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Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

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Magician

Let us not forget Fantasy Life i, Professor Layton, and Ushiro are all Switch exclusives that don't have release dates yet.

Switch Physical Collection - 1,544 games (as of February 24th, 2026)
Switch 2 Physical Collection - 4 games (as of December 8th, 2025)

VoidofLight

I am fully convinced that Prime 4 is just not going to come out at all.

"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."

Euler

The new system is nothing more than an internet rumour. But if they’re actually making a new system, Prime 4 would be an unusual launch title. The series hasn’t moved anything close to E ticket numbers (even on the Switch) and we would expect a new system to launch either with a proven system-seller or a new IP. It would be dead on arrival if Prime 4 was the main launch title.

Euler

skywake

@Euler
Pretty average take there. They're always working on the next system, that's just how it goes. And I think at this point there's enough smoke and certainly enough time for new hardware to be pretty damn close. But I guess some people are going to pretend that Switch is forever right up until the next piece of hardware is in their hands....

On Prime 4? Sure, on paper it's probably not the franchise I'd pick for a solo launch title. But it would make a fairly reasonable "cross-gen" title as part of a broader launch lineup. Also realistically it's probably not a question of Prime 4 or something else. Prime 4 is happening regardless, it's just a question of where. Think about where we are now as being somewhat like the Wii U in early 2016. Does Nintendo release BotW in 2016 for Wii U or do they hold it back and launch it with the new platform?

........ obviously they hold it back so it can help sales of that new platform

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An opinion is only respectable if it can be defended. Respect people, not opinions

VoidofLight

@skywake I'm not sure that Metroid Prime is a series that'll sell systems like Zelda was though. Metroid overall isn't like your Mario or Zelda, or even up there with games like Animal Crossing. It has appeal, but not as much as other series that would make a big splash for the launch of a new console. It also just feels like Metroid Prime 4 has gone through Dev hell, and I'd be surprised if we hear about it any time soon.

"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."

skywake

@VoidofLight
Two things. Firstly the game effectively started development in 2019 so it's not surprising that we haven't heard that much about it yet. Especially given how tightly Nintendo holds their cards. And even moreso if a decision has been made to make it a "Switch 2" game, whatever that ends up meaning

Secondly I'm talking about launch games. Games, plural. A console doesn't sell on one title on day 1, it sells on a library of content over a period of time. We know Metroid Prime 4 is deep in development, we have a fair degree of confidence that there's new hardware next year. Those two things probably align. So why wouldn't it be a launch title?

Surely Metroid Prime 4 AND a new 3D Mario or something is a better launch than just a new 3D Mario

Some playlists: Top All Time Songs, Top Last Year
An opinion is only respectable if it can be defended. Respect people, not opinions

VoidofLight

@skywake I just don't see it as a launch year title. We haven't heard anything about it since it started development. Not even an update that things are going smoothly with the game itself, which Nintendo provided when TotK kept getting delayed over and over again. There'll be more games next year when the next big console launches, I'm sure, but I just doubt Prime 4 is going to be one of those titles. Especially given that again, Metroid isn't a massive system selling game, and only the first game is remastered on Switch. Numbered titles generally scare off people from wanting to play a game in most cases, since they feel like if the others aren't easily accessible, they'll end up missing context or large plot points.

"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."

senaionios

Remember, not all consoles launch with a killer game.

  • GC launched with Luigi's Mansion
  • Wii U with NSMBU
  • PS2 with FantaVision for crying out loud
  • PS3 with Resistance Fall of Man
  • XBox Series X had nothing except enhanced versions of older games

Not saying the Switch's successor will launch without any new games, Nintendo never does that, but its first killer app might not release until a couple of months later. It's happened before.

Nintendo Gamer & Movie Enthusiast

VoidofLight

That's true. I just don't expect Prime 4 to release for a while. I truly feel like we would've heard something about it by now if it was going to release.

"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."

senaionios

@Stamina_Wheel
Sure, but they weren't system sellers and that was the topic at hand.

