Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

The way I see it, is that the Switch being supported is going to be akin to the 3DS and the support it saw at the end of it's life. I don't think we've gotten any new game announcements for Switch 1 after Rhythm Heaven, so I doubt the console is going to be supported beyond the end of next year.

@FishyS,

"Although I would pay $10 for a DLC which added literally nothing except additional save files. This DLC better add that."

Amen. I was surprised by Wonder's lack of this except making another Switch user profile. The Switch 2 Editions of Zelda BotW and TotK added an extra save file each, so hopefully Mario Wonder's Switch 2 Edition does the same thing, hopefully with at least two extra save slots.

I'm not so convinced of this. As an example, what would anyone gain from the Super Mario Galaxy remakes being Switch 2 only. Especially given from the product page it seems as though it's getting a "free update" to "take advantage of the processing power of Nintendo Switch 2". Which I assume just means the Switch 2 gets an update that makes it run at 4K native or something

The end user doesn't really gain anything, especially if the title doesn't really need the extra power. Because the resolution/HDR improvements can be a free update and the performance gains are just part of how backwards compatibility works. The publisher doesn't really gain anything because by being Switch compatible they're not locking out people who have already moved on to Switch 2. Especially if there's a Switch 2 update or Edition in there

Really, there are only four reasons I see why a game would be Switch 2 only:
1. The developer wants/needs the extra power of Switch 2 to deliver their product
2. Someone in the chain wants to cut costs by removing the QC required for cross-gen support
3. From a marketing perspective being Switch 2 only has value
4. You want to force users to migrate to Switch 2

For #1 that's going to apply to some games but not all. The second point is valid but I don't think so valid that we'll have a sudden cut-off given the Switch install base is as big as it is. Although I expect it will be the thing that finally kills Switch support, eventually. The third one has some merit, and is why this discussion even exists. I don't like it, but it's a thing....

.....and the fourth point only matters to investors who have a specific and IMO incorrect view of how Nintendo can and should be profitable. Software is the product, hardware is the vehicle, the goal isn't to move hardware at the expense of software. The goal is to begrudgingly sell hardware in order to be able to continue selling software

@skywake I just don't think Nintendo is going to keep the Switch alive forever. I doubt they'll be as stupid as Sony was with the PS5- where the Switch 2 ends up barely having exclusive titles to play on it. Their end-goal is to get as many people to upgrade to the Switch 2 as possible down the road. We'll get to a point where most games aside from the less intensive ones will be only on Switch 2- and eventually Nintendo will probably cut off Switch support entirely.

@skywake I was speaking more on in terms of the general fanbase there, not my personal situation.

My personal situation is that I bought the Switch 2 Day 1 partially because of concerns over price increases due to tariffs (in other words, buy it now or pay more for it later) and partially because MKW and DK Bananza within the first month gave me confidence that there would be a good enough lineup in the first year. I ended up being wrong about that because I thought they were saving another top tier game for the holiday but they haven't and are in fact relying on more niche, B tier stuff like Air Riders, Age of Imprisonment, and Prime 4. My concern is that I'm not going to have much to play on it and it's going to end up a glorified paperweight for months.

@Bolt_Strike I mean, a new Mario and new Zelda are going to be a good while away due to Nintendo making DK Bananza and releasing Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 1. Animal Crossing probably isn't coming for a while since the Splatoon team and Animal Crossing team are the same, and the Splatoon team is working on a new Splatoon spin-off. There's also the fact that two other games- that Pokemon Spin-Off and Tomodachi Life Living the Dream occupy the Life-Sim niche that Animal Crossing would fill next year.

This year is going to be more empty, but there'll be a good chunk to play next year. Gen 10 of Pokemon is most likely going to end up being a Switch 2 exclusive game, and it's 100% releasing next year.

@Bolt_Strike Pretty sure Air Riders and Prime 4 are also A-Tier in this scenario.

Ain't no serious person calling Prime 4 a B-tier game smh

Zelda yes because clearly the Zelda team isn't capable of turning out a Zelda game in less than 6 years since going open world. So Zelda 2029 I guess if the pattern holds.

Mario not so much. The Mario team is rumored to have expanded in order to make Bananza and they haven't done much since Odyssey (and nothing since like, 2021). And they've never put out a 3D Mario later than the 2nd year of the console, your flagship IP is absolutely something you want ASAP so I can't see them passing up an early Mario game for Bananza, they probably only agreed to this because they had the resources for both. So it's absolutely feasible to see Mario in 2026, and in fact history suggests it will be short of a delay.

Spinoffs are never made by the same team as the main series, Raiders is probably not being made by EPD5, it's probably someone else.

Which year? Because with all of the IPs you're saying aren't coming any time soon, 2026 wouldn't look too promising either. If there's no 3D Mario, no Animal Crossing, and probably no Smash Bros. because of Sakurai working on Air Riders, what's even left besides Pokemon? Only other major game would be Luigi's Mansion. If you're correct about all of that (which I don't think you are, but for argument's sake let's say you are), then that rules out most of the megatons. And if you're thinking they don't have the resources to make those megatons over the smaller games that are being made now, it's not just 2025/2026 that are a concern, that leaves concerns for 2027 and maybe even 2028 too. Then I'd be having major concerns about a Wii U-esque drought for the entire generation (just with more ports, remakes, and remasters).

