Climaxthat same year.
RELATED:Nintendo Leaker Teases Big GameCube Games for the Switch
Years later, former Nintendo employee andF-Zeroartist Takaya Imamura sat down for an interview with VGC to discuss various aspects of his career. During this interview, he provided his own reason forF-Zero’s absence from the gaming landscape over the past 19 years: Nintendo doesn’t want the series to compete withMario Kart. Imamura pointed out thatMario Kartis Nintendo’s most popular racing game, and believes that a newF-Zerogame would prove too costly.
While there might not be a newF-Zerogame in Nintendo’s pipeline, there are rumors that at least one of the series’ past installments could yet see new life on the Switch. Back in March, word started to spread ofanF-Zero GXremasterby Next Level Games, the studio behind theLuigi’s MansionandMario Strikersfranchises. A few months later, a reliable Nintendo leaker made a similar claim aboutF-Zero GX, but there is still no official announcement of such an update in the works.
Over the past few years, noted individuals like former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime have expressed the idea that Nintendo couldrevive the long-dormantF-Zerofranchiseas early as 2023, but Imamura doesn’t think that this is the case given the Big N’s current success withMario Kart 8 Deluxe. According to him, Nintendo doesn’t want to risk dividing the market with two major racing titles for the Switch, so it might still be a long time before fans can blast through the gravity-defying world ofF-Zeroonce again.
MORE:Other GameCube Classics That Should Follow Metroid Prime Remastered’s Path to Success