Nintendo Gamer & Movie Enthusiast

Grumblevolcano

@Aioniomios With NSMBU, Nintendo did oversaturate NSMB style close to that game. You had:

  • NSMBWii (2009)
  • Galaxy given the NSMB treatment (2010) [Galaxy 2]
  • NSMB 3D (2011) [3D Land]
  • NSMB2 (2012)
  • NSMBU (2012)
  • NSLU (2013)
  • NSMB 3D 2 (2013) [3D World]

If there were fewer NSMB style Mario platformers, NSMBU would've stood out more.

Grumblevolcano

senaionios

@Grumblevolcano
Very true. At that point nobody cared about New Super Mario anymore.
Edit: I wouldn't compare Galaxy 2, 3D Land and 3D World with the NSMB games though. To me, they're very different.

[Edited by senaionios]

Nintendo Gamer & Movie Enthusiast

FishyS

@Grumblevolcano Just wait for Mario Wonder 3-X Deluxe in a few years.

FishyS

Switch Friend Code: SW-2425-4361-0241

IceClimbers

@VoidofLight I'm guessing you probably felt the same way about Bayonetta 3, Detective Pikachu Returns, and SMT V prior to their rereveals.

It's only been 4 years since the game restarted development, which is inline with AAA development standards.

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Euler

skywake wrote:

@Euler
Pretty average take there. They're always working on the next system, that's just how it goes. And I think at this point there's enough smoke and certainly enough time for new hardware to be pretty damn close. But I guess some people are going to pretend that Switch is forever right up until the next piece of hardware is in their hands....

On Prime 4? Sure, on paper it's probably not the franchise I'd pick for a solo launch title. But it would make a fairly reasonable "cross-gen" title as part of a broader launch lineup. Also realistically it's probably not a question of Prime 4 or something else. Prime 4 is happening regardless, it's just a question of where. Think about where we are now as being somewhat like the Wii U in early 2016. Does Nintendo release BotW in 2016 for Wii U or do they hold it back and launch it with the new platform?

........ obviously they hold it back so it can help sales of that new platform

No, an "average take" would be that the 'Switch 2' is right around the corner just as it has been since 2019 (though they called it the 'Switch Pro' then - very creative!). There was smoke (internet rumours) but it turned out to be about as real as Star Fox Grand Prix, Pokémon Stars, the Switch Smash 4 port, Zelda missing the Switch launch date, the Retro Studios mystery project, Metroid Prime Trilogy for Switch, and the late 2023 Switch game drought (NL published an article where their content staff unanimously agreed there wouldn't be a June Direct, but shamelessly scrubbed it from their website).

https://www.nintendolife.com/tags/switch-pro

Console cycles are getting longer (Sony and Microsoft's last couple consoles lasted 7-8 years), graphics are about as good as they're ever going to get, Switch games (which are more profitable than hardware) continue to do well in the charts, and Nintendo went 10 years before the Game Boy got even a hardware upgrade (12 years before the true successor came out). And if we look at the 4 modern Nintendo home consoles, they go years between announcing the new console and releasing it:

Gamecube - 'Dolphin' announced May 1999, Gamecube officially unveiled in August 2000 for launch in late 2001.

Wii - 'Nintendo Revolution' announced in June 2004, Wii unveiled in April 2006 for release in November 2006.

Wii U - Announced and revealed in April/June 2011, released in November 2012.

Switch - 'NX' announced in April 2015, launch date revealed in April 2016, named the Switch in October 2016, launched March 2017.

So late 2024 for the next system is possible, but there's usually at least 2 years between the earliest announcement (which hasn't happened) and the release of the console. More realistic would be 2025 or later, if ever.

Aioniomios wrote:

Remember, not all consoles launch with a killer game.

  • GC launched with Luigi's Mansion
  • Wii U with NSMBU
  • PS2 with FantaVision for crying out loud
  • PS3 with Resistance Fall of Man
  • XBox Series X had nothing except enhanced versions of older games

Not saying the Switch's successor will launch without any new games, Nintendo never does that, but its first killer app might not release until a couple of months later. It's happened before.

