When Nintendo Fumbles the Bag Harder Than We Thought

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Nintendo's refusal to allow Samus to join Fortnite is indicative of a much deeper problem than I think most people realize.
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This video was edited by the wondrous Kane!
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Additional footage credits:
@ZackScottGames
Fortnite - • Fortnite
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[@ArloStuff]

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[@badasahog]

First

[@Matanumi]

Going Indie JUST did a video and posted this a half hour before this one on this very topic what happened today?

[@NovaMaster375]

Yeah as a Nintendo fan idgaf about Samus not being in fork-knife. It's a good thing even. Metroid is a largely serious franchise, and is generally light on comedic moments. Fortnite is the clown show of video games. Why would they want Samus breaking it down on Darth Vader's corpse? Also the cross-over with franchises that are waaay above the age ratings Nintendo normally shoots for, and they avoid associations like that

[@badasahog]

@@NovaMaster375 100% agree

[@darcidious99]

Because having Samus and master chief and kratos all in the same game would be awesome. Granted I'd prefer it to be in an actual fun game like smash bros, but still having all of the big 3's iconic characters in one game is just cool.​@@NovaMaster375

[@Ihasnotomato]

Just fyi: it’s believed that when they say samus would be exclusive to switch versions of Fortnite, they didn’t just mean availability, they also meant that if you owned samus and played online, only people who were also playing on switch would see samus. If they played on any other console, samus would appear as a default character.

[@ThisAnimeFOXGirlLovesToDraw]

And tbh, she wouldn't be the first system exclusive skin in Fortnite. If I remember correctly, depending on what you play Fortnite on you could get exclusive skins on PS4, Switch, Galaxy phone, ect.

[@meee_5155]

@@ThisAnimeFOXGirlLovesToDrawhuh?

[@godofthecripples1237]

​@@meee_5155he's explaining that skins you could only get on a certain device wouldn't be a new thing. There's been skins that you could only get through the mobile version of the game on specific phones, for example. But then you would have them on your account and could use them as you please. Nintendo could have done something similar, where you can only get Samus on switch but then you have it on your account and can use it anywhere

[@griffinbaxter4754]

@@ThisAnimeFOXGirlLovesToDrawno actually, while some skins were only sold on specific platforms once you bought them you could still use them on any version of the game so long as it used the same epic account, ie if you bought Kratos on PS5 you could still use him on the switch version. Nintendo wanted Epic to code an entirely new system to not only prevent Samus from being seen by anyone not on the switch but also not allow anyone who bought her on the switch from using her despite the fact that that all the other exclusive skins could be used/seen on all other consoles. So basically Nintendo wanted special privileges while literally everyone else was fine with it.

[@Dakress23]

So just like Rocket League handles Nintendo stuff then?

[@TheSixthSLoT]

Nintendo: We don't want the integrity of our IP's to be compromised. *Samus in Fortnite getting T- bagged by another Samus, while a third Samus dances over her corpse*

[@chibi2239]

Honestly, based on what happens with certain female skins in the game....they're more worried about Zero suit Samus than their character getting T-bagged 😀

[@griffinbaxter4754]

@@chibi2239Considering this is the same company that repeatedly made the best item collection results screen for her games be her getting in very skimpy/skin tight outfits, I very much doubt Nintendo cares about what THAT side of the internet does with her.

[@zackswitch9656]

There isnt corpses in fortnite.

[@ryandemboski6313]

@@chibi2239this is japan we are talking about here, they are definitely not worried about that

[@chibi2239]

@ryandemboski6313 no, this is nintendo, who does care about their family friendly image to some degree. That doesn't mean anything

[@lovelydumpling]

The problem is branding. It's Nintendo's most powerful asset. Their IPs are considered premium, Nintendo is a premium brand in gaming. That scarcity is intentional in keeping its premium reputation. Handing over Samus to Fortnite without any caveats in regards to Nintendo's platforms makes Fortnite appear bigger than Nintendo. Especially as them being the first to accomplish this. This news would be big for Epic... and would start rumors for Nintendo. "Wow, Nintendo actually let Epic have their character? That's new for them. Are they struggling or something? Are they going to go multiplatform?" This strict control of their IP as a premium brand ensures things are always on their terms, and it's part of what makes their brand so coveted in the first place. There's a reason why folks at Epic consider a Nintendo collab to be the biggest deal, despite all of the much larger properties they've collab'd with in the past. It's precisely because of that premium reputation Nintendo has for their brands, and they've built that reputation through their strict control of it. Getting a Nintendo character off the Nintendo console is harder than getting Sora into Smash, and that's very intentional for them.

[@thatoneXman]

To add onto this, the branding is also important because people know Nintendo for THOSE characters. Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, Metroid, etc and etc. There's such a huge amount of exclusives under their belt and that's REALLY BIG for Nintendo, because they know that people would play their games and systems for the exclusives alone. Folks play your games simply because they've come to expect *those series'* to be represented with your famous seal of quality, and forking over the rights to other publishers to pass around Captain Olimar like he's a hot potato would put a damper on how special that is. And there's no doubt that other publishers like Sony or Microsoft would KILL to have something like that.

[@farter-hall9681]

This line of logic is entirely absurd. While Nintendo is unique in its age and legacy in gaming and is (or was) known for its top-quality products Sony is also right there. While Sony doesn't have the "luxury" branding of Nintendo it has a long list of exclusives that they refused to let go for a very long time. God of War for example was made multimedia only recently and only for it's 2 latest releases. I don't remember a word being said about how Sony was desperate because they released GoW on PC. If Nintendo let Fortnite have the Samus skin I could only see a future that would have endless hype for the future of Nintendo. Because Nintendo showed it is willing to step out of its comfort zone and experiment. This is on top of Samus not just being on a different game but being on the single largest advertising forum today. Samus being on Fortnite would expose her to millions of kids that would recognize her and want other pieces of media with Samus in it. This is just my anecdotal experience, but I have had a 7-year-old kid point at my Family Guy shirt and say, "I know who that is!" If that kid can point out Peter Griffen on a shirt I'm sure he could point out any other character that's been in Fortnite. Even if they gave Epic the ok to make a skin of Samus or any character, Nintendo would still have final say in how that character is portrayed. Rather famously Nintendo dictated exactly how Bowser would sit and hold a cup in Wreck-it Ralph. The thing with rumors is... there's already a lot of them for Nintendo and none of them have been good rumors for years. You got to any space that mentions the Switch, and you'll eventually hear "At this point Nintendo is purposefully keeping drift so they can milk money from people having to buy new controllers." or how about the rumor a few years ago that suggested one of the Cooking Mama games for the Switch was a trojan horse for bitcoin mining. Again this is all on top of all the times Nintendo has shut down fan projects, attacked KZbinrs for just having Nintendo stuff in their videos, or very recently where Nintendo forced Gary's Mod to remove all Nintendo related content from the community workshop. Modern Nintendo has the reputation in gaming spaces of being not just being a greedy company with a death grip on it's IP but is also vindictive and malicious actors who hate their fans. Nintendo loosening that grip even a tiny bit would bring waves of good publicity and might even bring more people into the Nintendo ecosystem. Ignoring all of that though, Nintendo needs to look at its future as a company. Its market share is shrinking slowly but surely while heavily relying on its name that is bleeding prestige and relevance. They're not doing anything to actively get into the next generation of gamers and are keeping themselves walled off in their own area. Nintendo as it exists today is threading the rope that will hang it.

[@weebcraft6829]

Meanwhile Nintendo puts all its stuff into Fall Guys?

[@lovelydumpling]

@@weebcraft6829 There have not been any official collaborations between Fall Guys and Nintendo. Just fan-made content using Fall Guys's creative mode.

[@James_Dawg]

Can't agree with the "premium brand" angle ever since Nintendo let joy con drift last for so long.

[@Masaim6]

To be fair Nintendo doesn't really need more notoriety to their ip's. Sony and Microsoft would kill for their games to sell as much as Nintendo's do and like 90% of those sales are at full price.

[@54321jcc]

The Mario's, Link's sure, Samus not sure they actually have that widespread notoriety.

[@Guy-cb1oh]

Yeah, they would kill for the games to sell as much as Nintendos but they don't want to put in the time, money or effort to make it happen...

[@Masaim6]

@@Guy-cb1oh Nintendo's Games a 100% cost less to make than the other big 3 especially Sony.

