Topic: Nintendo Switch 2 Direct

Well, apparently pre orders are going live after the direct. Good job Best Buy.
https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-switch-2-pre-orders-sta...

Since Metroid Prime 2 and 3 and Kirby Planet Robobot are not shown in Switch 1 Direct. I wonder if they will release on Switch 2 assuming they in fact exist.

To me it felt like they just had legal agreements to show some of those third party games in a direct and instead of having a partner showcase decided to mash in a couple smaller Switch 1 games and inserted Z-A and Prime 4 footage because why not.

Weird but...it's not like people will complain much about a sub-par direct when there is another direct next week...

It would be interesting to know what Nintendo was actually thinking though.

I think it's more that they just wanted to make it clear that the Switch is still getting support going into 2026. Also I think it's fair to say that they don't want to crowd out the Switch 2 Direct with content not relevant to Switch 2. Would kinda undermine the messaging of "this is our new console you need to buy" if you followed it up in the next breath with "and here's Rhythm Heaven Groove, coming to Switch, 2026"

Also the Virtual Game Card and Nintendo Today announcements, that's exactly the sort of thing I was talking about a few pages back when I talked about "house keeping" announcements. Admittedly I was thinking more NSO programs but still, those were very much announcements that prepare us for this generational transition. How will your digital purchases move around, how can we keep upto date with news. Important to get that out now

............ I still have no idea why NOW now as opposed to last month or next month. But the Direct itself and its content, made perfect sense to me

Ehh, this wasn't the only thing they needed to do and I don't even think they did this well. What they also needed to do was announce new 2025 titles for Switch 1. First we have no confirmed release dates whatsoever at this point, and they didn't even confirm actual release dates for existing titles like Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends Z-A, which is a red flag when some already suspect one or both of them are cross-gen titles. So they needed to confirm at least 1 game to hold us off until the Switch 2's launch. Then if they REALLY want to show that the Switch 1 is still being supported after the Switch 2 release, they need 1 or more Switch 1 titles for later in 2025. Instead we just got two games confirmed for 2026 (and I've even seen some theories that those two games could be cross gen as well, which seems a bit silly but with the lack of Switch 1 games, I can see why they might think that). So we have a whopping 4 games for the next 9-21 months for Switch 1? Even for a console that's on its way out, that's pretty bad. Two 2026 games does nominally indicate that they're still supporting the Switch 1, but with potentially lengthy multi-month gaps with nothing confirmed in between, a FAR cry from Nintendo's stated goal of 1 game per month? That doesn't exactly give the impression of a respected incumbent console gracefully and gradually winding down, it feels more like the Switch 1 is an afterthought quickly and mercilessly being tossed aside for the shiny new successor. The 2026 games didn't even need to be here yet, they could've saved these announcements for June or September. What this Direct needed to communicate is what is the Switch 1 getting between now and the end of 2025, and they did not give us anything further than what we already knew going in (or at least for their 1st party titles). I would call this Direct an utter failure on that basis.

@Bolt_Strike
If they were to outline the dates for all of their Switch releases in 2025 people would just look at where the gaps are and guess when the Switch 2 is launching. We were never going to get a firm timeline of release for the second half of 2025 and we won't until we know when the Switch 2 is launching

The lack of release dates or much for 2025 for Switch 1 does make me go back to my original theory that there will be a 'normal' Switch 1 + Switch 2 June (or maybe summer) direct.

@skywake I mean maybe not every single one, but like, at least 1 or 2? At least enough to show that the Switch 1 isn't a glorified paperweight for the next 9 months? And if they can't even do that much then just... don't do the Direct at all. Or wait until the week after to better fill in the gaps. Either way, what they ended up doing didn't really accomplish what it needed to and ended up being a pointless waste of everyone's time.

@Bolt_Strike
I'll put it this way. Lets say the Switch 2 optimistically launches in late May, giving us even more time to fill, and imagine that the first 7 months are functionally identical to the Switch in 2017

Launch: Switch had 1-2 Switch & BotW so lets say..... Prime 4 and New Mario Paint
June: Mario Kart for Mario Kart
July: Was a lull for Switch so lets say that repeats with third parties filling the space
August: Switch had ARMs so lets say ARMS 2, why not
September: Splatoon 2, lets drop in Legends Z-A in here
October: Mario + Rabbids, lets throw in another third party IP sharing thing here
November: Pokken Tournament.... I'm throwing in a new 3D Mario
December: December is usually fairly dead so.... jam a Kirby game in there or something

............

That's not a lot of games they need to announce next week for the entire rest of the year to be filled out. I don't think the above is overly optimistic. So I don't see why there's a need to outline dates and have bucketloads of Switch titles for the rest of this year. We're moving to Switch 2, most of the rest of the year is going to be Switch 2 releases

The Switch 1 Direct makes me think Prime 4 might be releasing as a Switch 1 only game in May but they're waiting until after the Switch 2 Direct to confirm it because of the assumption some have that Prime 4 is a Switch 2 launch title.

