With the popularity of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo is the company that has to cater to its audience most if it wants to succeed. Whereas the aforementioned consoles from Microsoft and Sony are entertainment systems as well as game consoles, the Nintendo Switch only satisfies fans of the gaming medium. Furthermore, its distinct lack of power in comparison to its contemporaries is noticeable, so the company has to use other means to sell units and the games to go with it.
What seems like the go-to way to please Nintendo fans is to reintroduce franchises, games, and characters that were beloved by many in years gone by. It's rare that the company develops a brand-new first party IP, as it often relies on what made it so revered as a games publisher and creator to begin with. However, some series sold better or saw more critical praise than others, meaning the ones that failed to leave a lasting impression have been abandoned.
Mother (Earthbound)
While third-party titles like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 are some of the most beloved RPGs on the Super Nintendo, there is another that has almost the same level of popularity. Mother, known as EarthBound in the West, has only seen two releases in territories outside of Japan, with a third game being exclusive to its home country. Sadly, Mother 3 still eludes Western audiences, much to players' dismay.
Opportune times to release Mother 3 in the West have come and gone, and it seems like Nintendo has completely ignored cries from fans to see it return. There is so much potential in 2022 for something new, and it would likely be commercially successful through Mother nostalgia. Nevertheless, Mother remains abandoned, and it's unlikely that a revival will ever take place.
F-Zero
Although industry veterans think it may return, F-Zero has been dead a long time. A racing series for only those who wanted speed rather than Mario Kart's frantic, unpredictable fun, F-Zero hasn't made an appearance on any Nintendo hardware since 2004. During the Super Nintendo and N64 days, the franchise was flying high, with releases that were critically acclaimed and captured the hearts of many.
Although the GameCube's F-Zero GX was met with strong reviews, any future releases dried up, with the series stopping off on the GBA for a couple of mediocre entries. Since then there has been nothing to get existing fans excited. Players looking for a futuristic racer have migrated to the likes of Wipeout, which is not without its struggles, but has seen multiple releases over the last 18 years, which F-Zero can't say.
Mario Baseball
Mario has plenty of sporting credentials, and many of them have been returned to on the Nintendo Switch. Mario Tennis Aces proved his might on the court and Mario Golf: Super Rush showed he can still tee it off with the best of them. His athletic skills do extend to the baseball diamond, but he hasn't returned to the sport since 2008's Mario Super Sluggers for the Nintendo Wii.
Littered with iconic characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario Super Sluggers was a great game and offered plenty of family fun, but in the pursuit of other titles featuring the character, Mario-centric baseball games have been left behind. Mario Strikers: Battle League shows that Nintendo is willing to return to the Wii for inspiration, but with no news of a third mainline game in the Mario Baseball series, fans surely aren't hopeful.
Kid Icarus
During the Nintendo Entertainment System's life cycle there were a handful of exceptional games that gave the entire gaming medium a second chance at life. Titles like Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda and Mega Man 2 were all proof that video games had more to give, but with the restrictions in hardware there were only a few ways in which a game could be presented. Everything had to be on a 2D plane, so the system's catalog was littered with side-scrolling platformers.
Kid Icarus was one such game, and while it wielded some interesting mechanics and a creative protagonist that would become a Smash Bros staple, its creator Masahiro Sakurai says a sequel to Kid Icarus: Uprising would be "difficult". The original title was simply a victim of the console it was released on, and though Pit will remain on the roster of Nintendo's premier fighting game, fans shouldn't hold out hope for anything new. Kid Icarus is anything but alive in 2022.