[@gLoveofLove89]

The Soul Calibur 2 example isn't a good fit. All three console versions had their own unique character. Gamecube had Link, PS2 had Heihachi, and Xbox had Spawn. It's not like Nintendo was screwing the other versions over.

[@AsilarWindsailor]

I thought that example wasn't the best as well

[@pommer2128]

Eventually a definitive versions of the game was released that contained both characters, but not Link.

[@Artista_Frustrado]

@@pommer2128 said definitve version was not on Nintendo systems

[@mjc0961]

It's a perfect fit. The reason each platform has an exclusive character instead of all platforms having the same character is likely because Nintendo refused to let Link be in the PS2 and Xbox versions.

[@gLoveofLove89]

@@mjc0961 I mean, that's just speculation though

[@julianx2rl]

Samus and Link almost made it into Ultimate Alliance, yes, Marvel's* Ultimate Alliance. But Activision fucked up and showed them footage of Samus running on the PS2 version. The dev team tried to explain that the content was exclusive to Wii, and they just showed them on PS2 for a development convenience. But Nintendo was apparently so offended regardless that they pulled the plug anyway, they're DAT adamant and that petty about their exclusivity.

[@user-hb3fi3vn2w]

​@@runicex2310 I agree that Activision wasn't professional in their actions but saying that having IP on PS2 vs IP on gamecube would in any way put the IP in jeopardy is insane.

[@mystrenula3911]

​@@runicex2310 That's not how ip works, and I agree that it was unprofessional

[@jibjibs9401]

@@runicex2310 No, that's not how that works and you don't seem to understand the difference between trademark and copyright. In this specific case it was literally behind the scenes.

[@jibjibs9401]

@@mystrenula3911 Not really, it's a fairly common practice

[@redring4083]

It's not like Microsoft and Sony weren't the same back then. Kratos was exclusive on the PlayStation version of Mortal Kombat 9.

[@Satellaview1889]

Your comment about how your Nephew laments his seemingly "niche" tastes is a sentiment my mother would probably share. She is a teacher, and she to laments the fact that kids only seem to talk about Fortnite, although she has a distaste of it for other reasons.

[@LARAUJO_0]

I think Nintendo just has PTSD from putting Mario and Zelda on the CDI

[@beetlebat.]

I think too many IPs get skins in fortnite for it to drive people to Metroid. If it was a more prestigious thing to become a fortnite skin maybe people would think "oh wow this must be a big deal for it to be in fortnite!" But there are so many skins that I think it would just be viewed as a cool looking skin for most people.

[@Wingsaber]

Hard agree, I remember so many people picked up fortnite to try the DBZ skins, and then less so for the Family guy one, and now most people I know don't really care at all unless they already play Fortnite actively.

[@KingAgniKai]

The last big one was Naruto since it was the first anime/manga skin and event

[@pro-toman]

If it was JUST a skin in the shop, yes, I agree. But if there was an event associated with it, paired with other exclusive gear and weapons modeled after the Metroid series? There’s no way it would just be seen as some cool looking stuff to even most people. It would stand out as its own series and at least some people will be curious. That said, would Nintendo let that happen? Nahhh lmao

[@dexchampion2128]

You also have to consider the time frame she was planned to be released. She was planned to be released immediately after Kratos and Master Chief. This was the start of the huge collaboration effort for Fortnite, so it would have been early enough that it would have been a big deal. But it ALSO would have been Gaming History in the making. A major character from all of Gaming’s Big Three in one game, in the span of one month. Even if you weren’t a fan, that would have been huge.

[@beetlebat.]

​@@dexchampion2128 even then I think that would've driven people towards fortnite, rather than fortnite players towards Metroid.

[@kitrawr6992]

Wait, I thought we liked that Nintendo is less involved in microtransaction stuff...?

[@PunishedDad]

this ^ I am so confused why people are upset that nintendo isn't going to contribute to the predatory monetization targeted at children in fornite what kind of cope is this actual brainrot

[@Geeksquad59]

Bro come on that's not even the same thing....

[@-lord1754]

​@@Geeksquad59lol how

[@Geeksquad59]

@@-lord1754 For one these are two different games. Epic can charge whatever they want for their FREE game. You know what Nintendo game isn't free and still has microtransactions? Smash Brothers Ultimate. On top of a fighter pass and all type of Mii microtransactions. Other Nintendo games with Microtransactions: Pokémon Café Mix, Pokémon Quest, Pokémon Shuffle/Unite. Mario Run, and Mario Kart Tour.

[@TextileGeorge]

Yeah but Arlo needed something to make a video about and there's no other news so....

[@MoonyTheBat]

A year ago I went to a convention and met the voice over director for Breath of the Wild, James Mortellaro. I mentioned I was studying audio engineering and he said to shoot him an email and that he wouldn't mind passing around my resume to "his peeps." When I got home and stared at my unfinished resume, I was so afraid that it would never be good enough or that I wouldn't hear back, or they would tell me that it was bad, so I just... never sent him my resume. I heavily regret that lol. Great video Arlo!

[@AJHornet1]

I don’t see Samus going into Fortnite and then Fortnite players coming over to Metroid. I think that ‘upside’ is a fantasy.

[@PunishedDad]

arlo said it himself, those kids are just talking about fortnite adding crossovers doesn't get them not talking about fortnite I really don't understand the logic leaps

[@mjc0961]

100% a fantasy. They'll play Fortnite as Samus and then when the next skin comes, they'll play Fortnite as that and forget all about Samus.

[@michanowak7060]

Well, people can enjoy different type of gameplay. I do like soulslikes for their slow methodic combat and I like doomer shooters for their chaotic carnage. I can easily imagine people who enjoy both battle royale and alone metroid gameplay. Especially with scale of how many people are into fortnite

[@FrahdChikun]

@@mjc0961 and when a new Metroid game comes out, they'll say "oh it's that skin from Fortnite!"

[@dexchampion2128]

As someone ON the Fortnite side of things, people began playing Metroid after the rumor of her getting in came out. People were hugely excited for her and to experience playing as Samus without the huge Nintendo price tag. Combined with the fact that several other series, creators and even forms of media saw huge jumps in their respective fields after collaborating with Fortnite, and this opinion you have is the real fantasy.

[@billybilly3511]

Idk how to feel about seeing Arlo talking with Fortnite playing in the background

[@billybilly3511]

@@dorian6021it’s just not a game I’d expect to see Arlo talk about ever lmao. I have nothing against the game.

[@TheSixthSLoT]

@@dorian6021 I don't think it's odd. Arlo branded himself primarily as a Nintendo Tuber. It's not all he does, but it's so much of what he does that it is a little jarring to see him cover something that's in the zeitgeist of pop culture outside of Nintendo, like Fortnite.

[@Broswald_Inc]

Tru

[@TheSixthSLoT]

@@dorian6021 I literally said that it's not all he does dude.

[@PowerGem3000]

@@dorian6021why are you being such a buzzkill

[@ZorusSerif]

if this does happen, I can just see it now Kids: you mean samus from fortnite?

[@sirraven_]

Literally no one says this.

[@ZorusSerif]

@@sirraven_ I'm referencing a meme :/

[@SakuraAvalon]

Correction. Metroid from Fortnite. Don't know who this Samus fella is.

[@darcidious99]

​@@SakuraAvalonspoilers for metroid dread: well that's the neat thing about metroid, is that that isn't even a meme anymore... Its canon now

[@kyurei4478]

​@@SakuraAvalonIt's kinda true now anyway.

[@TCOFFICIAL01]

I agree with Nintendo on this. I would be very disappointed if my metroids and marios ended up in such an extremely monetized game.

[@Celebee]

uhh mario kart tour..?

[@lucg4005]

Bruh you even taken a glance at any of Nintendo’s mobile games? Mario run, Feh, animal crossing, and others I can’t think of. All were or still are extremely monetized, published by Nintendo companies themselves.

[@TCOFFICIAL01]

@@lucg4005 Good point. I was thinking along the lines of console games, forgetting about mobile monetization because of how normalized it has become. You are very correct in this statement of yours.

[@SuperPaperPokemon]

A small comment on Arlo's burrito analogy: getting Samus as a skin on Fortnite, and played on other consoles wouldn't really be equivalent to a burrito restaurant opening up a pop-up store in a con or making a food truck out of their restaurant. It would still be _themselves_ selling their own product. It would be more equivalent to a burrito restaurant letting their own burrito recipe be sold by a different restaurant as a collaboration. Or maybe, creating a line of frozen burritos to be sold in supermarkets, outside of their control. Someone else is selling their own product.

