Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@Bats1234 Reminds me of those physical releases of the games on 3DS......that were codes in a box.

If TPC didn't do it then, they won't now. They're putting Pokopia on a Key Card for god's sake.

They don't like letting Nintendo use the Smash Pokémon amiibo for anything.

Nintendo can nag about it all they want, but TPC does what it wants. They even wanted to ignore the Switch expecting it to fail.

Hmm... ACNH 3.0/S2E launched, Splatoon 3 11.0 has been announced, DKCRHD got an update, and SMBW S2E has an overview trailer.... I feel like they must be trying to get all the "small" announcements out of the way to prepare for something big in a Direct.

I wonder what will be announced in the coming Direct. Hopefully a new Zelda game for the 40th anniversary and Metroid Prime 2 and 3.

Yeah the Mario Wonder NS2 Edition stuff wouldn't have fit comfortably in a Direct so I don't think it has any impact on the announcement of one.

Nintendo always had their March games revealed by the end of January. Sometimes it was revealed the prior year, sometimes in a January Direct Mini/Pokemon Direct and sometimes just a standalone trailer but they never saved it for February.

That’s why I think Splatoon is the bigger indicator. We know 11.0.0 is coming next week but if they reveal its contents in a joint trailer with Splatoon Raiders like they did with 10.0.0 and Splatoon Raiders releases after March then that’s a big indicator they’re skipping general Direct.

@Grumblevolcano I don't see them having a trailer for S3 11.0, tbh. I think a Raiders trailer will be in the Direct, but unless the "changes to battles" include a new mode (rather than just being TriColor/Challenges in PB), there's no reason to have a trailer.

The Xbox Developer Direct has finished and none of the 4 games (FH6, Fable, Kiln, Beast of Reincarnation) are coming to Switch 2.

@CaleBoi25 I don’t know what changes to battles will end up meaning but I’m not expecting limited time stuff like Tricolor for private battles to appear until Splatfests and Big Runs are completely over.

As I suspected, Wonder S2E is late March. That likely leaves Yoshi for April, then Tomodachi Life in May. I think there'll be an unannounced S2E for May too. That leaves the June-September summer months open for Splatoon Raiders, Fire Emblem Fortunes Weave, Rhythm Heaven Groove, etc.

@Grumblevolcano I suspect that any Xbox games that come to Switch 2 will be late ports outside the Minecraft spinoffs. No day and date stuff otherwise.

I doubt we'd have two 2D platformers back to back, so I don't expect Yoshi to come out in April. I think Yoshi will release in June with Tomodachi Life in May. It's also possible that they'll do both in May, but I just don't expect Yoshi so soon after Wonder NS2E Nintendo's main focus for April will be the SMG movie so something small like Rhythm Heaven may do well for that month.

Also, we should keep in mind that Splatoon Raiders isn't currently slated for 2026, just having a TBD release date. Splatoon 3 had a roughly 1.5 year window between year and release, so it's not unreasonable to suppose Raiders could release early in 2027.

@UpsideDownRowlet Yoshi being part of the Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary doesn't make sense if it's coming later. I completely agree with @IceClimbers about Yoshi in April and Tomodachi Life in May.

I see no reason why Splatoon Raiders wouldn't come this year. I don't think it'll be a small game, but it's no Splatoon 4. It is a spin-off, after all. I think that and Rhythm Heaven are summer games.

Erm, why not? Has Nintendo said that the Super Mario Bros. 40th Anniversary ends in April? I don't believe so. I can't see how releasing in May or June would at all put it outside of the window for 40th anniversary festivities.

I'm not saying it absolutely won't release in 2026, only that Nintendo has not confirmed a 2026 release window and we should keep in mind the potential of a 2027 release.

Yeah now I'm looking at Yoshi in April, Tomodachi Life in May, Fire Emblem for late June/July and Rhythm Heaven in that weird late-August slot.

I'm not really sure about Splatoon Raiders.
It's difficult to imagine it being a holiday title given how long we've known about it; my gut says June for now.
I still think Pikmin 4 is high on the pontential NS2 Edition list so that could also slot in maybe in May.

Another Super Mario Galaxy Movie Direct on the 25th! It's on a Sunday too, which is kind of weird.

Seen a bit of speculation about the Galaxy Movie Direct being on a Sunday relating to a football event and something there. I really don't have knowledge of what big US football events would be coming up to state with any certainty that is why, though.

@DarkRula NFC and AFC championship. Winners play in Super Bowl.

The direct is airing a few hours before the first game.

Hmm... So, was Nintendo clearing out those small anouncemnts to make room for this? Or is this another thing to clear out before a February Direct??

Yet another palate cleanser before the February Direct. The Sunday timing is odd at first, but makes a little more sense after being reminded about the big American football games.

@RobLife1 Ah, thanks. Superbowl is definitely a reason to get this Direct out quickly, then.

As far as timing related to American football, here is the schedule:

Sunday, January 25th is the AFC and NFC Championship games. This is basically the semifinals of the NFL playoffs, the winner of each game plays in the Super Bowl. After that the NFL takes a week off, they have the Pro Bowl which is basically like an All-Star game, but no meaningful game is played that week. Finally, Super Bowl LX is Sunday, February 8th.

It is interesting that they would choose to host a Galaxy Movie Direct that day, but speaking of American football and the Super Bowl, maybe Nintendo could air a trailer for the Galaxy Movie during the Super Bowl and that may be part of the reason we're getting it now? That is a prime marketing spot, nearly every American is watching the Super Bowl so those commercial slots are highly valuable and sought after. If Nintendo can afford that they're really get attention for the Galaxy Movie.