Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@VoidofLight Unfortunately when it comes to sales it seems like some IPs are simply too big to fail. We've seen this with the main series Mario platformers, and we've seen this with Pokemon for example. It just seems that no matter what those IPs do wrong, no matter how badly they screw up, they routinely sell 10+ million copies just about every game. I think the brand recognition is just too strong that casuals that don't know much about the series just gobble it up because they know it's popular and do little to no research on the games themselves.

The Mario Kart games are also in this category I think. Mario Kart is always one of the top selling games on the console that casual just buy it because it's a fun multiplayer racing game with Mario characters in it and nothing more, they don't know too much about the issues us fans are talking about like the open world being empty or the lack of support post-launch, that kind of stuff is completely invisible to the vast majority of people who buy the game. Sadly, MKW is most likely going to sell 10+ million copies and these issues aren't going to matter on a macroeconomic level. Meanwhile Kirby and his cast is less well known, so it's simply not going to do as well and probably just stick to niche, dedicated fans. Bet on it, this kind of dynamic has sadly occurred in the industry time and time again.

@Bolt_Strike
I just curious.
Can we kill the popularity, so people will try to like something else?

Since Metroid Prime 4 is confirmed for early December, do you guys think there will still be a remaster of Prime 2 and 3 or even a direct port outside of NSO? I was hoping to play the games in order on the Switch. A bit annoyed that I will be jumping from 1 to 4.

@Don The rest of the year is jam packed with releases so I feel like there definitely won't be prime 2 and 3 this year. Maybe if Prime 4 is popular enough they'll release the others in a later year. Prime 2 on NSO is certainly possible.

@Don I am starting to lose hope as it's almost the case that each release is 2 weeks apart:

• October 2nd - Galaxy 1+2
• October 16th - Legends Z-A
• November 6th - Age of Imprisonment
• November 20th - Air Riders
• December 4th - Prime 4

There is that longer gap between Legends Z-A and Age of Imprisonment though, if Prime 2+3 was to happen it would likely be there. If it doesn't happen this year, I don't think it will happen at all. They'd just throw Prime 2 on GCN NSO and then Prime 3 on Wii NSO in like a few years or so.

Virtual Boy NSO showcases that Nintendo will do NSO for a console even if it means being exclusive to some peripheral that mirrors the original hardware you can buy on My Nintendo Store.

• DS/3DS - Second screen you can connect to the top USB port
• Wii - Sensor Bar you can connect to the top USB port bundled with Wii Remote Plus + Nunchuk
• Wii U - A Wii U Gamepad though perhaps as an alternative you can use your Switch 1 or a second Switch 2 to act as a Wii U Gamepad

I wish Metroid Prime 4 had an (almost) entirely new story. For those who played the first games, they'd certainly pick up on some references, but overall, it wouldn't make a difference to those who never played the previous ones.
Nintendo must have thought about this, since the last main title in the Prime series came out 18 years ago, and a large portion of the Switch audience isn't familiar with it.

@FishyS
Yeah I highly doubt Prime 2 and 3 will come out this year. At this point I’m just going to hope for a NSO release. Although next year could be an excuse for them to release Prime 2 and 3 given it will be the 40th anniversary of the franchise like how Nintendo is re-releasing Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 for Mario’s 40th anniversary.

@Grumblevolcano
I’m not sure they will put Wii U games under a subscription service since Nintendo remastered most of the best Wii U titles on the Switch with a few exceptions such as Yoshi’s Woolly World, Kirby’s Rainbow Curse and Paper Mario Color Splash. I do want Nintendo to pick up the pace on the retro titles on NSO, really want the classic Pokemon ports on current gen console.

Late post but here's some of my thoughts on the Direct:

• Four new 1st party titles for Switch 2 was nice to see, was only expecting ~2.
• RE Requiem coming day and date is huge. RE7 and Village coming is great too, but why on the same day? They should've released them either this fall or pushed them a month or two.
• Lack of any update for MK World is disappointing. Maybe in February?
• FFVII Remake being only $40 was not expected. Can't wait!
• FINALLY a release date for Prime 4.
• The remakes for DQ7 and Fatal Frame II were nice surprises.
• Seems like Microsoft wants any late port announcements of their 1st party games to be either standalone or at a Keighley show, wouldn't expect any to get announced in a Direct as a general rule of thumb.
• Virtual Boy on NSO is really cool, but I'm not spending the money on the required accessories. Also not happy that it likely means releases for the other Expansion Pack libraries are even more spread out and infrequent. Need those GBA games Nintendo!!!