[@calvinbrinenestoris2357]

On one end, there goes all the free marketing to Fortnite's massive playerbase... On the other end, THANK GOODNESS the Fortnite kids can't ruin Samus.

[@Sir_Psych]

Interigrity seems to confuse people

[@dmclsl03]

How exactly are they gonna ruin her

[@calvinbrinenestoris2357]

@dmclsl03 I mean, maybe it'll be nothing, but... Fortnite kids are really annoying. I was in middle school when it first got popular, and it was excruciating being around all that. Couple that with the fact that I've seen posts about people who thought that all the characters who have skins in fortnite were just fortnite characters (There's that one famous post about the guy who thought "Stormtrooper" was just a skin from fortnite and DMed a random Star Wars fan because they thought he was talking about a Fortnite skin. Obviously, this is an extreme example, but Samus is also far more obscure than any Star Wars character). So combine the skin confusion with how annoying Fortnite's fanbase can be, and... I mean, idk if it would really be that big of a deal, I might just be paranoid because of middle school PTSD, but if Samus became super known for just being a cool space-marine fortnite skin with the ball and the arm cannon and her players would try to start Fortnite convos with Metroid fans while having no idea what Metroid was... It might boost sales considerably, but idk if it's worth it. That's a lot of shit I'd rather not have the Metroid fanbase deal with. Plus, any new players coming in from Fortnkte, excited to play a shoot-shoot game that lended their character to another more popular shoot-shoot game, then it's not impossible that they would not be so happy to find out that some of Samus' games are 2d or that the 3d games aren't very combat heavy. And, although I don't think this outcome is at all likely, it IS possible that it could lead to new players outside the fanbase pressuring Metroid games to become more traditional shooters. Now, my judgment in this scenario is most likely clouded due to me absolutely hating Fortnite and its fandom. But... man, I just don't want to see my poor Samus tainted by that beast. It might lead to more popularity, but at what cost?

[@StardustWhip]

@@calvinbrinenestoris2357 Your judgement is _definitely_ clouded by you hating Fortnite. Fortnite wouldn't ruin Samus. Kids coming in from Fortnite wouldn't be any more disappointed that Metroid isn't Fortnite than they would be disappointed that Spider-Man isn't Fortnite. You're getting paranoid and creating make-believe scenarios because you hate the thing that kids these days are into. Like most of the people in this comment section are.

[@calvinbrinenestoris2357]

​@@StardustWhip Hey I hated Fortnite when I was a kid, too. It's not like I'm hating on some NEW game that kids freak out over. Although yeah, it probably is stupid of me to think that Fortnite players coming to Metroid would be angry about it not being a traditional shooter. I'm still definitely concerned about some of those other worries with Samus and the Fortnite fandom, though.

[@Traveler_of_the_Stars]

For someone who often talks about gaming companies' scummy business practices, I'm surprised you are this upset about this. You mention this, but regardless, it sounds like by you "setting aside" your distaste for Fortnite and Epic, you think the scumminess of the two things should be ignored. You are saying the morals you often preach about can be overlooked if enough publicly is gained. Yeah, exposure is great and it would've been great for Metroid to have more exposure, but I'm happy that Nintendo didn't let one of their characters go to Fortnite/Epic. Nintendo can be frustratingly stubborn and old-fasioned at times, but yeah, I *do* think you're making a mountain out of a mole hill. I love you Arlo (been subscribed since 2016), but this video was just overblown in my opinion.

[@markigirl2757]

Not necessarily people need to take more responsibility for themselves with their money and how they spend it. Not saying those companies should do it but they did it bc of business reasons and Metroid really needs something to justify making any future games tbh

[@birdflox1337]

Realistically, what incentive would Nintendo have to add their characters into Fortnite? They don't need the money, they don't need the advertising, jumping into a trend just to be a skin next to El Chapulin Colorado makes no sense. There are better crossover opportunities than this.

[@stipdip7785]

Nintendo being Nintendo bro why can’t we have Samus hitting the griddy on Gojo

[@anglure3617]

the anecdote about your nephew's schoolmates only wanting to talk about fortnite hits me harder than it should. well, that and the amongus butts

[@julianburrell5058]

I think that not wanting Samus on other consoles is just the beginning of what Nintendo would have wanted. I can't imagine Nintendo being okay with Samus doing certain dance moves or being T-bagged or modded or any number of other things that Fortnite is known for. No amount of publicity is worth the company not directly controlling their character's presentation to Nintendo. It is what it is.

[@frazercowan4030]

But that's not the reason. They were perfectly happy with having Samus in Fortnite if she was Switch exclusive.

[@JG_Wentworth]

That's such disgusting, corporate reasoning. Are you on their payroll?

[@bigshrekhorner]

@@JG_Wentworth Reread the comment again. They're presenting Nintendo's view on the matter, not their own.

[@dexchampion2128]

@@bigshrekhornerand Nintendo’s view on the matter is incredibly backwards easily countered. If Nintendo doesn’t like what people do with Samus in Fortnite, all they have to do is say “Samus in Fortnite isn’t canon”. Boom. Done. Any and all “damage” that could be done is immediately fixed.

[@chiquita683]

​@@dexchampion2128Does anyone think The Rock in Fortnite is his real life? 😂 Does anyone think in Halo you build forts in combat? Do people think Optimus is about 6 ft tall? 😂

[@Ramiel1point0]

Good. Personally really glad I don't have to see Samus dancing over shooting people in the head on top of tons of other fictional characters for whom it is disgustingly out of character.

[@markguyton2868]

As someone who suffers from both decision and task paralysis, I can understand why Nintendo probably did this. Big N seemed to be following the "give em and inch" mindset, which is not the worst mindset sometimes. A lot of people have a tendency to want to play Nintendo games, but not on Nintendo products, thus why there are so many people with eye-patches "swabbing the Deck on a Steamship". If Nintendo did say yes to this, it would give this non-system side of the argument more firepower to demand Big N to go multi-platform, which for them is a net-negative as a hardware developer. Also, by the way Sony and Microsoft are going, trying to keep to their own ship for now might not be the worst decision.

[@MikePhantom]

but the literally have to. they are not the securest company possessing IPs. they do not have the resources, man power or knowhow to stay save against companies that are several times bigger than them. "but they have so much money" money is NOT none of the things i listed.

[@davetheimpaler204]

I mean, if you're naive enough to believe Nintendo would ever let their IP appear on a competitor's console as long as they have their own on the market, I don't know what to tell you. Lol Unlike Microsoft, or Sony to an extent, who consider their brand or subscription services to be the real "platform", Nintendo is still fully invested in HARDWARE as their platform.

[@goldenninja9053]

Yeah, and it also seems that Xbox and Playstation don't care about their exclusivity for anything since 2020, given their original stuff can be found on other things nowadays.

[@RippahRooJizah]

@@goldenninja9053 Do keep in mind we're in an environment where plenty of people decry exclusive games as always anti-consumer. Sony does care about exclusivity but will go on PC (for better and for worse) because there's demand for it.

[@AndrewChumKaser]

On the other hand: Perhaps we should in fact applaud a company willing to stick to its laurels, informally telling us that making more money is not their one and only goal. I'm not suggesting that's what's going on, but it's a possibility I suppose.

[@ryanmatthew3740]

You’re talking about Nintendo?? The company that sells skyward sword for $60? The company that refuses to fix their online services at absurd prices? The company that refuses to rework their controllers instead of paying millions of dollars to improve the consumer experience? The company that consistently takes people to court for emulating a game they refuse to sell? Open your fanboy eyes. You sound like the CEO from smiling friends “ITS MY IP TO SIT ON NOT THEIRS” shut up man.

[@thajocoth]

I don't think this would've effected anything really... There are SO many skins that it doesn't matter, and they're all just skins so they all play the same, no abilities. I don't think they should've even offered to allow it _with_ Switch exclusivity. The people who'd buy the skin would already be Metroid fans, and very few other players would really even see it. Samus wouldn't be using her arm cannon. She'd be using the same guns as everyone else in the game. No morph ball... Nothing at all that would actually advertise her in any way to convince these kids to try her games.

