Nintendo releases 'Metroid Prime: Federation Force' minigame for free via 3DS eShop

By Danny Cowan July 21, 2016

metroid federation force minigame released as free eshop download blastball header — Image used with permission by copyright holder

A free surprise from Nintendo is in store for 3DS owners this week, as the publisher announced that a fully featured demo version of the Metroid Prime: Federation Force multiplayer minigame Blast Ball is now available for download via the eShop.

Blast Ball arrives on the eShop today with a functional online multiplayer mode, giving players an idea of what they can expect from Federation Force‘s upcoming retail launch. Metroid series fans will want to check out Blast Ball as soon as possible, however, as online support for the standalone downloadable version will be pulled in a matter of weeks.

Recommended Videos

Announced at E3 in 2015, Metroid Prime: Federation Force is a Nintendo 3DS-exclusive multiplayer first-person shooter. Contrasting the exploration-driven gameplay featured in past Metroid games, Federation Force instead focuses on action, allowing players to team up with friends to take out space pirates and other enemies who infest the game’s dozens of levels.

Blast Ball, meanwhile, is a sports-themed Federation Force mini-game similar to 2015’s Rocket League. Retaining Federation Force‘s first-person perspective and control scheme, Blast Ball challenges players to track an oversized ball across a futuristic playfield while using well-placed shots to launch it into the opposing team’s goal.

In an unusual twist, the free demo version of Blast Ball appears to include all gameplay modes and features found in the upcoming retail version of Federation Force, including its online multiplayer options. Nintendo notes, however, that online support for Blast Ball‘s demo is only available up until Federation Force hits store shelves. Nintendo plans to deactivate the demo in “early September.”

“This demo will be supported by online servers for a limited time beginning 7/21/2016,” a pre-download eShop notice reads. “Once the online servers for the special demo are discontinued, online functions will still be available for this mode in the full Metroid Prime: Federation Force.”

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Danny’s passion for video games was ignited upon his first encounter with Nintendo’s Duck Hunt, and years later, he still…

Gaming

The Nintendo 3DS’ best (and weirdest) cult hit is coming to Apple Arcade

Horses race in Pocket Card Jockey.

Apple Arcade is kicking off 2023 by adding three new titles in January. Most notable among them is Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On!, a mobile port of one of the Nintendo 3DS cult hits set to launch on January 20.

The original Pocket Card Jockey, released in 2013 in Japan and 2016 in North America, is one of the 3DS' oddest titles. Developed by Pokémon studio Game Freak, it's a horse-racing RPG that revolves around solitaire. Players raise and breed horses and then race them by playing fast-paced rounds of solitaire. It's an extremely bizarre concept, but an incredibly fun one that made it one of the handheld's most charming hidden gems.

Gaming

Nintendo’s eShop closures are a necessary, but messy move

A Nintendo Wii U gamepad flat on a table.

Nintendo last week announced its intentions to shut down the Wii U and 3DS eShops, the systems' digital storefronts, in March 2023. This decision was disappointing for hardcore fans who stuck with Nintendo during that rocky era and extremely worrying as many of the games available on the platforms won't be preserved.
More significant Wii U games and a handful of 3DS titles were ported to Switch, but many titles are still stuck on those systems and can’t be ported. Once the digital storefront shutdowns, digital-only titles will be gone forever, and physical copies of these titles will get more expensive and harder to experience. Fans and game preservationists have not been pleased by this decision, with the Video Game History Foundation giving the most candid response.
https://twitter.com/GameHistoryOrg/status/1494398068346654720
Following this announcement, Digital Trends spoke to an industry analyst and game preservationists to get a better idea of what exactly caused Nintendo to shut down these stores and to learn how it could do a better job at preserving its legacy.
Why is Nintendo shutting down the 3DS and Wii eShops?
Officially, Nintendo’s FAQ on the eShop closures says “this is part of the natural life cycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time." The answer doesn’t get into specifics and might confuse those still playing games on the system or fans of games only available on Wii U or 3DS. Omdia Principal Analyst Matthew Bailey explains Nintendo’s user base argument in more detail, highlighting the massive gap between the number of people playing the Switch as opposed to the Wii U.
“While Omdia expects the number of Switch consoles in active use to exceed 90 million on a global basis this year, the Wii U’s global active installed base will drop under one million in 2022,” he explains. “Even when you include the more enduring 3DS family of consoles into the equation, the Switch still comfortably accounts for over 90% of Nintendo’s total active console install base.”
If one is going off just the numbers, it’s sensible that Nintendo would want to focus on the majority of its players. Bailey admits that “Switch users are already reaping the benefits of Nintendo’s singular first-party development focus on one platform.” Still, one might argue that Nintendo should just let the eShops remain up even if it isn’t actively updating or maintaining them.

Unfortunately, Nintendo doesn’t see that as possible due to cost and security issues. Game Over Thrity, a Twitter user with over 20 years of experience working on IT projects and infrastructure, shed some light on what might have influenced Nintendo’s decision-making in a thread.
“As these systems age, they require patches, security, special contracts, updates, and personnel that know how they were built (and maintained),” his Twitter thread explains. “As time goes on, there are security holes, servers, code, infrastructure, etc., that can’t be brought up to modern standards. It becomes a constant struggle between maintaining legacy systems, paying people to do so, and trying to keep up with global regulations. It’s not cheap by any means. They can’t just ‘leave the lights on’ and stop supporting them. What if someone hacked the payment processor?”
With every passing year, the Wii U and 3DS eShops likely became more expensive to maintain and an increased security risk for the video game publisher. Instead of investing the time and resources into pleasing a smaller amount of players, the easier option is to turn everything off entirely. While he isn’t affiliated with Nintendo, Game Over Thirty’s assessment aligns with what we’ve heard from Nintendo and Omdia.
"The Wii U’s global active installed base will drop under one million in 2022."

Gaming

Nintendo is ending Wii U and 3DS eShop service

Photos of the 3DS eShops

Nintendo has announced the end of its eShop service for the Wii U console and 3DS handheld. The eShop will stay live on those devices until late March 2023, after which players will no longer be able to purchase games or download eShop apps and services for those devices.

After the closure, players will still be able to redownload games and DLC that they already own, use online play, and download software updates.