“It is quite obvious why Other M did not succeed when compared to other Nintendo games; it features a female main character,” says Sakamoto, “Mario, Link, Kirby. Those are all male Nintendo characters that never fail to generate good sales.”
“It’s not just about the sales either,” adds Sakamoto, “The game as a whole was received fairly poorly compared to other hit Nintendo titles. I personally wrote the story for the game so I know it can’t be that. I mean, I created a strong, female character that people just could not accept. I apologize if gamers feel like they were emasculated playing the game, but that shouldn’t affect your judgment of everything else.”
When asked about the success of the Metroid Prime series compared to Other M, Sakamoto replied, “Most people who play that game are completely unaware that the main character is a female. This is why it avoided what hurt Other M the most. I believe that if Other M had disguised Samus’s gender like in Metroid Prime, Other M would have surpassed the entire Metroid series.”
“Perhaps for the next Metroid game, we should have Adam Malkovich become the lead character. I can’t wait to write his story,” says Sakamoto.