If you have watched the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Nintendo Direct special this week, you should have noticed that it was missing a game of a prime calibre. We are referring to Metroid Prime 4 of course, which was teased last year.

So why wasn’t there any news about the next first-person Metroid game that is allegedly being developed by Bandai Namco? We have the answer.

According to Nintendo of America’s president Reggie Fils-Aime on a Polygon interview, he said that it wasn’t fair to repeatedly tease fans over time about a game. “That’s why we tend to focus close in, typically in a six- to nine-month timeframe, and go deep in sharing content and information on a particular piece of content.”

As for the progress of Metroid Prime 4? “Metroid Prime 4 continues to be in development and making great progress,” said Fils-Aime. “But right now, for something that’s not launching in 2018, it just wasn’t the right time.”

Fair enough; if only other studios can learn from Nintendo. *coughSquareEnixFFVIIRemakeKingdomHeartscough*