Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@Grumblevolcano @FragRed @IceClimbers The only way COD is partnof the direct is if Activision decided to release it. They cannot take any direction from Microsoft until after the deal goes through. If they have continued as business as usual then, development on a Switch game will only start after the takeover.

@MarioBrickLayer Wasn’t there a news story earlier this year that Activision had already started setting up a development team to port COD games to the Switch?

Does anyone even care about CoD anymore? Not exactly the sort of game that ever comes up in my circle of influence.....

@skywake
It sells well every release. The games aren’t great, but you can’t deny they are a big money maker.

@Professor_Plumber 2013 really suffered from the expectations they set beforehand. Because they said ahead of time they would be discussing 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Smash, and "a beloved IP from Retro". This led a lot of people to believe we would be getting a more sandbox style Mario (or at least something more of a hybrid like Galaxy) and Metroid Prime 4. But when we found out that they were relatively safe, DLC pack-feeling sequels to 3D Land and DKCR that really brought the hype down. There might've been less backlash if they hadn't made that tease ahead of time, but even then I'm not sure the fanbase would've been totally behind these games by their own merits. A 3D Land sequel probably wasn't the best choice for a flagship 3D Mario game (all console 3D Mario games up to this point had at least some level of nonlinearity, and the Wii U DESPERATELY needed something open and sandbox style), and TF doesn't really feel like it's much of a step forward for DK (really it feels like it's playing catch up with the classic trilogy mechanics and it STILL didn't quite get there).

@Professor_Plumber Ehh, I'm not really crazy about this lineup even by its own merits (I like Mario Kart 8 and I was excited for XY at the time but the final game ended up being pretty meh, and that's pretty much it). Wii U owners tend to gush about 3D World and TF, but I don't really see anything special about those games (I do think Bowser's Fury is great, but the main campaign of 3D World is incredibly mediocre). Again, both games feel largely by the numbers and do little to really make the gameplay feel fresh and interesting. A few interesting level ideas here and there, but the overall package just feels really dull and soulless. And really that's the story of pretty much all of the Wii U platformers, no real creativity or ideas. I don't blame Nintendo for putting 2D platformers on the back burner on the Switch, it doesn't feel like they have a clue how to evolve the genre.

Beyond those games though, people like to rave about games like Xenoblade and Bayonetta, but those are niche IPs that have never really sold super well, and I've tried those games but never really found them interesting enough to get into them. And then there's WWHD, which everyone acts like is a huge deal but it's just an HD copy/paste job (and a c/p job of a mediocre Zelda game at that, one which has little real exploration outside of empty looking aimless sea).

So yeah, these games don't really feel all that special to me. I'm not really feeling the ambition of a BotW or Mario Odyssey or the creativity of a Splatoon in most of these games. Feels more like a 6 or 7 for me, nowhere close to a 9.

@FragRed I don't remember that, it would be good if you're right though.

3D world is my favorite 3D Mario, so I'd say that direct was pretty decent.

I'm kinda in the middle on the 2013 E3. Yes it was overhyped due to the insanity of the February Direct of that year and it didn't really deliver on that. Well, it DID deliver it's just when you say Mario and Retro people thought Metroid Prime 4 and Super Mario Galaxy 3 not DK:TF and 3D World. So it was definitely a "let down" at the time in our little internet bubble

But, even so, the games it did show were solid. You can't really complain too much about a Direct that had Mario Kart, Smash and Mario. And Tropical Freeze, while it wasn't the mind blowing out of left field reveal that DKCR was, is still one of the biggest highlights of the Wii U library. Arguably one of the highlights of the Switch Library also

It wasn't the best E3 Direct but it certainly wasn't the worst. Above average I'd argue. I think even in terms of the gap between expectations and delivery, where that Direct was bellow par, there were worse offenders. You only need to go back to E3 2012 to see one of those. Remember that the E3 2012 Direct was the "sell us on this new hardware" Direct. I went into that expecting HD Mario or Zelda, maybe Mario Kart or something. I distinctly remember towards the end of the Direct they showed Pikmin 3 and thinking "yes! here we go!". But then they did a Nintendo Land bit and the stream just..... ended.......

I'm seeing news sites reporting on that Nintendo has updated their Direct page which suggests a new Direct is inbound soon.

