Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@FishyS The "Most Anticipated Game" award nominees can have any upcoming release date (including no release date), for example TotK was nominated for it in 2020. My guess for those nominees would be:

• FFVII Rebirth
• Metroid Prime 4
• Wolverine
• Elder Scrolls 6 (maybe replace this with Death Stranding 2)
• Silksong

With FFVII Rebirth winning it.

@Grumblevolcano Silksong didn't occur to me. 😝 FFVII Rebirth is the only major definitely-2023 game I personally know of people impatiently waiting for.

Since one of the games in your list is ?? date, one predicted for potentially 2025 and one 2026, I stick with my original thought that not many big games are verified for 2023. 🤔 I wish Peach game would make the most anticipated list but I would be shocked if it did.

GOTY is gonna be an interesting one this year. Sooo many good games this year. Not sure what the nominees will be.

Based on what I'm seeing from online discussions, these three are consensus locks:

• Zelda TotK
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2

The other three spots seem to be up for debate. Oh, and the constant elephant in the room when it comes to these debates seems to be Starfield and whether it will get nominated (or if it should).

@IceClimbers people are tossing alan wake 2 in the discussions as well. Playing it now. It's good, but not top 3 for me this year.

@IceClimbers If a XGS game was to be nominated for GotY, it should be Hi-Fi Rush rather than Starfield. Starfield was hyped up for a long time and then turned out ok rather than being the megahit that Xbox needed meanwhile Hi-Fi Rush was shadow dropped to critical acclaim.

@NintendoByNature Yeah Alan Wake 2 has been mentioned a lot lately since it just released and therefore has recency bias on top of being highly rated. It wouldn't surprise me if it ends up being one of the nominees.

I mention Starfield as the elephant in the room because it's Microsoft's biggest game in years but was met with a more middling reception compared to other games from this year, so there's a lot of debate over whether it will get nominated. Personally I don't think it should, but gut feeling tells me it will.

@Grumblevolcano I very much agree there, Hi-Fi Rush should be nominated before Starfield if an XGS title is to be nominated.

What do you think the nominees will be?

@Grumblevolcano @IceClimbers Hi Fi Rush was my favorite xbox game this year, and really close to my top 3 for the entire year. Starfield was a good time, but didn't blow me away. Kind of how I feel about alan wake 2. Sea of Stars is maybe my 2nd or 3rd favorite game this year.

Still under the impression Metroid Prime 4 isn’t going to be at TGA, and the game is in dev hell. Nintendo didn’t even showcase TotK at TGA. What makes anyone so sure it’ll have a reveal here? They haven’t taken TGA seriously in years.

@VoidofLight forgot to reply about the sephiroth post you had. What was that? 3 years ago? I wouldn't even call a smash reveal a big presence at the game awards.

@NintendoByNature yeah, it was about three years ago or so. Since then, Nintendo hasn’t done anything at all.

@IceClimbers My prediction for the nominees would be:

• TotK
• Baldur's Gate 3
• Spider-Man 2
• FFXVI
• SMB Wonder
• Resident Evil 4 Remake

I agree that TotK, Baldur's Gate 3 and Spider-Man 2 are guaranteed but as for the others.

• I feel Wonder will get in because it's a really fresh take on 2D Mario after a long hiatus.
• As FFXIV was both nominated for and won Best Ongoing Game in 2021 and 2022 (also nominated in a few other years), I feel FFXVI is likely to be nominated for GotY.
• RE4 is one of those games people say is perfection and should never be remade as a result (Super Metroid also fits in this category) but Capcom did remake RE4 and it exceeded people's expectations so I feel it'll be nominated for GotY.

I'm guessing Serkan Toto's Zelda remaster/remake tease is going to be an announcement at the Game Awards - possibly a shadowdrop of the Wind Waker and Twilight Princess HD ports that have supposedly been done for some time, with a physical release to follow sometime in December or January.

@PikaPhantom They most likely won’t be bringing anything to TGA. Why do people keep expecting Nintendo to be here when they’ve ignored the show for years?