[@TKDBoy1889]

Here's a spicy take: Nintendo's iron-clad protectiveness of their IP's is actually a GOOD thing. It shows how much their value their own brand. If Nintendo were to start just licensing their IP's out and let 3rd parties make all sort of spin-offs or whatnot, the value of the brand would go down because I can promise you, while our dreamy optimistic viewpoint is focused on the possibilities, the realities is that most of the content produced would just be low-effort mediocrity. Seriously, I'm okay with waiting a long time over letting the floodgates open and letting a bunch of trash flood the market.

[@firstprimehunter]

You know from the thumbnail I thought you were going to say the fumble was *including* samus in fortnite. You had me scared for a second there. Thank god they backed out of the deal. Good on them.

[@emmanuelgonzalezcaseira9141]

Well, I get it, I get what you are saying... but... Nintendo has the business high ground. They have such weight that they don't need this move. I mean, the Switch is such a success that by itself, Metroid Prime 4 will be a franchise best seller.

[@pinappizzayumyum6390]

When I was younger, I genuinely thought Reggie Fils-Aimé was your dad

[@lordtheodore13]

Has everyone forgotten about the time that Nintendo let SEGA put a Link costume and hairstyle in the Japanese version of Phantasy Star Online 2 back in 2018? It was even visible on PC and PS4. In that game you could be a gunslinger if you wanted to, all while wearing Link's BOTW outfit. I feel like a lot of people keep forgetting/don't know about that.

[@rslv5498]

The problem with these arguments is that people always go. "That darn greedy company, all they care about is money!!" Then when company doesn't do something customer wants them to do "Company so stupid, they would make SOO much money if they just did what I want" Nintendo is just doing as they always do, maintaining their brand image and IP, even if it would "make them more money" to sell you a 20 dollar skin in a live service game mind you.

[@BowserEditz]

It's hilariously Hypocritical how this fanbase is when something doesn't fit there own agenda

[@Bashfluff]

What’s hypocritical about it? We’re not against the concept of Nintendo making money. We’re against the concept of Nintendo making money at the expense of its customers. I want Nintendo to be successful, and when they make bad business decisions for silly reasons, I don’t really like it.

[@BowserEditz]

@@Bashfluff It's not hard to understand

[@Alex_1A]

​@@BashfluffThat's how *we* are about it, not the Internet at large.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

I like the fact that Nintendo guard ther IP so rigourously it shows that they care about their IP where is if you asked me Sony and Microsoft do not care about as much.

[@larry9351]

Fortnite skins are limited time, so the impact would be pretty limited outside a few days. To me it seems like a strange thing to completely shift their IP strategy for.

[@festimcocaj1269]

In what way are Fortnite skins limited time ?

[@SamTRC]

@@festimcocaj1269 when you turn on the game, there’s an in-game store. You go there and you can spend money directly on cosmetics. When you buy them, you have them forever. HOWEVEEEER, you can only get them for a limited time, and Fortnite never brings skins back unless it’s a special occasion. If you didn’t buy the skin you want in time, it’s gone FOR GOOD. It’s not only absolutely abysmal for preservation but Nintendo would get nothing out of putting Samus in Fortnite because she will just go away for all the players who didn’t buy her, and blend in with the thousands of other skins in your inventory if you did, and then new shit releases that makes more news headlines so she’ll only be relevant for like a week And all that would happen is everybody forgets about her, and Nintendo’s reputation goes down the gutter because they worked with Fortnite which is one of the most scummy games of all time.

[@aidenkt]

@@festimcocaj1269They’re only purchasable for a limited amount of time

[@GmNdWtchr96]

​@@festimcocaj1269I think he's referring to how the Battle Pass cosmetics never come to the item store, and how certain other cosmetics are way rarer in there.

[@steveqi9309]

@@festimcocaj1269 in the way that you often only have a limited amount of time to buy the skin before it goes out of rotation, and then you don’t know when, if ever it come back to the shop again.

[@nickk3077]

I think the rational reason Nintendo would not want to do this is because firstly, putting Samus in Fortnight isn't a necessity by any means and although might benefit them, Nintendo is doing well enough to the point where they don't need to do this type of outside sponsoring. Secondly, and more importantly, I believe this could be a slippery slope. Sure, it's only Fortnight, but then they might make the exception with other third parties on Xbox and Play Station, to a point eventually where Nintendo can be seen all over these other consoles. I feel like Nintendo still really wants to stand out among its competitors by maintaining exclusive rights to their own franchises and I honestly understand that. I think what makes Nintendo games different on iPhone is that the phone audience is its own sort of market completely outside the traditional gaming sphere and I think that Nintendo understood that their home consoles or handhelds had no way of competing with that, so they gave in and decided to make games for it that better suited that audience.

[@Itookabathinibiza5624]

I’d like to think that Nintendo is scared out of their minds that a kid will know Samus as the character from Fortnite.

[@MalzraAirwynn]

To be perfectly honest, my reaction to 'Samus didn't get into fortnite' is just that clip of Zelda from wand of gamelon saying 'Good!'

[@TylerLouden]

Can guarantee you Samus in Fortnite would not help the series 1 bit. Example: Isaac in Fortnite when they released the Dead Space Remake. Great game, representation in Fortnite. Still flopped. Kids will just see it as another cool Fortnite skin and will never even have ANY passing thought as to where it came from. A perfect meme example of this: "oh look! It's Aang from Fortnite!"

[@DS9TREK]

No, you can't guarantee that. There's no counter factual for you to use to prove your opinion

[@TylerLouden]

@@DS9TREK Well if I'm right, then I'm right and if I'm wrong, it helps the Metroid series. So it's a win-win either way. 👍

[@MoxStash]

Hey its Samus from Fortnite!

[@gaylordpickmang2076]

Maybe it wouldn’t help A TON but it’s not like every fortnite player who doesn’t know Metroid doesn’t have the brainpower to understand where the skins come from lol

[@thelegendofstonecoldstevea3205]

@@DS9TREKsure he can. Prove him wrong then.

[@megasean3000]

How is this any different to what Nintendo always does? Of course they’re going to be protective of their IPs. They’ve been doing it since Philips released a shitty version of their games. And come on, it’s Fortnite.

[@brendancurry9808]

The fact that Nintendo would do it only if it was Switch exclusive is shocking itself

[@JubbiHubbi]

There's no evidence that these crossovers help IP growth. Bayonetta was huge for Smash Brothers and the games didn't benefit at all sales wise

[@shanedestroyer]

idk i feel from what ive heard its basically undeniable that smash boosted fire emblem and earthbound, maybe the later games have done it less with so many characters but really as arlo said the downsides are even more miniscule

[@JG_Wentworth]

So what exactly is the consequence? You can't give a straight answer can you?

[@bulb9970]

Third party characters in Smash aren’t included to give their franchises more exposure. On the contrary, the most requested by fans are the chosen ones. Banjo was obviously not chosen to boost sales, it was only because fans liked him. That’s how Bayonetta got in, she won the Smash ballot. So a lot of people already knew who she was and sales wouldn’t get boosted by them. And for the people who didn’t already know her, it can’t be ignored that Bayonetta killed the competitive scene of Smash 4 and left a sour taste on their mouth. Even though the casual audience is much bigger than the competitive one, Bayo is still the most infamous character in Smash history and what she did negatively is common knowledge by now.

[@JubbiHubbi]

@@JG_Wentworth That you give up control of your IP to a third party without receiving a viable benefit in return? Why would Nintendo want Samus to hit the griddy with Kratos instead of mantaining their own control

[@flow185]

​@@shanedestroyermelee defo helped fire emblem for sure

[@carsonharbin]

It’s an unfortunate reality, I know for rocket league Nintendo made Mario, Luigi, and Samus cars, but they’re exclusive to Switch versions of the game.

[@kamenraider1175]

Yeah, but if memory serves, each console had exclusive cars

[@vegancarnotaurus8216]

I think you meant fortunate reality

[@JJAB91]

@@vegancarnotaurus8216 How is it fortunate?

[@wunder4402]

Why is it unfortunate?

[@JJAB91]

@@wunder4402 Because Samus in Fortnite would be fun?

[@RichKnight36]

I saw some of my students playing Fortnite in class one day, and instead of get mad at them for playing when they should be working, I said, "Kids are STILL playing Fortnite?" And when they said yeah, and asked me what kind of games I played, I told them "Metroid," and they laughed at me because they never heard of it before. I had to tell them that Samus from Smash Bros was from Metroid and ONE of them knew what I was talking about. So, yeah. Your video is apt. Lol

[@80sForever29]

I see Nintendo not allowing this as an absolute win.

