Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

I'd just like to just go into on why this Direct worked so well for me.

-Mario Golf, thing I've really liked in the past
-Splatoon, love the first 2 games
-No More Heroes, love the first 2 games, slightly more cautious after Travis Strikes Again admittedly
-Triangle Strategy, love Final Fantasy Tactics, it looks incredible
-Apex Legends, still hopeful I love with one of these f2p games one of these days, if I don't...lol its free whatever
-Outer Wilds, heard its one of the best games in recent years, I can buy into that hype
-Battle for Neigborhood, apparently complete edition is just 40 bucks and the trailer implies it isn't microtranaction bs? Also I've always really wanted to play one of these
-more AoC: My life for the next year is just this game
-Ninja Gaiden collection: Loved the first game on the original Xbox, would love to try out the updated version of it and 2
-I'm actually really excited for that Ghosts and Goblins game too
-Famicom Detective Club is potentially right up my alley, and the fact that its this obscure bit of forgotten Japan only Nintendo gaming makes this super interesting to me
-Ask me again about Pyra whenever I get to playing more of Xenoblade 2
-That weird FPS deck building game looks cool and weird and potentially awesome?

And the rest are some combination of "happy for fans" or "I'm not sure either way yet" or "I'm not buying Skyward Sword again for more than it cost but it is a great game but plz stop giving Nintendo money for a game that should obviously not cost as much as it does".

@Snaplocket

That was deliberate. I really like Mario Golf games 😉

@TheFrenchiestFry
I remain optimistic and undeterred that mainline Persona will hit Switch soon especially P5. There’s simply too much money Sega is leaving on the table not to do it. I can understand why they wouldn’t want to compete with themselves (actually no not really because they would still make money either way) so why was SMT 3 and 5 absent from this Direct. At the very least a release date for both targeting the first half of the year and a announcement later after July for Persona would’ve staggered their releases so no one release is stepping on the toes of the other.

Yeah, with E3 having an official online event this time, I imagine that'll be Nintendo's next Direct .... Perhaps they can manage a treehouse by then, too?

@FragRed

People are always moaning on Social Media and especially Nintendo ‘fans.’ I doubt they’re paying too much attention to that when things are going so well.

Was rather obvious anyway but the absence of Pokemon (even New Pokemon Snap) in the Direct suggests there's a Pokemon Direct (or Pokemon Presents) next week. Remember to tame your expectations though, if Pokemon remakes are inbound this holiday they will likely be announced around May/June.

Made the following predictions in the comment section of the direct announcemet article

-Smash 20 minute in depth look over a sword based fighter. Sword fighter check

-Pokemon snap 10 minutes. No pokemon. So we get a pokemon direct 27.2?

-Shovelware indie titles + 1 gem 10 minutes. Shovelware check

-bravely default2, crash 4 + reminding that mario 3d world exists 10 min. BD2 check, mario reminder check. No crash 4

-zelda hd ports to switch this summer. I expected the wii u games but whatever check

Well the minutes spent are way of but somehow they dragged this thing on for 50 minutes

They have this saying " pessimisti ei pety" in my country. It roughly translates to" a pessimist won't be disappointed".

Think I maybe growing out of my switch as I thought the direct was garbage

Love my switch - we have 4 in our house ! But that direct was poor

I look at my Xbox series x and - Tim hat well and truly on - it’s night and day the quality on/coming to that vs the games highlighted in the direct

So disappointing

SPLATOON 3 BABY!!!!

That is all.

Since this Direct didn’t have a single game I’m interested in, and I’m not a Pokémon fan, I’m hoping for an Indie World in March. Indie games are now the only thing that can save the first half of the year for me.

Fingers crossed for Silksong!

I'm super interested in all these polarizing opinions, haha. Perhaps I just lack a reference point for what a "good" Direct is in the collective hivemind (I'd like to learn about that actually, please let me know) but I thought there was a good range of announcements in there. It comes down to the same problems that all gaming reviews have, is one supposed to rate Directs for the variety and broad appeal of the games that are shown, or only consider the amount of games that appeals to them?