They're not A-Tier in terms of sales though. Also Prime 4 is cross-gen.

@VoidofLight The Splatoon Team and Animal Crossing Team are not the same and haven't been for awhile, I wish people would stop echoing that. Animal Crossing New Horizons had a ton of new names in the credits, and Splatoon 3 have almost no overlap in staff, save a small handful of artists and QC, and one executive. The team split in two following Splatoon 2. Nintendo wasn't going to keep two of their top 5 selling IPs unable to be made in parallel.

@Bolt_Strike I don't think 3D Mario is happening next year. They would've revealed it in the direct if it were, but instead they chose to reveal a Yoshi game. Maybe we could see another 2D Zelda, given those tend to have a faster turn-around time and are made by Grezzo- but it won't get as many people to buy consoles. It'll probably interest as many people as Age of Imprisonment has. I could see Luigi's Mansion 4 happening next year- given that Next Level Games hasn't done anything in a while I'm pretty sure. I can also see Monolithsoft revealing or teasing their next big RPG- probably Xenoblade Chronicles 4. If we get those two, or at least have both of those revealed alongside Pokemon, that'll interest a good few people. Not as much as Zelda or Mario would- but I know a good chunk of people who are saying they won't buy a Switch 2 unless there's something like Luigi's Mansion 4 or Xenoblade 4.

@link3710 Ahh, that makes sense. I never finished Splatoon 3- or played much of it to roll credits so I didn't know the teams split.

Yoshi has no bearing on 3D Mario, it's a very different type of platformer. There may be multiple reasons why they would choose not to reveal 3D Mario now, such as not wanting to overshadow earlier releases.

2026 is a bit early for 2D Zelda since we just got Echoes of Wisdom in 2024. 2027 maybe, but not 2026.

Not as much as Zelda or Mario is an understatement, Xenoblade isn't in the same league as them. The highest selling Xenoblade game is only 2.7 million, Zelda and Mario have sold 10 times that much. That's pretty niche. Xenoblade is in the same tier as games like Fire Emblem and Metroid, there's a dedicated, vocal fanbase, but not a high seller. When a Xenoblade game sells 5-10 million (and I don't see XC4 reaching that number), then we'll talk about it being a system seller.

Thinking about a February direct...We know a shocking number of probable 2026 games already:

• Mario Tennis Fever
• Mario Wonder DLC
• Yoshi and the Mysterious Book
• Splatoon Raiders
• Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave
• Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
• Rhythm Heaven Groove
• Pokémon Pokopia
• Pokemon Champions
• Pokemon Gen 10 seems almost guaranteed

That's 8 'full' games, 1 major DLC, amd whatever you classify Pokemon Champions as.

Most years have a Zelda and it's been awhile since we got a remaster or remake, so let's assume medium Zelda game also.

That's most of the 2026 schedule unless we have a really dense year (which we certainly might).

If a really major game (e.g. 3D Mario or Animal Crossing) was announced in early 2026 for a late 2026 release, it would be a quite good line up. Alternatively, a few more medium games could get thrown in and it would be more like 2018.

Assuming that is all true, I would imagine 2027 having:

• Pokemon gen 10 DLC
• Whichever of animal crossing or 3D mario isn't in 2026
• Mario Maker 3
• Kirby Forgotten Land 2
• Whatever this gen's exercise game will be.

Most of those aren't really major games though, not by the definition I put forth of 5-10+ million in sales. There's a few that might be on the fence (Tomodachi did reach 6 million on the 3DS, but has mostly been sub-5 million, Raiders and Pokopia are new spinoffs but their popular IPs so 5 million might be possible but I'm not confident), but for the most part this is quantity over quality. This lineup really needs at least one more big, 5+ million selling game.

You keep talking about what it means for sales or what it means for Switch 2 and so forth. But why does it matter? I buy gaming hardware to run software, and I buy software to enjoy the software. That's it. As a user I couldn't care less how many copies a game sells, what I care about is whether or not it's good

The only reason any of this sales stuff matters to us as end users or potential consumers is purely just a question of longer term support. We want the hardware platform to move units so it gets extended software support. Support that can open up more options for games we can then buy to play and enjoy

...... and I see little reason to be concerned about Switch 2 sales given it's quite literally the fastest selling console ever

Yeah, that's why I think there is a decent chance of 3D Mario or Animal Crossing; Nintendo would save some surprises for 2026 rather than telling us everything. The 'correct' Zelda remake could hit your 5+ million mark, but it would be nice to have one truly big game in year 2 besides Pokemon.

I just can't see Animal Crossing being until 2027. Nintendo would probably want to space out their life sim games.

So far there hasn't been a single hit, first or third-party, for Switch 2 for me. I've got MKW, DKB, and Kunitsu-gami (by Capcom). The former two I just don't enjoy, and I've tried to given the money has been sunk.

Kunitsu-gami I really enjoyed as a game, but the Switch 2 port is dreadful and I regret buying it. I've confirmed it's not the game itself by testing the demo on PC and Steam Deck. The S2 port has noticeable input lag, and the visuals are blurry and smudged in both handheld and docked. Performance also struggles to hit 30 a lot during boss fights and even some of the later normal levels, which is a problem for an action game, even if it's not critical.

Nintendo not showing a single new entry in a major IP (or a new one, for that matter) in this Direct is worrying. Not even a sneak peek of a new Mario or Zelda title, or even that they're in development.