Nintendo is aware of desires for a new, mainline Metroid title and is always listening to fans. That is the message that Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime wanted to get out a week after the company's E3 showing.

In a wide-ranging interview with Kotaku, Reggie addressed the less-than-loving reaction to the newest game by Next Level Games - a Metroid spin-off based around the Galactic Federation for Nintendo 3DS.

When asked about whether Nintendo was aware of the sentiment that fans are desperately over-due a new 'mainline' Metroid title, the executive said:

"Absolutely... Look, we know that the fans want a straight Samus Aran game. We also know that the best way to launch a game like that is to surprise and delight them, to give them a launch date, in an environment like this let them play it vs. what other companies do which is to announce a project that you may not see for five, six years. It's just not the way we do things. We know the community wants to see a straight-up Metroid game. We know it."

Reggie also appealed to Metroid fans to trust the company with the upcoming spin-off and "play the game and then we can have a conversation".

The last mainline Metroid game was the Team Ninja-developed Metroid: Other M in 2010. Metroid Prime: Federation force is due out early in 2016.