[@SharpEdgeSoda]

The Worst Case Scenerio is Metroid gets an audience that wants Metroid to become a big dumb shooter and remove all the ambience, atmosphere, and exploration for big dumb shooting time.

[@khanhnguyen-tt3ff]

Lol they did try that with federation forces

[@ace9950]

💀i doubt that would happen, worse case scenario is that ppl try out metroid n dont like it

[@AsilarWindsailor]

Exactly. Metroid isn't about being a shooter. It's about being on an adventure exploring places in a heavily isolated atmospheric experience. Not a mindless shooter with silly dances

[@teenageapple3788]

@@ace9950 Their loss. Metroid is a gem of a franchise

[@StardustWhip]

I don't think that's happened for any other series that's crossed over with Fortnite. Like, do you really think that the kids who play Fortnite and went to go see Spider-Verse got disappointed because Miguel didn't shoot Miles and start disco dancing? Do you think they watched Avatar and went "man, this sucks, I can't believe Aang didn't use a gun!"? No, they didn't, because kids are smart enough to understand that the franchises which cross over with Fortnite aren't the same thing as Fortnite itself. I mean, by this logic, kids who learned about Fire Emblem or Xenoblade through Smash Bros. would want them to turn into four-player platform fighters.

[@boredhuman6512]

gonna be real at this point it reversed to me like... everything is in fortnite by now, nintendo getting a skin there would just be a tiny thing up on a pile. Don't know why I should care for a bigger "advertising opportunity" for them, I care for their games not their buisness strategy

[@CheesyLizzy]

I care cause it'd get more people to care about their games and make it easier for Nintendo to make more games like Metroid Prime 4 for example If demand goes up and things are more well known in the public eye, it makes it easier for Nintendo to take risks and produce stuff

[@FenexTheFox]

If the series becomes more successful, it means we get more games. It's a win for everyone.

[@tloz171nfs]

It's not just advertising, I'm sure they get $ for each skin sold and I would've bought it the second it was available...if I could use it on ps5. I ain't playing Fortnite at 480p 30fps with low settings just to see Samus.

[@alanhardy7024]

@@CheesyLizzy Fortnight does so many colabs that Samus would not actualy end up making a difference. The kids who play fortnight arent gonna be like "oh that character looks cool Im going to google it", because it would just be one of many games they would not know about. And anyone who already knows who Samus is not gonna just decide to buy it because they saw it in fortnight.

[@CheesyLizzy]

@@alanhardy7024 Simply seeing the character is still impactful though Kids might later see a Metroid game at Walmart or somewhere and be like, "Oh! I recognize that character. I wonder what their game is." There's many franchises that I've discovered over the years simply by recognizing characters from Smash

[@reeseseater12]

The Soul Calibur II Link example doesn't fit here. Every console had their own exclusive character, it was console exclusive content. Which is actually how I believe 3rd party games should be rather than just being entirely exclusive

[@AnonimanPiotr]

I'm so happy Samus din't make it!

[@adamsexton8194]

To be fair soul caliber 2 had a version exclusive for each company as well…

[@AshkarBehek0]

The game had a deluxe version with every characters. Except you know who.

[@HealyHQ]

This was literally mentioned in the video.

[@Settyness]

An astute, strategic game reference given that Nintendo is stuck in 2002.

[@lonecom685]

​@@AshkarBehek0 Stalin?

[@lonecom685]

Selling each version of the game with a different cool character that represents the system it's on was such a nice thing to do. Kind of reminds me of MK9, which had Kratos on the PS3 version

[@4Clubs]

I do not care for Forknife.

[@TheBitBlock]

So Arlo's conclusion is: Allow Samus to dab and floss to rap music in a game most people don't respect and look at as a meme - so it will magically increase sales of the 2 Metroid games we get every decade? Another brilliant take from Arlo.

[@shun2232]

You say "the game most people don't respect" you mean the loud minority on the internet that never shuts up? I remember that long period of Minecraft being disrespected for years, now suddenly it's the best game ever made to that same minority that was crapping on it for so long

[@zanderxadvancesp284]

I don't think Arlo realizes that the Fortnits & Nintendo audiences are so different that it actually makes sense why they didn't let Samus go. I've seen a similar type of argument with PS not doing smaller scale games more often but then you see that even their experimental AAA stuff sell worse than Nintendo's AA & A output that's still 60$-50$.

[@pakaman9101]

Why are people acting like Metroid would gain massive popularity if they put it in Fortnite. What franchise clearly benefited from collaborating with Fortnite? Can anyone confirm?

[@kitkatrina1337]

the saints over at epic turned a lot of small unknown indie films such as "Star Wars" and "The Spider's Man" into big box office hits

[@Pioxys]

New younger audience, new curiosity. If I want to speak “Nintendo.” Same as how people learned about Fire Emblem through Smash. (Which Arlo mentions)

[@internetguy7319]

people know what metroid is, the gameplay is just nicher than people want to accept. ​@@Pioxys

[@steveqi9309]

@@Pioxys smash is different, it’s a “king maker”, it makes the franchises that it collaborate with more popular. Fortnite is kind of the opposite it siphons popularity from the franchise it collaborates with, I have never seen a franchise get more popular because their characters were in Fortnite.

[@Hyper_Drud]

@@steveqi9309Also I get the feeling that the majority of people who buy skins of characters in Fortnite were already fans of the franchises they came from.

[@SdudyoyO]

Nintendo's control over their IP's is what's kept them relevant, they don't sell consoles because of which third parties support them, it's because their IP's are valuable and recognized. If they sacrifice control over how a character is presented--They risk damaging that IP's reputation. It's not just about competing consoles, but I also imagine not wanting Samus to floss next to Rick Sanchez, was a reason why they were afraid to go forward with the deal. Most people who play Fortnite are kids, Metroid is aimed for Teenagers/Adults. Characters are popular in Fortnite _because_ they're recognized, Peter Griffin isn't more popular now than he was before Fortnite, he was already popular and that's why people were excited to see him in Fortnite. Most kids who don't already know Samus, wouldn't see her as anything more than a Master Chief clone. Those that would be excited to play her, most likely already own a Nintendo console, and those that don't know her, wouldn't be able to get an understanding of her character in Fortnite. Many Nintendo fans would LOVE to play Samus in Fornite, I'm sure. But I can't say that it counts as free advertisement, when the character in question looks a bit like a generic Sci-Fi Space suit wearing character in a fast paced battle royale where you may or may not see the skin of your opponent. Then you have the terrible monetization and the horrid environment at Epic--They refused Nintendo's proposal, and so Nintendo saw them as a company that didn't respect them. What reason _would_ they have to work with them? I agree that Nintendo should focus on advertising Metroid better -- But if Smash Brothers, one of the most popular fighting games of all time, that attracts Gamers from across all consoles, a game that already exists on the Switch, so everyone who plays it, _could play Metroid,_ can't bring more people to be interested in Metroid, then I sincerely doubt Fortnite would reach that many more players to look into the series. It's not like Samus isn't well recognized among gamers either, it's simply that Metroidvania's, don't have a large audience to attract, and Nintendo hasn't been doing much to breach out of the box containing the genre. I just don't see a Samus skin in Fortnite as being all that beneficial for Nintendo themselves, they don't need the cut of skin sales, they already make enough money. It wouldn't be popular enough amongst Non-Metroid fans to really bring in new fans, and the only people who might learn about Metroid through Fortnite, are kids who are outside the target audience of Metroid anyway. This deal stands to benefit Epic, more than Nintendo. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see this as a fumble on Nintendo's part, more-so on Epic's side.

[@SimeonJester]

all of this is extremely correct

[@TravisSheflin]

Expertly worded. I can’t believe our man made a 20+ minute video about this.

[@SimeonJester]

​@@TravisSheflin yeaaa lol sometimes our favorite content creators just super miss the point about stuff - Although I am floored by how realitively nicely everyone has been dissagreeing with Arlo here - like, everyone is just unanimously dissagreeing and nobody is getting really nasty and mean about it. which is nice to see

[@mikaela5938]

Nintendo shitty dinosaur company and you are silly if you can't see that.

[@punkydudester3]

Very good points.

[@Retro6502]

There's little upside for Nintendo to put Samus in Fortnite or any of their characters in a non-Nintendo game. They have some of the most recognized IPs in gaming. What you seem to be missing is that keeping things on their platform drives demand for their stuff. No company gets it right all the time, but Nintendo's successfully run a video game business for almost 50 years and the company itself is 134 years old. Now look at their competitors...

