Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@VoidofLight Yes, though the part of maintenance that I think may be Direct related is "acquiring stage data". It could be for a Splatoon 3 Global Testfire, the first Splatoon 2 Global Testfire happened around 4 months before Splatoon 2's launch so if Splatoon 3 is May/June then it would be similar timing.

I think a better question to show no correlation between them is, has there been a Direct when there was no recent maintenance? Just through Ninty being a tech company they will of course be running maintenance but we are only interested if it's an indicator so that’s the question. In any case, talking about maintenance is boring. ;p

@X-Slayer F-ZEROOOOOOOOOOO (Smash medley starts playing).

Whilst I would love to see a new F-Zero (and I've actually played the original so I have the authority to say that at last), I feel like the angle Nintendo's been taking with the Switch is 'every single franchise is coming back, except the ones you want... mostly'. Clubhouse, Brain Training, Brain Age, all of these DS era puzzlers are back and better than ever on Switch while franchises like Golden Sun and Kid Icarus are left to the wayside (hopefully not though, those series are really cool). With that in mind, I believe the next series to come back will be Meteos. People have been wondering what Sakurai's next thing is and, while everyone thinks it'll be Kid Icarus or something, it's revealed to be the sequel to one of the quirkiest puzzle games in history. I'm joking a bit here, but you could absolutely see it, right?

Not a Direct but we did get a new Kirby and the Forgotten Land trailer with a March 25th release date:

Probably safe to say there isn't a Direct until March/April then.

@Grumblevolcano
Well unless Nintendo makes another Twitter announcement in february, march is a little late to announce a game for april..

@Ninja84 @Grumblevolcano

Advance Wars 1+2 is Nintendo's April game.

Too niche to warrant a Direct specifically for it alone.

@Magician
You might be right. The third party line up is also Pretty bare bones the next couple of months tho..

Will probably not get a direct until february/march now

If the leak of Fire Emblem Echoes coming to Switch is accurate, I think that series is big enough to warrant having a Direct focused on it in March, if it's scheduled for a late May or early June release.

@Grumblevolcano I mean, it doesn't mean there won't be a direct next month.

Also, Nintendo's library is already barren this gen. It really doesn't feel like the Switch itself even remotely lives up to systems like the 3DS.

@Magician @Ninja84 There's plenty of 3rd party stuff in February and March but not much afterwards. My thinking was perhaps there'd be a Direct Mini in March structured similar to the March 2020 one so like:

• Start with FE6 remake
• Load of 3rd party announcements
• Mario Party DLC
• More info on Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• MH Rise Sunbreak is the big midpoint spotlight (back in March 2020 the midpoint spotlight was Bravely Default II)
• Advance Wars gets April release date confirmed
• Zelda Wii U remaster(s)
• Direct closes with Splatoon 3

And if it was in April instead, the only differences would be Advance Wars getting a release date trailer in February rather than in the Direct and no Kirby.

@VoidofLight It doesn't though rather it makes one less likely.

I just don't get why they'd do another direct format like 2020, unless they get put under another full lockdown. Even then, I feel like 2020 gave them enough time to work from home and get used to it.

@Grumblevolcano
That sounds really likely, but the same Direct could be in february with a deepdive on Kirby. We will wait and see😉. I’m just hoping for some cool surprises when we eventually get a Direct (Xeno3 and Third party).

I mean, they could easily do a full size Direct in February and just have Kirby be part of the headlines, with the focus being on other games, Splatoon 3 in particular.

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/01/e3-2022-has-probably-be...

E3 2022 has probably been cancelled digitally according to Jeff Grubb.

Not sure if Nintendo's going to attend Summer Games Fest without E3, never really paid attention to what they showed there because most of what's new is just shown at E3. I do think they're going to be less inclined to save announcements for June though and show some bigger games in the next Direct though.

@Bolt_Strike I'll believe it when the ESA confirms it. The ESA already said earlier this month they have plans to share for e3 this year, so I find it odd they'd can those plans, or make that statement if they canned e3.

Nintendo could still be doing a direct in June even if E3 is cancelled

@Bolt_Strike Nintendo's presence at Summer Game Fest has been pretty much completely nonexistent, not even some kind of "upcoming Switch games" ads like they do at the Game Awards. The closest to anything Nintendo was Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope being nominated and won "Best Switch game" at Gamescom Opening Night Live (the nominees were that and Just Dance 2022).

So if E3 2022 is cancelled it'll be a 2020 type situation where Nintendo deciding to announce stuff is solely Nintendo's decision rather than timing being decided by the existence of other gaming events.

MLB The Show 2022 is the only game I hope is announced for Switch sometime between now and late March (for a possible early April release). Every other consideration is secondary in my eyes. In my opinion, Nintendo's Q4 (January, February, and March) is already loaded. Some would say "overloaded" if you're an rpg fan.

And that only continues into April with Advance Wars 1+2 as well as 13 Sentinels.

RPGs....rpgs for everybody.

I hope my fellow Nintendo fans are ready for several months of menu-based combat here in 2022?

I'm starting to get that itch for a direct 🙃