You know what it is about time for? new joy-con colours. i want to get more joy cons for couch co-op, but id like some variety. hopefully we get some for the holiday season! green and red joycons would be so festive! what colors do you guys want? 😝

@OctolingKing13 I would love some custom JoyCon 2 colors for sure! Green and Red would be amazing.

when do we think the next direct will be? we already a kirby air riders direct is on its way, but i think airing that the week before would be a good idea, as to not to distract from Hyrule Warriors (although concerningly there hasnt been a lot of hype and advertising for AOI.). and maybe a partner showcase mid october!? i dont think we will get a general direct until February will the huge amountof info we just got

@OctolingKing13 considering the almost-every-other-week game release schedule, the kirby direct, probable metroid direct, maybe another partner or indie... I feel like the directs will just slot in on off-weeks between games. Not sure when the Kirby one will be though. Maybe something the second week of October? I don't think that would really distract from Pokemon.

@OctolingKing13,

Here are my predictions for the next few showcases:

Kirby Air Riders Second Direct: sometime in October 2025
Either a Metroid Prime 4 Direct or Partner showcase in November 2025 (potentially December 2025 if Partner Showcase)
General Direct: early February 2026
Pokémon Presents: February 27, 2026

@Grumblevolcano
While I do think those Nintendo Classics platforms will support accessories as you have suggested, Nintendo is definitely not going to lock NDS, 3DS, Wii, or Wii U NSO behind the purchase of an accessory in the same way they are handling Virtual Boy NSO.

@westman98 So then that begs the question, how will they handle dual screens for DS, 3DS, and Wii U NSO games? The Switch 2 doesn't really have a mechanism to replicate that, I could sadly see some kind of separate purchase being required to play those consoles on NSO.

@Bolt_Strike
Locking Virtual Boy Nintendo Classics behind mandatory accessories is fine because the VB is a novelty that most people won't care about. On the other hand, NDS/3DS/Wii/Wii U are mainstream game systems (Wii U bombed but still sold several orders of magnitude more than VB), locking their NSO access behind the purchase of accessories harms NSO more than it boosts accessory revenue.

For NDS and 3DS games, the Switch 2 display is physically large and high-resolution enough to show both DS screens, one on top of the other. The same obviously applies to TV mode.

For the 3DS's 3D screen, this is where an accessory would come in play.

For Wii U, I honestly don't think Nintendo will add Wii U games to NSO since most major Wii U games have already been ported to Switch 1. If Wii U Nintendo Classics was to happen anyways, then my guess is that Nintendo will just integrate GameChat into the app and let players use another Switch 2 or Switch 1 as the Gameapad controller for Wii U games that require it.

The problem is that if you did that, there'd be a lot of blank space on the side. Dual screens that were previously stacked on top of each other would not look good in a landscape oriented screen (for those not familiar with the term, this means a screen that is wider than it is taller). There's really no way to do it with one landscape screen in a way that wouldn't look awkward and unappealing, I think you do kind of need a peripheral for this.

I honestly don't even think they're going to bother with the stereoscopic 3D, it was such a niche gimmick that never really took off. Just displaying them in 2D like every other console should be fine, the dual screens is the real issue here.

For the record, I do not expect Wii U NSO to happen this gen either since you can play most Wii U games through BC with the Switch 1 ports (there's a few missing, sure, but they're mostly niche/undesirable whereas the most popular Wii U games have already been ported to Switch aside from Woolly World, which most people expect to simply get a port/remaster). But for the sake of argument, let's say they did do this, this would be an EXTREMELY expensive solution because a second Switch 1/Switch 2 screen is prohibitively expensive. You're looking at literally spending $750-$900 just to replicate Wii U games right there, that would be way too high a barrier to entry.

About the topic of older Nintendo systems being added to Nintendo Classics, my guess is that they will do one for Wii, one for DS (with a second screen accessory that probably costs around $100), maybe one for 3DS (also using said accessory), and definitely not one for Wii U because of all the Wii U remasters on Switch that are also playable on Switch 2. If they release a new classics library every two years, they should all be out by the end of the Switch 2's lifespan. If, going forward, they just keep releasing new numbered iterations of the Switch just like what happens with Playstation, there shouldn't be any needbfor a Switch or Switch 2 Classics because of backwards compatibility. But this is just all guesswork from me (an idiot) 😉, so I could easily be proven wrong eventually.

@Bolt_Strike
I think most players will ultimately be completely fine with unused screen estate as long as the experience of playing NDS and 3DS games on Switch 2 is good enough.

As for Wii U, remember that there are 154+ million Switch (and 6+ million Switch 2) units out in the wild, a ton of Switch 2 owners already have an existing Switch system that they can use as a GamePad screen. Those who don't can just buy the GamePad controller accessory. Again, this is assuming Wii U Nintendo Classics ever happens, which is far from guaranteed and even unlikely given the sheer quantity of Wii U games that have been ported to Switch.