[@unfunny5928]

Yeah, they're vastly more successful in a far shorter period of time, what's your point?

[@snobjorn1232]

The blue guy IS Arlo, no face reveal will ever be satisfactory

[@TheOjamaYellow]

I saw GameXplain complain about this too. I don’t quite get it. Indiana Jones in Fortnite didn’t translate to massive ticket sales or popularize the IP for kids. If it’s true that Fortnite is the only game the kids play, why would this change that behavior? In terms of “what do you have to lose?”, I agree. But because of the reasons I listed earlier, I don’t really think of it as a major missed opportunity.

[@AJMegaScizor]

well i mean indy is already pretty popular? I think it obviously wouldnt translate to game sales directly but just getting the franchise known is always beneficial

[@pommer2128]

Indiana Jones was put into Fortnite when no major Indiana Jones movie/game/media was released. He's a Battle Pass exclusive skin that can never be obtained ever again. They couldn't re-release him for Dial of Destiny because the only way to get him was to be there for that 3 month period when he was available. This isn't the best example.

[@napoleonfeanor]

Disney did their hardest to chase away Indy fans

[@mjc0961]

Agreed, this is a complete nothing burger.

[@Tribdinosaur]

@@mjc0961 Double agree. Everyone is outraged that it didn't happen, but...why.

[@PamonhasDePiracicaba]

7:17 - Strong Disagree. Being in Fornite is extremely overrated. Street Fighter sales were barely affected by Ryu and Chun-Li in Fortnite. I doubt Samus being added would’ve improved Metroid sales. The pros do not justify the cons.

[@tloz171nfs]

Nintendo would also have either gotten paid a lump sum and/or per skin sold.

[@StardustWhip]

Here's a question: What cons? Like Arlo said, the worst case scenario, even if we assume that absolutely 0% of the Fortnite-playing kids even consider playing Metroid after seeing Samus... is that Nintendo makes money off of kids buying a cool skin of a bounty hunter with a cool mech suit.

[@capgangchannel6309]

@@StardustWhip the downside to Nintendo would be that they would have no control over how Samus would have been portrayed in fortnite. Every emote works for all skins so that would mean Samus would be able to do all those emotes including emotes released in the future. Nintendo doesn’t know what Fortnite will add into their game in the future either, what sort of guns will they add, or gameplay elements. All things Nintendo would have no control over. So in this way Samus could be portrayed in Fortnite in a way that Nintendo wouldn’t want it to. So ultimately Nintendo chose to not do it in order to keep complete control of their characters. This is something Arlo conveniently ignores in his argument.

[@kryzethx]

@@tloz171nfs Nintendo doesn't really care about money, if it means watering down their IP; they value that more than anything

[@wunder4402]

​@@StardustWhip It's about integrity. Fortnite just wants to consume more and have more. The deal only serves that greed.

[@thebe_stone]

thank god, for a second I thought you were going to say that they did put samus in fortnite.

[@nicobane]

this whole video is countered by a simple question: "are kids buying sf6 after the sf skins were constantly popular on fortnite? or are they just making chun li twerk?" pretty easy to see why nintendo wouldn't care to pass this up.

[@tpspeed]

Im honestly fine with Samus not being in fortnite. Like, i get it. The cultural significance of Fortnite is there, and it's a good sales pitch to get eyes on a franchise. For me personally, though, im just so exhausted with the all-encompassing nature of Fortnite. Like it just wants to BE everything, HAVE everything. Concerts, movie teasers, a rhythm game, racing, a pseudo crafting survival game in Lego Fortnite, and every character from every franchise ever, even characters from books like Mistborn are in the game. On paper, thats cool as hell. In practice, it feels so shallow and corporate and more like a play to get everything associated with the game rather than the other way around. It just feels like epic wants to monopolize everyones time and that sucks Now if Nintendo actually DID ANYTHING WITH SAMUS

[@Sqwivig]

Yeah for real. Fortnite just REEKS of corporate greed. It's Nintendo's fault for not using the Metroid IP THEMSELVES. Why are we blaming Epic for not promoting Metroid? That's NINTENDO'S JOB! If they actually cared about Samus, they would make more games for her! Simple as.

[@Seoul_Soldier]

I'd be less anti-Nintendo if some Nintendo fans were more consistent. The stuff that they excuse Nintendo for would have them boycotting other companies over.

[@plainstupid]

Then you missed the point of the video. It’s their business principles that’s the problem, not Fortnite.

[@NuiYabuko]

​@@Seoul_Soldier Like, what exactly?

[@nesraspongx58]

@@Seoul_Soldier i mean, the problem with boycotting games is the company won't see it as the action, but as the game, so if the game was good that would hurt it, or even if just an installment in the series was bad but they want the series in a different way, they'll say it's with the whole series i think if we boycott them for things like their copyright state, well, you boycott pokemon, they won't say it's with the current games and their philosophy being bad, or that it's because they closed fangames people have been working on for over a decade, they're gonna say pokemon games aren't profitable or aren't worth making ofc pokemon is so big it wouldn't matter and they wouldn't stop it, but for smaller series that would be the case

[@pikagammerpluspizza7478]

Can an also see that maybe Nintendo didn't want to deal with Samus doing meme dances.

[@chiquita683]

Did you miss the Princess Peach game?

[@TotisTurnOfficial]

​@@chiquita683wtf did she hit the griddy or something?

[@magic2546]

​@@chiquita683Please explain

[@givemeyouryummyskin]

Yet they worked with Robot Chicken to do a comedic Link bit where he speaks and shuns toon link

[@Luc_ienn]

I’ve got Metroidhunter’s videos for that already and tbh they’re top tier, I pop on the phendrana drifts dance vid every now and then

[@NoLongerASimulacrum]

Samus would have been so awesome. I think characters from Kid Icarus, ARMS, Astral Chain, Zelda, F-Zero and an excite bike racer would make for some cool skins in fortnite.

[@ninochaosdrache3189]

Sounds loike a good thing for me that Samus was spared that fate.

[@pobbityboppity1110]

I dunno, it just doesn’t seem like it would matter more than a few weeks. It would be a $20 skin and it just wouldn’t really make a huge dent in anyone’s awareness of Metroid. The downside is to make Nintendo’s IP seem cheap, just another thing in Fortnite’s discount DVD bin of IP junk in a bad art style.

[@KlyosXA]

Wait. How would Samus work in Fortnite? She only has one functional arm while suited up for manipulating pick up weapons. Would her arm cannon morph with every pick up?

[@dieghautdeforme5049]

Arlo, remember "When everybody's super, then no one will be" Samus joining Fortinite is nothing but beneficial for Fortnite. Nobody will look at Samus in this game and go "wow, they look cool, wonder where they are from." No, they may or may not buy the skin, have fun with it and ditch it for the next new skin. For the time being, 0 franchise has benefited from being in Fortnite. There may not be any risks, the there are no rewards either.

[@BowserEditz]

I honestly don't even see how nintendo Would get a benefit from Samus being in fortnite besides "HEY my Fav Charecter is in a game i play" People also forgot that unlike Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft have multiple IP brands Nintendo only has their games without them Nintendo is finshed. Which were definitely explained why Nintendo is much more strict with their Ip

[@BowserEditz]

Which is another reason why nintendo was reaching out to other types of brands such as Movies with their new studio Nintendo Picture's and Amusement Parks like Nintendo World

[@BoredKuro]

Tbh I dunno why everyone has to kiss the ring of Fortnite? It's kinda ridiculous.

[@Toonrick12]

Because it's a money printing machine.

[@PunishedDad]

we exist in capitalism brother

[@Tribdinosaur]

Yeah this whole Nintendo Fortnite skins is the most Non-issue "issue" I've ever heard gain this much traction.

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

I'm really struggling to see why this is a bad thing? The characters in Fornite aren't really characters. They're just the features of a character draped over a generic moveset.

[@shun2232]

I genuinely find everyone in the comments saying "Fortnite is filth, Nintendo was right to not let Samus into that trash!" extremely ironic, because Nintendo wants their characters in Fortnite (it's literally one of, if not the most played game on Switch), they just aren't willing to let them be seen on other platforms while playing the game. Neither Nintendo or Epic Games really "need" each other, they're both really successful in their own right, but it would be a really neat collaboration to see

[@nirvan4307]

3:23 As a native East Asian, I'm actually getting a vibe that Nintendo actually didn't mean that. I think Nintendo was practically saying "No" in a different way, knowing Fortnite would not accept the offer.