@IceClimbers i believe the dispute between GOTY 2023, will be between Tears of the Kingdom e Baldur Gate 3

Denial is a very strong tool.

I don't see Zelda stuff happening as TotK DLC is already deconfirmed and getting the final 2 3D Zelda games not on Switch in a year that already got a brand new Zelda game doesn't make sense unless they're planning to give OoT the FFVII Remake trilogy treatment on Switch 2.

@VoidofLight The only ones with no Nintendo game announcements in the event's lifespan were 2015 and 2021 (no game announcements at Game Awards 2015 made sense given the circumstances at the time):

• 2014 - BotW, Mario Maker
• 2016 - BotW
• 2017 - Bayonetta 1+2, Bayonetta 3, BotW Champions Ballad DLC
• 2018 - Joker in Smash Ultimate, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
• 2019 - Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 DLC 2, Bravely Default II (3rd party exclusive published by Nintendo)
• 2020 - Sephiroth in Smash Ultimate
• 2022 - Bayonetta Origins, FE Engage DLC

So it's likely Nintendo will have some presence at the Game Awards this year. The current upcoming lineup doesn't really provide much opportunities though:

• Unless the update alongside the Indigo Disk DLC fixes the performance issues with Scarlet/Violet, using the Game Awards to show it off would be a very bad idea
• We already know everything we need to know about Another Code Recollection and Mario vs. Donkey Kong so it won't be those
• Maybe a new Princess Peach Showtime trailer?
• Maybe a new Side Order trailer as they did remind people about Big Run last year?
• Revealing TTYD's release date in 2023 would harm Super Mario RPG sales
• LM2 is a HD port releasing in Summer 2024 so more news at the Game Awards (i.e. release date) seems very unlikely
• Metroid Prime 4 would be the perfect fit for the Game Awards

So that's why Prime 4 seems a likely candidate for Game Awards reveal out of stuff we know exists.

@VoidofLight @blindsquirrel Hasn't there only been 1 year without any Nintendo announcements at The Game Awards during the Switch generation, technically speaking? I expect nothing from them, usually. But when a guy with insider ties who isn't a "leaker" per say - a CEO of a game industry consulting agency in Japan - is hinting at a Zelda announcement for the second time (before deleting both teases) and the only other possibilities are a complete shadowdrop (which isn't really what Nintendo does most of the time) or another indie Zelda project appearing in an Indie World (which also isn't likely, seeing as Cadence of Hyrule was kind of lightning in a bottle tied to Aonuma and Miyamoto both loving Crypt of the Necrodancer), The Game Awards makes the most sense. Especially when Zelda is one of the few Nintendo series to actually have had a presence there before, alongside Smash (and counting series they publish for now, Bayonetta).

@PikaPhantom
Yes, but have you considered that we really really want these games on Switch? That’s basically confirmation right there!

@Grumblevolcano 2014 was the last time Nintendo showed off anything made in a first or second party compacity. Stuff that Nintendo actually made themselves in terms of big new games, and not just DLC announcements or companies making games to release on switch. 2020 was the last time we had anything first party or big Nintendo-wise. Its telling that Nintendo doesn't take TGA seriously when they didn't even try to market TotK there. The Fire Emblem DLC wasn't really that massive, and I'm pretty sure a good amount of it was already shown off or known about beforehand.

I just can't seem them showing Prime 4 off at TGA. Especially when the game itself doesn't exactly appeal to the widest audience. Not to mention the game is still pretty much in Dev hell. I'd be surprised if we see it another ten years down the line. Of course, people are going to think what they want and they'll expect something like that to happen at TGA, but I feel they're going to be sorely disappointed.

@PikaPhantom Nintendo having an actual presence is what I'm talking about. Not if there hasn't been any games at all announced for the console. I also can't see Nintendo just announcing ports of Zelda games at a showcase which they haven't taken seriously since 2020. They make it clear they like to announce things on their own terms, and they would announce those on their own terms. Also, I'd stop believing in people who say Twilight Princess and Windwaker HD are being ported, as all leakers say that and end up incredibly wrong. They've been saying this for years at this point. But hey, if they get it right this time, this means they're credible right?!