@Grumblevolcano Yeah, and that's all much more than what we know about 2023 where we literally just have Pikmin 4, Metroid Prime 4, and a bunch of DLC. Right now the only lineup in that list that's remotely comparable is 2020's and that was the brunt of the pandemic. Again, that speaks volumes about the Switch's prospects that the lineup looks that dire.
I remember. Back in 2020 when everyone was sure that new hardware was just around the corner. It wasn’t. Now, Nintendo skipping E3 means they’re not releasing anything else this year. Never mind that the other two companies aren’t going either.
Who were you talking to that thought new hardware was coming in 2020? That was way too early, unless the console is a total disaster, you never see a new generation that soon. It's obvious that 2020's drought was due to the pandemic. Here, not so much, the pandemic shouldn't be a factor at this point.
And again, you guys are missing the point. It's not just about Nintendo skipping E3. It's about Nintendo having little on the horizon past TotK and Pikmin 4.
@Bolt_Strike There's been speculation about Switch Pro for most of the Switch's lifespan. If I recall correctly the rumours started in 2018 or 2019 where there were reports about Switch Pro and Switch Mini, the latter turned out to be the Switch Lite (announced July 2019 with September 2019 release) which fuelled more speculation about Switch Pro. The announcement of TotK at E3 2019 and 1st party rough framerates in 2020/2021 fuelled even more speculation about it.
I figured a more powerful Switch would've launched alongside TotK though it's become very clear recently that my prediction was wrong and TotK is another Skyward Sword style situation.
@Grumblevolcano Yeah, but a Switch Pro would have little to nothing to do with a lineup drought since a Switch Pro would be a mid-gen upgrade, not a new generation. The basic Switch model was still expected to get games even in the presence of a Switch Pro, the Pro would've just offered optimized versions or at best a handful of exclusives. So the notion that the Switch would stop getting games in 2020 doesn't really make much sense and I didn't see anyone claiming so. The only reasonable explanation for the game drought in 2020 was the pandemic. That was the worst year of the pandemic, when everything was shutting down and companies didn't know how to adapt.
Here the situation is different. In 2023 the Switch is 6 years old, which is much closer to the point where consoles tend to see their successors release. AAA releases and big IPs have been relatively absent lately, with major IPs like Mario and Mario Kart (as well as a few smaller ones like Metroid Prime 4 and DK) feeling about ready for new entries but there's not a word of new entries, leading to the feeling that they're being intentionally held back. The pandemic is all but over with many businesses reopened and even if they are somehow still suffering, companies are much more used to working during the pandemic so there's a sense that things should be getting back to normal. The lineup is equally weak as 2020, but the circumstances are not the same as @Euler is implying. The timing is far more right for development resources to shift to new hardware now than in 2020 and the pandemic was much more of a factor in 2020 than it is now, and those two differences imply very different causes of the droughts.
@Bolt_Strike how about Metroid Prime 4? did you forget the game is been developing for for Nintendo Switch? Metroid Prime 4 could easily be the final major Nintendo Switch game.
@Grumblevolcano Yeah, but a Switch Pro would have little to nothing to do with a lineup drought since a Switch Pro would be a mid-gen upgrade, not a new generation. The basic Switch model was still expected to get games even in the presence of a Switch Pro, the Pro would've just offered optimized versions or at best a handful of exclusives. So the notion that the Switch would stop getting games in 2020 doesn't really make much sense and I didn't see anyone claiming so. The only reasonable explanation for the game drought in 2020 was the pandemic. That was the worst year of the pandemic, when everything was shutting down and companies didn't know how to adapt.
Here the situation is different. In 2023 the Switch is 6 years old, which is much closer to the point where consoles tend to see their successors release. AAA releases and big IPs have been relatively absent lately, with major IPs like Mario and Mario Kart (as well as a few smaller ones like Metroid Prime 4 and DK) feeling about ready for new entries but there's not a word of new entries, leading to the feeling that they're being intentionally held back. The pandemic is all but over with many businesses reopened and even if they are somehow still suffering, companies are much more used to working during the pandemic so there's a sense that things should be getting back to normal. The lineup is equally weak as 2020, but the circumstances are not the same as @Euler is implying. The timing is far more right for development resources to shift to new hardware now than in 2020 and the pandemic was much more of a factor in 2020 than it is now, and those two differences imply very different causes of the droughts.
Yes, the Switch Pro was supposed to have exclusives (per Reset Era).
@Bolt_Strike how about Metroid Prime 4? did you forget the game is been developing for for Nintendo Switch? Metroid Prime 4 could easily be the final major Nintendo Switch game.
Past periods have had more than 1 game in the far future to look forward to, Prime 4 being the only one left might point to it being a cross gen release like BotW and they're waiting to announce the new console before giving us details on the game.