[@Sir_Psych]

That's the way I would understand it too. I don't think there was a chance of it happening and dude from Epic just wanted to flex ideas he had

[@SharpEdgeSoda]

Oh my god this. This is part of the game is if your going to say "No", don't say "No." Make an absurd demand where you win extra hard and see if they take it.

[@FenexTheFox]

​@@SharpEdgeSodaWasn't asking for Samus to be console-exclusive already the absurd demand?

[@lonecom685]

​@@FenexTheFoxit IS the absurd demand.

[@cherubin7th]

@@FenexTheFox Yes, that is the point, they demanded console exclusive because they knew this would not be accepted. Better than outright saying: No your game is cancer and we will not touch that pile of garbage.

[@gmoney9469]

I almost respect them for not jumping that shark.

[@malo932]

I love how Nintendo protects their ips

[@user-nt1yb5kr8x]

Seamus with an AK is not on brand and Nintendo's main strength is its brand and character consistency.

[@whysitthat3515]

Hey, Arlo. Thank for putting something of a theme into this video. I just graduated college and hearing someone I respect talk about the benefits of taking risks and not always playing it safe was really nice right now. “Just try” and just taking shots was something I guess I kinda needed to hear. I’d love to see more stuff like this!

[@SatoshiEK]

I really miss Arlocast. It almost feels nostalgic to me at this point. I understand it had to stop, but I hope it comes back someday.

[@mjc0961]

I think Nintendo made the right call. There are no upsides to putting Samus in Fortnite. The kiddos playing Fortnite don't care where the new skins come from. They play with the new skin and then eventually another new skin comes and they move on. Kids think Master Chief is from Fortnite, they think Kratos is from Fortnite, they're not going to turn around and buy Metroid. They'll just think Samus is from Fortnite too. Fortnite is not a king maker, it doesn't boost the IPs that put skins into it. The story about your nephew's classmates says it all: they care about Fortnite, not the crossovers in Fortnite. There's nothing to be mad at here, there's nothing to be frustrated by here, Nintendo lost nothing here. This is all a big nothing burger.

[@nintendoconvert4045]

Seems like a smart decision, honestly. They protect their IPs better than any other company. They sell their first party games at full retail price for the entire lifecycle of their consoles. We always say Nintendo should or shouldn’t do X, Y and Z, but they keep outselling the competition. They march to the beat of their own drum, and it works for them.

[@Weirdman3214]

Am I the only one who feels that Nintendo's reluctance to have their IPs on other systems with other devs is tied to the horrors of the CDi and the PC games from that era? The one time they let their IPs out of their total control it ended with games that are despised and mocked even 30+ years later. Not that that excuses them being so hard about it, but it's all I can think of when a story like this comes out.

[@ausgod538]

Its not, nintendo simply wants their IP to be in their control in their own platform.

[@FenexTheFox]

I don't doubt that's a huge factor, yes.

[@gregvs.theworld451]

I'd still argue Arlo's point that it'd be awesome free promotion for Nintendo in the no-publicity-is-bad-publicity sense, but there would probably be some inevitable memes clowning on Fortnite skins of Link or Samus dropping it low or Link using a sniper rifle to shoot people, but those memes are usually made endearingly and they spread like wildfire. Want to make sure people know Nintendo did a promotion with Epic (If they do in the future), let people make a thousand Tiktok's and Twitter videos of Link spraying people with guns and driving sports cars with "LOL LINK DOESN'T DO THAT. SILLY EPIC." captions everywhere.

[@darthsnarf]

It's why they can sell people out of date hardware to play their games on. Their entire business is built on being stingey with their IP

[@Wingsaber]

That's definitely not the case. It's very clear that Nintendo wants to hold onto their console exclusivity for as long as possible. While Microsoft fully embraces console and PC ports side-by-side and Sony releases their games on PC eventually, it's a pipe dream for PC gamers to hope for Mario or Zelda on the PC (without stuff like emulators) for DECADES to come. Nintendo is all-in on their consoles and will do anything to force anyone who likes their IPs to have to buy and play their console.

[@TheCreativeType]

As a former Fortnite player, I don’t want Samus in Fortnite. It’s not worth it.

[@Geeksquad59]

What's not worth it about it?

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Geeksquad59 Samus would not transfer well, to wield a rifle you need two arms. Samus does not have two arms, she only has one arm and an arm cannon.

[@dexchampion2128]

Fortnite Fan here to provide additional information. Samus was originally planned to release alongside Kratos and Master Chief, having a major character from all of Gaming’s Big Three in Fortnite, together, in the span of a single month. Epic actually tried to get Samus twice. First as part of that collaboration wave with Kratos and MC, but when Nintendo denied that one, they tried to then get Samus on a Battlepass as the top skin you could earn, hoping to satisfy Nintendo’s need for “Exclusivity”. And lastly, for anyone who doesn’t believe Fortnite has an impact on series that collaborate with them, I’d like to tell you that opinion is straight up wrong. Sure, Fortnite doesn’t completely revitalize entire series on it’s own, but every collaboration Fortnite does, does lead to an influx of people giving said series a shot at the very least. The Mistborn Book Series, Newgrounds Animator Gildedguy, and just recently Lethal Company saw a considerable increase in attention. And, even more shocking, Fortnite managed to impact the medium of comic books due to their collaborative comics. Whole entire industries outside the gaming sphere benefitted from Fortnite collaborations, why wouldn’t Nintendo? And last, but not least…wouldn’t it just be cool? Something neat for both Metroid and Fortnite fans to enjoy? Not everything has to be a revolutionary change, or insane unbelievable increase in profit or attention. Some things can just happen because they’re fun.

[@jetstreamwinds6072]

"That robot from fortnite!" I haven't hurt a kid. Samus tops over master chief in my heart.

[@digitaltailsmon4096]

Ehh tbh I think it's better they didn't have Samus in Fortnight. Given Metroid has no real full blown identity to the general public as others in Nintendo do (Mostly cause it lacks the constant game trickle of most Nintendo IPS) it could have damaged Samus due to causing her to be scene as just another meme character or making her serious persona something less easy to see. Also the dances..good god the dances.

[@jacksonlovesnintendo]

nah, I am with Nintendo on this. 1) Nintendo’s IP are their bread and butter, and without them, Nintendo dies. 2) whether with Rocket League, Minecraft, or as you mentioned with Soul Caliber, there’s already a known precedent that Nintendo CAN lend their IP, but only with it being locked to their systems. I don’t know why they would suddenly bend the knee for Fortnite. 3) Fortine has kinda shady monetization methods, so staying away from it is probably wise from an IP protection point of view. I also can’t say that just because Samus showed up in Fortnite that it would translate to explosive sales and support for the Metroid series.

[@AJMegaScizor]

i think nintendo fails to realize that like arlo said allowing these ips in crossover games does not destroy their exclusivity it's just some goofy rule they keep because they've had it for so long

[@BowserEditz]

​@@AJMegaScizorOf course not which is why they allow other companies to use their IP but with some restrictions

[@jacksonlovesnintendo]

@@AJMegaScizor I disagree with that. The moment Nintendo puts their IP on another platform, they devalue their own hardware and in essence weaken the Nintendo stronghold. I don’t think it’s a matter of “being old fashioned” either. It’s honestly kinda cringe that Arlo simplifies a point he disagrees with to “that’s old so it’s bad.”

[@AJMegaScizor]

@@jacksonlovesnintendo dude they are not devaluing their hardware if they put a skin in fortnite. a cosmetic does not equal a game. if fortnite players on pc/xbox/ps want to play metroid they still have to buy a nintendo switch. this would increase brand awareness not devalue their IP. nintendo games are still exclusive to their hardware quite similar to kratos/master chief (except pc although the pc market is often separate from console in it's own right)

[@jacksonlovesnintendo]

@@AJMegaScizor what it would actually do (and we can see this with the influx of Sony titles on PC) is weaken the consumers desire to purchase the native hardware and simply wait until it’s ported to their system of choice. People don’t buy PS5 games because 1) there’s very few exclusives 2) there’s very few noteworthy titles 3) most of the first-party titles are being ported to PC. So at that point, you have to ask what the reasoning in purchasing a PS5 is. Sony might be able to coast by on goodwill from last gen for PS5 sales, but this approach of putting your exclusives and IP on other platforms will come back to bite them.

[@Sh_Wh]

They threw away free advertising.