I doubt Nintendo has a 3+ month gap of no games so there has to be an April/May release but if there was a different Switch 1 game for that timespan they would've announced it in the Switch 1 Direct. Which leaves either Switch 2 releasing in May or Prime 4 being a Switch 1 only game releasing in May.

This Direct for the new switch is going to be uber huge. It’s going to blow everything out of the water and show us something never seen before. I can feel it.

Its always mostly about the games. They have already shown us Mk9 and MP4, which is huge for many.. so i have to be honest and say that i Expect some big suprises on the switch 2 direct when they show 2 big titles before the direct.

Something new
Mario 3D and/or maybe Mario maker 3.
Some zelda remaster
Maybe collab with Microsoft, gamepass on switch.

@skywake
Yea, why couldn't this have happened at the start of the month? I didn't see anything here that necessitated waiting until 6 days before the other one lol

@skywake I mean, I know that they've been saving games for the Switch 2 launch, but it's not going to be this direct parallel where there's this many games. The Switch 2 is going to be a stronger console to develop for, and therefore it's going to take more development time so there's not quite going to be as much for it as there was for the Switch. I think there's going to be about 5 Switch 2 titles, so there should be plenty of gaps for smaller Switch 1 titles.

@Bolt_Strike
Two things. Firstly I think there's this belief that more power requires more development time that's somewhat misplaced. Higher powered consoles allow for higher fidelity games which can require more development effort to achieve. But they don't demand it or require it. It gives you more options, which tends to encourage scope creep, and it makes things more visible, which tends to mean you can get away with less. But it doesn't require it

I see no reason why a WarioWare game that leans heavily on using the MouseCon or something would require any more development time at all on Switch 2 than a similar game on Switch would have. I also don't see a game like Metroid Prime 4 or Luigi's Mansion, which are already fairly controlled worlds with highly detailed baked-in lighting. Or something like a fighting game where they use the additional power mostly to jump to 120fps or something with a clean output

Secondly..... it won't be a parallel to Switch 2 with "this many" games? There'll only be "about 5" titles for Switch 2? Read my post again

• 1-2 Switch equivalent, New Mario Paint
• Mario Kart for Mario Kart
• third parties filling the space
• lets say ARMS 2, why not
• lets throw in another third party IP sharing thing here
• I'm throwing in a new 3D Mario
• jam a Kirby game in there or something

How many first party games am I listing here? A light mousecon demo game, Mario Kart which we already know about, ARMS 2, 3D Mario and Kirby. With the rest being filled out with third party releases which may possibly use some of Nintendo's IP. Oh look, that's 5 games for Switch 2

If we're doing predictions here on what Switch 2 content we'll see. My expectations at this point:

• Mario Kart at or near launch, fairly comprehensive overview, deep trailer
• Tease for a new 3D Mario game to release later this year
• Something light on development effort but mechanically interesting involving mouse mode
• Outlining of an enhanced version for Prime 4
• Some mid-tier effort game along the lines of a fighting or racing game

Then I would expect in a June or September Direct for us to see them drop some NSO expansion stuff and maybe a surprise announcement of maybe a Wind Waker HD or similar for Switch 1 to drop later in the year. I'm not expecting Animal Crossing or Smash until next year. I expect stuff like 2D platformers and lighter stuff like the Rhythm Heaven game to keep coming to Switch. Even so, I don't see much reason to be concerned about this year not being fairly full, especially given that I fully expect third parties to be fairly enthusiastic

Definitely a Square Enix game in the direct.

I'll throw in some predictions as well I suppose. Sticking only to First-party Nintendo stuff.

1. Mario kart 9 confirmed as a launch title.
2. Metroid Prime 4 shown off as a cross-gen title, also releasing at launch.
3. New 3D Mario releasing in October. Specifically, I think it will be an expansion of the Bowser's Fury model, but I think it will also in some way serve as a 40th anniversary celebration as well. Maybe some areas of the world will be based off of previous Mario games, sort of like Sonic Generations.
4. A new title releasing in September. I'm leaning towards Starfox, as I think it could show off the technical ability of the Switch 2 pretty well, and also be potentially aided by mouse mode.
5. Some small release in July/August. Maybe a remaster or remake of some sort, maybe the BOTW remaster that's been rumored, maybe something else idk
6. And for the one more thing at the end of the show: a teaser for the next Animal Crossing, releasing in 2026. It was between this and Smash for me, but I think this one's slightly more likely.

Super Mario Open World - it’s time. Strike while the open world craze is still relatively strong. Pipes that transport you quickly across vast distances like the towers in Zelda. Overpower the long jump and roll. Provide hyper speed Yoshis. Provide Mario Karts or cannons. These could be ways to make a huge uniform world work in a platformer.

I think the new Animal crossing will have more urban areas or a more urban theme. “AC: Cityfolk”

My predictions:

https://bingobaker.com/image/8727798/544/1/switch-2-direct.png
I used https://bingobaker.com/view/8727798 but I'm sure there's other sites.

I added goldeneye remake/remaster, viewtiful joe, and golden sun just to dream.