@Grumblevolcano Yeah, but a Switch Pro would have little to nothing to do with a lineup drought since a Switch Pro would be a mid-gen upgrade, not a new generation. The basic Switch model was still expected to get games even in the presence of a Switch Pro, the Pro would've just offered optimized versions or at best a handful of exclusives. So the notion that the Switch would stop getting games in 2020 doesn't really make much sense and I didn't see anyone claiming so. The only reasonable explanation for the game drought in 2020 was the pandemic. That was the worst year of the pandemic, when everything was shutting down and companies didn't know how to adapt.
Here the situation is different. In 2023 the Switch is 6 years old, which is much closer to the point where consoles tend to see their successors release. AAA releases and big IPs have been relatively absent lately, with major IPs like Mario and Mario Kart (as well as a few smaller ones like Metroid Prime 4 and DK) feeling about ready for new entries but there's not a word of new entries, leading to the feeling that they're being intentionally held back. The pandemic is all but over with many businesses reopened and even if they are somehow still suffering, companies are much more used to working during the pandemic so there's a sense that things should be getting back to normal. The lineup is equally weak as 2020, but the circumstances are not the same as @Euler is implying. The timing is far more right for development resources to shift to new hardware now than in 2020 and the pandemic was much more of a factor in 2020 than it is now, and those two differences imply very different causes of the droughts.
Yes, the Switch Pro was supposed to have exclusives (per Reset Era).
So it's the latter scenario where it'd be a handful of exclusives. Still a different situation because the base Switch model would still be getting games. With a new generation the old hardware stops getting games completely.
There's an E ticket game coming out in May, which is still three months away. It's not a game drought unless it's all indies and vapourware.
The question is more about what's happening after July. We know that the Switch is still getting games up until that point but after Pikmin 4? Aside from DLC is a giant blank, that period looks more like the drought you're describing.
But really only qualifying it as a drought because it gets at least one game that isn't indies or vaporware is a pretty low bar and ignores the issue. The larger problem is that the Switch had a lot more games in the 2017-2019 period than 2020-Present. Part of that was due to the pandemic, but clearly not all of it as 2022 was closer to the 2017-2019 lineups.
@Bolt_Strike Metroid is a amazing franchise, but can it carry a console launch? Nintendo usualy choose it bigest franchises as a launch title for it hardware, as proven by severals Legend of Zelda games and Mario games, i not doubting this possibity, only stating that Nintendo tend to use Legend of Zelda/Mario for it console launch games.
@Giancarlothomaz I never said it would carry a console launch, Nintendo will surely have multiple heavy hitters planned for the launch year. That was part of what made the Switch so successful out of the gate, its launch year lineup knocked it out of the park. They're going to be looking to replicate 2017 with the next gen launch year to provide the new generation similar success and there will surely be other major titles to drive the console launch (I think the most likely candidates would be a new 2D Mario game and a new Mario Kart game). As far as Prime 4 goes, all I said was that it would be a cross-gen game, meaning it will release on both the Switch and the next gen console simultaneously. That doesn't necessarily mean it'll release Day 1 of the new generation.
There's an E ticket game coming out in May, which is still three months away. It's not a game drought unless it's all indies and vapourware.
The question is more about what's happening after July. We know that the Switch is still getting games up until that point but after Pikmin 4? Aside from DLC is a giant blank, that period looks more like the drought you're describing.
They'll reveal it in their next direct (a substitute for the pointless convention nobody is going to). In July 2020 there was nothing in sight for the rest of the year. In February 2023 there's a major game due for release in a couple months and we're only a few months into the year. There will be more to come.
@Bolt_Strike Would you say 2D Zelda is likely for the launch year? I feel like it would be a strong support title assuming it's a new entry and not another remake. It's been nearly 4 years since Link's Awakening...
@IceClimbers I assume with the main team busy doing TotK any 2D Zelda game would need to be outsourced. But Grezzo does have an engine in place so I can totally see them developing a new game with oversight from Nintendo.
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Interesting, so that Pokemon Presents basically revealed nothing about the upcoming retail lineup and the 2 DLC waves are closer together (Fall + Winter compared to June + October for Sword/Shield). Honestly makes it look like the big June release is going to be the story DLC for XC3 as a physical release.
Lamest Presents ever. No new spinoffs announced. Sleep reconfirmed but it looks lame. No NSO Pokemon. SV DLC confirmed, but we don't know much more than we did going in. They had basically nothing to show today SMH.
@Bolt_Strike I know it wasn't confirmed but... man... I'm so dissapointed we didn't get a Mystery Dungeon game. Specially because of the copyright thing.
Also, I said in this very website that they wouldn't even mention all the technical issues with SV and I was right. Not even a mention of fixes, just screenshots of DLC we all knew it was coming.
Also I'm tired of not only Pokemon mobile games but having the SAME mobile games shown over and over again.
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