[@ChillinWithTheCapuchins]

"No Logic! Only rules!" Lol, I love that whole bit!

[@-ak-634]

Arlo, this is not a first time that Nintendo requested that their characters or models be used exclusively on their console. Rocket League has Mario and Samus vehicles only for Switch, so I'm not surprised that Nintendo wants the same treatment for Samus character in Fortnite.

[@PikaPenny17]

Doesnt he mention Rocket League in this video?

[@NSJ90]

I have to disagree. Metroid in Fortnite would be a drop in the bucket. I don't think it would've been special beyond the "Nintendo is letting us do this", and everyone would forget about it in a minute. What Nintendo would lose is intangible, the "wow" factor. Take the SC2 Link collab for example, Link was the absolute highlight of the 3 systems.

[@sgtdrfunk]

I think that's a good point In a game where Peter Griffin and Darth Vader can shoot guns at Goku and Iron Man, how special really is Samus? People remember Link in Soul Calibur because it was unexpected and it just worked. Soul Calibur provides us with a great counterexample too: Look at how people received Link in 2 vs Darth Vader/Yoda in 4. One just worked way better and is remembered fondly for it. Samus would be a cool addition, but yeah, it'd be a flash in the pan. Heck, it's not even Nintendo sending their biggest icon in where so many other franchises have their main characters as skins.

[@pakaman9101]

Arlo has been having bad takes for a while.

[@flarestorm9417]

@@sgtdrfunk Speaking on that point, the reason why crossovers in Smash are so exciting is because Sakurai and his team go above and beyond with them. It's not just a character, it's a faithful move set (usually), a stage, trophies/spirits, music, and easter eggs. Fortnite just looks like a hodge-podge of everything under the sun, plus whatever companies want to advertise for that month. And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Fortnite just skins most of the time? Do kids really try out other games, movies, etc., because they appeared in Fortnite?

[@BeyondTrash-xe1vs]

@@pakaman9101 Breaking news: KZbinrs have their own opinions may not agree with.

[@bravetree]

I agree that Metroid in Fortnite would be a drop in the bucket, but Nintendo would lose nothing. In my experience(I work at a Daycare), when a character gets into Fortnite, kids become super interested. I've seen kids who know nothing of Street Fighter buy SF6 because of Fortnite, and I've had kids ask to watch Avatar after those characters got into Fortnite. It does more than you think.

[@wired_badger]

I think this is one of the first times that I've seen the comments collectively disagree with the take in the video is bad. Sure, Nintendo is a bit stingy with their IP, but nearly nobody is going to play the Metroid games because Samus is in Fortnite.

[@Cantimule]

Nintendo as a whole treats their customers with utter contempt for no other reason than exerting control, an almost oppressive desire to dictate how people should be playing and feigning complete ignorance of competition. As far as they're concerned, they can't agree to Samus appearing in Fortnite on Playstation because Playstation does not exist.

[@FletcherReedsRandomness]

If you’ll allow me to play devil’s advocate, let me ask a question: why would people want to see Samus in Fortnite? Sure, some of them are people who enjoy playing Fortnite who would like to see Samus in the game, but from what I’ve seen, most Nintendo fans don’t care about actually playing Fortnite. From what I can tell, most people want to see Samus in Fortnite because they just want Metroid to get more attention, they believe it deserves as much attention as Zelda or Mario, and putting the main character in a game played by practically everyone on Earth has a possibility of achieving that. So my question is: do you REALLY want Samus in Fortnite because you want to see or play as her in the game, like a guest character in a fighting game, or do you want it because you’re a Metroid fan who really badly wants Metroid to get as big as Nintendo’s most successful franchises? (speaking as a Metroid fan here) Sorry for this long-ass comment/rant, I’ve been feeling this for a while now and kinda wanted to this off my chest.

[@tloz171nfs]

Yes, because I want to play as Samus in another game I enjoy

[@Geeksquad59]

I want to see Samus in Fortnite. She's literally a perfect fit she has a gun she has to zero suit why wouldn't you want to see that? It's become so trendy and cool to not like Fortnite. People literally start hating when things become mega successful. Also you cannot say Nintendo gamers don't care about Fortnite because I'm sure it's been downloaded millions of times on the switch. It's not even like Metroid is a huge series, if anything Fortnite will be doing them the favor especially with MP4 coming out. This will bring a lot of attention to the Metroid brand... But you know Nintendo going to Nintendo

[@korneel2816]

As someone who doesn't really care THAT much about metroid. (I think the designs and world is really cool but haven't really played the games) I would still buy a samus skin just to let nintendo and epic know "YES i want more of this" and maybe they would add even more nintendo related items into the game. Anything Nintendo in fortnite would be HUGE. I don't even care if they only ever do this with Fortnite. Even if nintendo had an exclusivity deal to let everyone know "this is only happening in fortnite and we will be protective about our IP in any other situation" That would still be gigantic

[@arjanzweers6542]

@@korneel2816 And that would probably be a bit of an issue. You want more skins in Fortnite, but Nintendo wants you to play Metroid (and Fortnite) on the Switch. If that does not happen if they would have added Samus to Fortnite, then they won't be putting any more character skins in a game like Fortnite.

[@korneel2816]

@@arjanzweers6542 i don't understand what you are saying? Theres not a nintendo skin in the game rn either? how would adding samus make it so nintendo wouldn't possibly add more

[@luigitime202]

1. There are console-exclusive skins in Fortnite, but players on other consoles can *see* them. This is what Nintendo had a problem with. There are Nintendo-exclusive skins in the game that Epic have made themselves. Master Chief is an Xbox thing, Kratos is a PlayStation thing. 2. There were datamined Splatoon assets in Fortnite as well sometime around Chapter 3 I believe? I know you don’t play but that was quite a while ago, we’re on Chapter 5. 3. Rocket League and Fortnite assets now transfer actively between games. When you get a car in Rocket League there’s a heavy chance you’ll get it in Fortnite and vice versa. It’s a huge missed opportunity to not transfer those Mario and Metroid cars from RL. Overall, while I’m kinda mixed on the game I wish my friends on the other side could appreciate Nintendo IPs more and this is a huge missed opportunity for them

[@EndGameEnt]

I sincerely applaud you for opening up about your anxiety here Arlo. People DEFINITELY allow their anxieties to get the better of them. Well said about Nintendo. Love it!

[@404_kayjay_not_found]

Nintendo not giving a character to fortnite will always be a good thing in my books.

[@nawab256]

It has nothing to do with publicity and everything to do with opening Pandora’s box. Would their IPs do better if they had Fortnite sell Samus skins? Sure but once you do that, it becomes an expectation for all your IPs. Nintendo does not want to create that expectation so they would rather let their IP die from low numbers then have it appear on someone else’s console. They do not view phones the same way they view consoles.

[@CappnRob]

I honestly think this is for the best. Nintendo values the brand integrity of their IPs. Fortnite’s aesthetics are so generic And boring it robs all the character out of whoever crosses over into it, it’s like the opposite of Smash Bros where they try really hard to keep the “vibe” of the characters involved in tact from their home series.

[@eliserss]

you are such a fun sponge

[@CappnRob]

@@eliserss fun is subjective and my subjective taste in it involves not selling out to Epic for cheap profits :)

[@-lord1754]

This is so real. My jawdropped at how bad Gojo looks then i looked up the others and its just embarassing. Fortnite is where a series identity goes to die

[@eliserss]

@@CappnRob sure they profit from it but like... how is that bad? like i'm definitely no supporter of capitalism by any means but seriously i fail to see how this is a 'cheap profit' it's just a cool thing that many fans want. if you don't want it, sure, but many people do and if they want to pay for it then why not? it seems so silly to be hung up on this

[@CappnRob]

@@eliserss It's about artistic integrity, I guess. Laugh all one wants over the value of that with regards to Nintendo games, but Fortnite really is devoid of any artistic merit with its crossovers. It features everyone, everything, everywhere, it's so vapid and silly. It's when a kid takes every toy out of their toybox and bashes them against each other, except mind you that's a child playing with their imagination and this is a multimillion dollar company selling skins to kids. It is vapid, and for lack of a better term if you'll forgive the buzz word, "soul less".

[@MetroidFusion5044]

I don't think it would advertise for Nintendo. More than anything it would go like this: "Oh look! It's Samus, the guy from Fortnite!"

[@Shinyolo]

No logic, just rules. Rules keep us safe ! That's not Nintendo, that's Japan.