Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

I'd think that they'll continue to release games for the Switch where it's lower technical specs won't compromise their performance too much. For instance, if they're releasing a remake from the Wii era, or a new 2D platformer, that's not going to be a problem.

Things like the next Zelda, 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, etc. are probably going to have to be Switch 2 exclusive though, so as not to be held back.

It may well work out that they make roughly equal numbers of games in both categories to start with, but I don't think that parity is necessarily a goal, and you can expect the number of games playable on the OG Switch to drop rapidly if the new console sells well.

@Bolt_Strike
To be fair, Planet Robobot is almost a 10 year old game and the Switch is quite a bit more capable than the 3DS was. From a pure platform power gap and time since release perspective it'd be not that different to any of the HD Zelda remakes. Frankly if remaking that game is too soon and not enough of a jump to be worth it then no remake is worth it

And more broadly, I don't see an issue with them padding out the Switch library over this last stretch with remakes and smaller titles they farm out to external studios and smaller teams. This stuff is supplemental, from next week most of us won't be looking back at Switch releases anyways

........ unless they finally release a Wario Land or Rhythm Heaven game then I'm all over it

Less than 10 year is usually too soon for a remake. In general (not in all cases, but as a rule of thumb), 2 console generations and/or 10+ years feels about the right time. Robobot is neither right now, definitely feels like it should be a Switch 2 game.

Power wise, ehh I haven't felt like the Switch is a massive step up in terms of graphical quality. The real steps up from 3DS have been more the scale of the levels/game worlds and the number of assets displayed on screen. Which a remake/remaster can't really take advantage of.

Well yeah, of course it's going to need to be more remakes/remasters and smaller titles. My issue is not with that, my issue is that Switch 1 is too soon for 3DS remakes/remasters. Wait until Switch 2 for that.

@Bolt_Strike I think you might need your eyes checked if you think Switch isn't a big graphical improvement over 3DS, a system that's weaker than the GameCube.

3DS -> Switch is most likely a bigger jump than Switch -> Switch 2 in terms of power.

In fact, that's honestly a concern of mine - that Nintendo's cartoony graphics won't benefit enough from the jump from Switch 1 to Switch 2. Games like Mario Kart, 3D Mario, Kirby, etc may not look much different from their Switch 1 entries from a visual standpoint unless they take advantage of fancy lighting techniques and change models/designs/art direction for the sake of it.

@FishyS @Bolt_Strike One reason they could be close together is because Nintendo would want to show off the backwards compatibility with their console. While they could go with something like Breath of the Wild or Mario Odyssey, I feel like they're probably wanting to lean more into more recent examples that would be fresh in the audience's mind.

As for Bowser's Inside Story, that wasn't the game I was referring to. There were several games released towards the end of the 3DS lifespan that made people upset that they were "trapped on the 3DS." Stuff like Luigi's Mansion, or Hey! Pikmin! Games that came out at the end of the system's life in order to pad out releases so that it didn't seem like Nintendo was going to flat out abandon it. This is most likely no different, being a case where we're going to get a lot of "padded" releases. Smaller niche titles that Nintendo didn't touch this generation (like Fossil Fighters, some Mii games, etc), or remakes/ports. We'll see some third party releases I'm sure, but nothing that would take advantage of a more powerful system. Stuff that would have no problem running on the original system's hardware.

If games like Silksong are here, then that is probably why we didn't get this in February. If Nintendo has big NSO announcements, that's also probably a reason why we didn't get it in February. There's a chance they could also be using this showcase in order to make room for Switch 2 titles in the Switch 2 showcase- all by showing games like Metroid Prime 4 here (so that they can show the enhancements on Switch 2 without having to drop an entire trailer dedicated to it).

The way I see it, there's a chance that instead of Nintendo having nothing to show, they have a lot of things they want to show, and are using this direct as an attempt to not crowd the Switch 2's entire thing. They've done this sort of thing before with Directs right before the main E3 one. This event for Nintendo is probably just as important as E3 used to be for them.

