A former Nintendo game designer doesn't believe the F-Zero franchise is dead. However, Nintendo's own design philosophies are likely behind why we haven't seen a new entry in the racing series in more than 16 years.

Speaking to IGN, retired designer Takaya Imamura said that he doesn't believe F-Zero is dead at Nintendo, even with such an extended absence. However, he said that without a "grand idea," it's a difficult series to revive. The other games were fairly straightforward sci-fi racers, not featuring major overhauls aside from much better visuals when coming to different platforms. These days, that might not be enough.

Nintendo isn't one to pump out sequels to games without some sort of hook or huge, innovative idea, and we've seen big franchises like Star Fox also suffer long inactive periods.