Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

I kind of wish the talk about the "Switch Pro" or "Switch 2" could be contained to the thread for that system specifically. This is the Nintendo direct thread, so it should probably pertain to the discussions of directs.

Edit (Added stuff): There's a reason why I don't go into the Switch Pro thread generally, because those sorts of rumors make me want to hit my head against my desk. It's full of sketchy rumors which could be guessed or said by anyone, but because "Credible leaker" who got some stuff right years and years ago said it, it must be true! People generally ignore said leakers being wrong most of the time, and ignore when the predictions from them end up being false, since they want to justify their own desire for shilling out 600 bucks for the next big console, as they grew tired of their trinket which they got a few years back.

@VoidofLight Secondededed.

I feel it's relevant, if there's more powerful hardware launching with TotK then the next general Direct has to be sooner rather than later (i.e. early February at the latest) given it would cover the launch window for the more powerful hardware (there'd be 3rd party games that only run on the more powerful hardware). But if it's just a Zelda themed OLED launching with TotK, the next general Direct could be a fair amount later like the week after Bayonetta Origins launches given what we already know about the 1st half of 2023.

@Grumblevolcano I think it's safe to cross off new hardware in 2023 Grumble.

@Grumblevolcano Even if Nintendo isn’t releasing new hardware, we only know of the first party games. There’s still going to be a fair amount of third party games that could be announced and Nintendo doing a Direct in February would be a good time to promote them.

Well to be fair the shortest leadup to a new Switch variant was two months with the Switch Lite. Announced July 2019, released September 2019. So it's possible we could get hardware news with February's annual Direct.

But I highly doubt it.

@Magician They don’t need that big a gap between reveal and launch. The Switch was revealed in October and launched at the beginning of March. They only ever spoke about it as the NX before then. If a Switch successor is a hybrid but just a proper power jump, they could still feasibly reveal and release in a short timespan.

The big issue I have with a 2023 release is the lack of anything suggesting it’s actually being manufactured, which it would almost certainly be if it were to launch anytime soon.

@Grumblevolcano
Nintendo's spring Directs have aired in early February in 2019, 2021, and 2022. It doesn't take a prophet to predict that the next general Nintendo Direct will happen in early Feb 2023 regardless of whether new hardware launches with Tears of the Kingdom or not.

@FragRed Yeah, the Switch Lite outer shell had leaked images from April 2019 before it's announcement later in July 2019. Yet we haven't heard a peep about Switch Pro yet. If there was new hardware intended for early 2023 we would've heard of it already.

https://nintendosoup.com/this-nintendo-switch-lite-leak-from-...

@Magician You can’t stop leaks on new hardware in the age of the internet. And anything Nintendo does is going to be huge news, so leaks are even more prone to happen. Heck we saw the dev kit for the PS5 months before we saw the console itself.

@FragRed We know a lot of 3rd party games for early on in the year as well, May is where it really dries up for 3rd party but given retail releases only need 2 months notice for the most part a March Direct could fix that.

@westman98 We know more about precise timing for the upcoming 1st party lineup than normal:

• Fire Emblem Engage - January 20th
• Kirby Return to Dream Land Deluxe - February 24th
• Bayonetta Origins - March 17th
• Tears of the Kingdom - May 12th

There is the April 1st party gap though given TPC does their own thing, it could be something like Detective Pikachu appearing in a Pokemon Presents.

@Grumblevolcano
What's your implication here? That because we know the exact release dates of four 2023 Nintendo games in 2022, so therefore new Switch hardware is imminent?

@westman98 No, that if there isn't new Switch hardware launching alongside TotK it's more likely that the next general Direct is in March rather than February.

2022 and 2023's lineup is the biggest thing that suggests new Switch hardware is inbound soon. Given new entries outside of Pokemon are generally every 5-6 years nowadays, the opportunities for a strong launch lineup are running out unless they don't release the Switch's successor until like 2027/2028 which seems unlikely.

We have to keep in mind that Nintendo dropped a large portion of Wii U first party support in 2015, two years before the Switch launched. The Switch would not have had such an amazing 2017 otherwise. So if Nintendo wanted to prepare for a late 2025 or early 2026 launch of their next platform, we should see their first party output drop off in 2023.

No doubt the Switch will coast on ports and shovelware through 2024.

Who's ready for Super Bomberman R2? I know I'm not.

@Grumblevolcano Ehh, I disagree there. The 1st party titles revealed in the February Direct aren't about the early part of the year, it's the ones releasing late spring and into summer.

This year's February Direct revealed Switch Sports, Mario Strikers Battle League, FE Warriors Three Hopes, Live a Live, and Xenoblade 3.

So new hardware not launching alongside TotK does NOT make the Direct more likely to happen in March. It'll still happen in February regardless, where we'll see Zelda get a proper unveiling, as well as whatever is coming in June/July (probably the next Mario Sports game from Camelot and something else).

@IceClimbers The point was we already know the May game while in the past years when we got a February general Direct, we knew nothing non-Pokemon with precise release dates past March so a general Direct could wait until March as long as there's not new hardware or an unannounced April non-Pokemon game. The airing month seems to depend on what's happening 2 months from the airing date meanwhile the precise airing date seems to depend on shadow drops.

February 2022 Direct had to happen in February because of Switch Sports for example.

Pikmin 4 will probably be Nintendo's June game.

Sent out to die in front of the landslide that will be TotK.

@Grumblevolcano What makes you so sure we're getting new hardware next year? Isn't the chip shortage still a prevalent issue?

@VoidofLight If you look at what's likely to release in the next few years based on patterns, 2023 looks like an extremely strong year where most of the huge franchises have either a new game releasing or updates/DLC for the current game alongside a load of other stuff. Also it'll likely have that big 2017 style new Zelda + Mario combo given the Mario movie.

If they've already used up most of their franchises for new entries in 2022 and 2023 then 2024 would likely be on the quieter side for new games (think 2018). Ports, remasters and remakes are fantastic but Nintendo likely wouldn't choose to release the successor in a year where that's the focus. Specific timing could make 2025 a suitable successor year but the lineup wouldn't be as strong as 2023.

As for the chip shortage, while it does still exist it's definitely a lot easier to get PS5/Series X this holiday season.

@Magician I bet you June 2023 is Mario Baseball.