Super Smash Bros. Melee, the best-selling Gamecube game, was supposed to be a launch title but got delayed a couple weeks (Sakurai likes everything to be just right, of course). It came out in the same holiday season. For all intents and purposes, it was a Gamecube launch title.

The Wii U is a perfect example of what not to do. 2D Mario makes sense as a launch title (it worked for the NES and SNES), but it was a poor choice for the Wii U because three other 2D Mario games that look exactly the same as it were released right before it. As such, the Wii U was seen as just a Wii but with very slightly better graphics (so most people just stuck with the Wii). It would've gone better if Breath of the Wild or Super Mario Maker had launched with the console. A good example of why having a solid launch lineup is essential and releasing a new console just for the sake of having a new console (hoping to ride on the coattails of the previous system) is a bad idea.

[Edited by Euler]

Euler

senaionios

Euler wrote:

The Wii U is a perfect example of what not to do. 2D Mario makes sense as a launch title (it worked for the NES and SNES), but it was a poor choice for the Wii U because three other 2D Mario games that look exactly the same as it were released right before it. As such, the Wii U was seen as just a Wii but with very slightly better graphics (so most people just stuck with the Wii). It would've gone better if Breath of the Wild or Super Mario Maker had launched with the console. A good example of why having a solid launch lineup is essential and releasing a new console just for the sake of having a new console (hoping to ride on the coattails of the previous system) is a bad idea.

I agree.

Nintendo Gamer & Movie Enthusiast

VoidofLight

@IceClimbers For detective pikachu, yeah. SMT V also did go through Dev hell, so that's a bad example, and Detective Pikachu also seemingly went through dev hell given the whole thing with them using only Gen 8 pokemon.

"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."

Anti-Matter

@Euler
I will not worry too much about which game will be the launch title as I don't really care the big hitter games.
I don't care with Metroid Prime 4.
I don't care with new Zelda games.
I don't care with AAA Western games.
I don't care with Smash Bros games.
I have very low interest with 2D / 3D Mario, Kirby, Pikmin games.
I only care with the games that matched with my interest and mostly they are 3rd party kids games, the underrated / unpopular games.

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FishyS

Anti-Matter wrote:

@Euler
I will not worry too much about which game will be the launch title as I don't really care the big hitter games.
I don't care with Metroid Prime 4.
I don't care with new Zelda games.
I don't care with AAA Western games.
I don't care with Smash Bros games.
I have very low interest with 2D / 3D Mario, Kirby, Pikmin games.
I only care with the games that matched with my interest and mostly they are 3rd party kids games, the underrated / unpopular games.

I know you play some games on PlayStation 4/5. What third party games do you think would be good on a more powerful Switch 2? People were talking about first-Party launch titles, but there will certainly be some third party games which takes advantage of the Switch 2 hardware either at launch or in the launch year.

[Edited by FishyS]

FishyS

Switch Friend Code: SW-2425-4361-0241

Anti-Matter

@FishyS
Like I said before, I prefer more 3rd party kids games than 1st party Nintendo games as they have more diversity in genre and gameplay style.

Considering my Top 3 genre are Life Sim, Rhythm and Farming sim games, I will get impressed more from those games like Fae Farm, Paleo Pines, God of Rock, Harvest Moon the Winds of Anthos, etc.

I think more farming sim and Rhythm games will looks better on Switch 2 as I really want something like DDR or Beatmania IIDX on modern consoles.

I have low interest with 1st party Nintendo games unless they are Animal Crossing New Horizons, ARMS, 1-2-Switch, Mii games as my biggest hype 1st party Switch games so I will not thinking or get really excited that much by majority of 1st party Nintendo games as they are lacked in genre diversity that I get impressed more from 3rd party games.

Even I didn't really feel excited by Super Mario Wonder as 2D platformer games was my least favorite genre unless they are 3rd party games with something different.

As for 3rd party games on Switch 2, I don't want to see code in box, partial download, streaming only practice anymore as the excuses due to the limitation of Switch 2 hardware.
I will turned off by games with dirty business practice like that and I will get the PS4 / PS5 version instead if I keep finding those dirty business practice on Switch 2.

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