Depends on who you're talking to, for casual gamers it's a must play thing but for hardcore gamers it's a giant yawn. Kinda like movie buffs who can't be arsed watching something like Marvel and Minions or rock fans who aren't into Limp Bizkit and Nickelback or readers who don't want to read anything as stupid as 50 Shades Of Grey and Harry Potter.

In anycase having Call Of Duty wont hurt so why not.

@skywake @jump

Jump's perspective is on point. CoD, along with Madden / FIFA Futball, are the casual gamer's kool-aid. CoD is typically a best-selling game in Murica year in and year out. Although personally the last time I played a CoD was fifteen years ago, lol.

Top 10 Best-Selling Games Of 2022 In The US
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
Elden Ring
Madden NFL 23
God of War Ragnarok
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
FIFA 23
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Horizon Forbidden West
MLB The Show 22

@Grumblevolcano I saw that just now. Again, this doesn’t mean a full direct is on the way. It could mean a Mini or a Partner Direct instead. Let us hype responsibly unlike the twitter folk

@TheBigBlue I agree. That’s much more likely what it’s going to be. A mini Direct or a Partner Direct. I’m not convinced the update to the site means anything more than that.

@TheBigBlue Wave 5 is still unannounced even though the last Booster Course Pass exclusive track (GCN Waluigi Stadium) was announced for Tour today:

So I figure Nintendo's saving wave 5 for the next general Direct. Mini's possible though I feel it's unlikely, Nintendo's only had 2 of them in the Switch's lifespan (counting Mini and Partner Showcase as 2 different types of Directs) which were in January 2018 and March 2020. Even then, we know the latter was a result of the pandemic as GAME (the UK retailer) leaked that a general Direct was announcing the Lego Mario toys earlier that month.

@Professor_Plumber Time doesn't really affect my reception. It was a disappointing Direct at the time and it still feels disappointing. I do like 3D World more now, but only because of Bowser's Fury. The main campaign still feels thoroughly unimpressive.

Really this E3 was a microcosm of my issue with the Wii U. I was expecting to see the more open exploration games, but never really got them and they had way too many rehashy linear platformers. The Switch has handled its lineup far better. It's everything I wanted the Wii U's lineup to be.

I can't help feeling 'intense matches' is a hint, but I can't recall where I heard it before.

How long is it usually between the page updating and a direct dropping? Not to get my hopes up too much, but I feel like if Nintendo’s throwing their hat in the ring next week (the usual e3 week when the Xbox presentation, and summer game fest are happening) then it’s probably something pretty big so that they can compete. Otherwise they would probably drop it at the end of the month when they have the spotlight to themselves rather than get lost in the shuffle or look pathetic compared to other companies. That’s what they did last year with the partner showcase even though it was pretty loaded.

As far as the twitter drops we’ve had go, I personally don’t think they completely deconfirm a full direct. The vague 1-2 switch announcement could serve as a “brace yourself” for the actual footage we’ll see in the direct since Nintendo knows the game tested like trash and nobody asked for it. The Pikmin trailer was probably just the last little tease they want us to see before the game gets it’s own direct next month, and could have been deemed too small to be a direct headline (or maybe the game’s direct headline is the announcement of its own direct coming.) and the Mario kart dlc, as noted by others, could very well be in the direct too since it’s been suspiciously long since that twitter tease.

All that being said, I do think the switch is nearing the end of its life so while we could see a full direct, it might be more slight on the first party announcements similar to the February one. The only other things I would predict we see on the first party front are the Splatoon dlc, TOTK dlc, Prime 4 as the big holiday game and headline maker, and then one fall release to pad out the year like the long rumored 2D Mario or DK (and maybe primes 2 and 3, but I honestly have no clue what the chances of that are lol)

I will watch Wholesome Direct 2023 on 10 June 2023 for upcoming cute indie games.
Here is the link if you want to watch the Wholesome Direct 2023.

@Grumblevolcano I’m only basing wave 5 being twitter shadowdropped instead of appearing at a general direct because of last year. I remember people were on their hands and knees in the Nintendo comment sections begging for Wave 2 last year, and I believe it got announced at the very end of July. That’s a 4 month wait between waves 1 and 2. I think July is also going to be the Wave 5 announcement and release, because the same thing happened last year, Wave 2 was announced out of nowhere on Nintendo’s youtube and Twitter, so the same will probably happen to Wave 5 I would bet. But who really knows at this point