Another thing that I believe a lot of people should learn to consider is that Nintendo won't put out as many NEW first-party titles as in years past. With HD and modern-day development, you can't have both titles that live up to the modern standards of AAA gaming in terms of scope (so stuff like Odyssey, BotW...) and a large output, because a single large game takes years to go from start to finish. And as time goes on, Nintendo seems to have fewer and fewer series that are considered to be "B-tier", unlike what happened in Wii U era; perhaps that's what fans are upset about without knowing it? It seems to me that many people expect a killer combination like that of 2017, every year, while that's definitely way unrealistic considering how long large games take to develop nowadays. It's fine and somewhat inevitable that the Directs are mostly taken up by third-party.

Enough ramblings for now, I personally thought Project Triangle Strategy was the most enticing reveal of the Direct and I'm not even remotely experienced in the strategy genre (though that's something I'd like to change in the future).

1. The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD
2. Hades Physical release
3. Ninja Gaiden Collection (Only if they put all 3 games on one cartridge)

Those are the ONLY things that I liked in the direct.

@TestudoVilis I think you're right, there was far more announcements than I was expecting. I thought there would be 15 minutes on Smash + Animal Crossing alone.

Personally there were two definite buys in Skyward Sword + Mario Golf and two possible buys in Fall Guys + Outer Wilds.

@TestudoVilis The counter arguement to that is whilst games take longer to make Ninty have also stopped making games for a portable and home console to focus on one platform now.

Yeah, Mario Golf gave me a nice first impression — I suppose I'm just expecting it to become the next Tennis Aces, as in a sports game that looks great pre-release and then fails to hold many people's attention for long once story mode is done. That's usually how it goes with Mario sports games. (Though I have to say I really enjoyed the various Star/Moon Coins in the 3DS game, I hope that mode comes back!)

@TestudoVilis
It's the same reaction fan forums have had to Directs and E3s for years, they're only as good as the content that you're personally interested in. For most people the difference between a great and mediocre Direct is one game they're super excited about. If nothing lands then it's a bit meh, even if on paper the announcements were reasonably solid.

With that said, in terms of major impact? Objectively I'd argue that the Splatoon 3 announcement is the only thing here that hits that level. Then probably SSHD, Miitopia and Mario Golf being B-tier announcements, nice to haves but not really killer apps. Basically if today's announcements were a console launch lineup Splatoon 3 would be the only game that'd drive sales. (not that the Switch needs killer apps but still)

This direct kinda reminded me of the Jan 2013 Direct in terms of the amount and type of actual new game announcements. Difference being that we're not exactly starved for content on the Switch like we were on the Wii U in 2013

@skywake
I think I would agree with you.

My main problem was there was no shock resurrection of any old franchises or innovative twists on old IP
Maybe Nintendo have been hit harder by covid than they let on.

@brendathecat
I thought the same thing.
Yesterday I realized how hard Nintendo was really hit by the pandemic. I'm curious to see how the second half of the year will be.

I'm in the disappointed camp, although I realize that objectively speaking this probably was a decent direct. Seems like there was something there for most people. I'm just not into a lot of genres and games, so that's on no one else but me. Personal highlights:

• Mario Golf, hopefully it feels a bit like Wii Golf
• Skyward Sword, but only if the button controls are reviewed positively
• biggest highlight is that I didn't stay up late for this, definitely not worth it

I think I'm mostly disappointed with how Zelda is treated. No reference to the anniversary and just the SS remaster. The way they presented it feels like there won't be any other Zelda news this year, besides perhaps a BOTW2 update. I was kinda hoping for re-issues in any form of any Zelda game I've hardly played (or haven't played at all), which happen to be the most.

Either way, I still have more games to play than I have time to play them, so no hard feelings here