I mean yeah, 6th gen is about when it feels like diminishing returns set in. Every jump from them felt barely noticeable. Once GC got rid of the jaggies of the N64's low poly models, I couldn't really see much further improvement.

Switch -> Switch 2 isn't the relevant comparison here because again, I'm arguing that the jump should be 2 or more console generations. It needs to compare to past remake jumps. And honestly, combining 3DS having GC-level graphics and both the Wii and Switch having barely any graphical improvements over their predecessors, you could kind of consider 3DS -> Switch 1 console generation's worth of power anyway, from GC/Wii/3DS level to Wii U/Switch level. 3DS -> Switch might be a bigger jump than Switch -> Switch 2, but you know what's going to be even bigger than 3DS -> Switch? 3DS -> Switch 2.

headdesk How many times do I have to explain it before you get my point? It has nothing to do with it being "trapped" on past gen. There's a degree of inevitability with that. My issue is with it being too soon for a 3DS remake. If they wanted to remake something from an even older system, like N64, GBA, GC, DS, or Wii, I'd be fine with a game like that being "trapped". 3DS is too recent and could use the extra bump from Switch -> Switch 2.

Any SD game trapped on handheld only or console only is a prime candidate for a remaster to me. I don't care if it released 6 months ago. The jump from SD to HD + hybrid freedom is enough.

@Bolt_Strike It isn't too soon for a 3DS remake though? Nintendo did that with Miitopia, and it sold pretty well? The 3DS isn't like the Wii U. The games on the system weren't in HD. Do you have these same issues with Wii U remakes? Stuff like Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition?

There have been 3DS games ported to the Switch since 2017, e.g. Hyrule Warriors (also on the Wii U but the Switch version has previously 3DS-exclusive content) and Resident Evil: Revelations. There were even a couple of cross-generation releases in Sushi Striker and Fire Emblem Warriors.

On that basis, it's definitely not too soon.

@Bolt_Strike To put it bluntly: the Switch 2's extra power compared to Switch 1 isn't going to really benefit a 2D sidescrolling Kirby game. Something like Kid Icarus Uprising or Fire Emblem Awakening? Sure, those would benefit from having the extra power to really make those games shine. But a 2D Kirby sidescroller? Nah.

@Bolt_Strike
Twilight Princess HD released just a bit over 9 years after its release on the Wii & Gamecube. Wind Waker HD was just barely 10 years after it's release on the GC. Skyward Sword was just over 9 years. And in terms of leaps in performance 3DS -> Switch is honestly one of the largest generational leaps in performance between generations I can think of. Arguably bigger than the gap between Wii and Wii U, which was also a huge leap

To be fair, I'm personally not holding out for a port of a late 3DS Kirby game. If it happens during the Direct I'll go cool, anything else? Not interested. But broadly I would say that 3DS is prime real-estate for remakes and remasters at this stage. As has been true for any system 10 years down the road

I was mistaken!

@skywake
Huh? You've known about today's Direct for months?

@rallydefault
Nah, the realisation that what Nintendo is doing here is odd and hard to make sense of

Final Fantasy Tactics Remastered announced in a few hours would be really...swell.

@skywake
I agree with this Direct, obviously, but I haven’t felt anything else was odd thus far.

T-minus two hours.

Other than a release date for MP4 I'm not sure what to expect today.

Hype level is at a solid 6/10.

Kid Icarus… it finally has to happen… right?? If not here then maybe at the switch 2 direct?

Kid Icarus Uprising Remastered and/or Palworld are the hottest "third party surprise" speculation at the moment. I mean, imagine if Palworld was the "one more thing" closer for the Direct, lol. Wild to consider.

Well that was...mid.

Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, Saga Fronter 2, and Marvel: Cosmic Invasion were my favorite takeaways.