No one predicted Metroid Prime: Federation Force would sell well, but few thought it would sell this badly.

Launched last Friday in Europe, the much-maligned 3DS spin-off has performed abysmally in the UK charts.

Federation Force is entirely absent from the UK all-format top 40, which still hosts other, ancient 3DS games on its list such as New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Tomodachi Life.

In fact, it doesn't even make the 3DS' own top 10. You have to look down to 15th place to find where it finally turned up:

3DS software chart

New Super Mario Bros. 2 Tomodachi Life Yo-Kai Watch Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Pokémon Y Pokémon X Pokémon Omega Ruby The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Animal Crossing: New Leaf Monster Hunter Generations Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Mario Kart 7 Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens Mario & Sonic: Rio 2016 Olympic Games Metroid Prime: Federation Force

UK numbers company Chart-Track does not publish sales figures, but it's not hard to draw conclusions when Federation Force launched below games such as Mario Kart 7, which released five years ago.

It is difficult to remember a title in one of Nintendo's top franchises ever seeing such a poor launch, although it is important to put the reception into context.

Federation Force has received an extremely negative reaction from fans ever since its announcement - there was even a petition to halt its development.

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Nintendo fans are still enthusiastic for a new Metroid game, but as the first title in the series for six years, fans were left disappointed by Federation Force's unusual focus on team-shooting action, its choice of cartoony art style and its Rocket League-esque Blast Ball mini-game.

Federation Force also lacks series star Samus as its playable character - although the franchise's bounty hunting heroine is not absent altogether.

Sadly, then, the game's sales failure is not unexpected. Last week, Federation Force also flopped upon its arrival in Japan - the 3DS' heartland.

Here's hoping Nintendo's NeXt Metroid is more familiar as a Metroid game.