Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

About six months in advance of launch is roughly when I'd expect the trigger to be pulled. If we're looking at October this year, which is pretty much the ideal time to launch a console, that's March. If that slips to next year though, we might be looking at a March launch with an October reveal instead, and a scramble to fill an extra six months of Switch releases.

There's room for a bit of waggle in that, but I don't think that we're getting a March reveal for a console that doesn't arrive until next year.

If pyoro is right and we're just getting a partner direct, then nintendo truly has nothing else coming. It's not covid anymore. If that's it for the switch this year, we're DEFINITELY getting the next console in 2024. Anyone who doesn't see that just doesn't want the switch 2 to come out.

I could see Nintendo pulling a similar trick to what they did in 2016, announce that the Switch 2 is releasing in March 2025 at the early May shareholders meeting (back in 2016 the fiscal year shareholders meeting was in late April but it got moved to early May in more recent years) but reveal almost nothing else about the console until October.

As for the Switch lineup, I think only the Switch 2 exclusive games will get moved out of the Fall 2024 - Early 2025 window. So like instead of Prime 4 launching with Switch 2, it being a Switch 1 only game in Fall 2024.

Regarding Directs, I think there'd be 1 final Switch 1 general Direct around April/May. When Nintendo did a general Direct in early March for 2018, the entire rest of the year's lineup was announced except Super Mario Party and Pokemon Let's Go so it feels reasonable prediction that a general Direct in April/May would reveal the last of the games coming to Switch 1.

@Grumblevolcano Going by how one minute rumours are the Switch 2 is getting a reveal in March to suddenly it’s been delayed until next year and Nintendo are now talking to third party publishers about it, it makes me think Nintendo don’t have anything they can just easily shove out the door.

If Nintendo has delayed the Switch 2 to guarantee a better stronger lineup then I don’t think it makes sense to then go ahead and release any launch titles ahead of console launch even if it’s a small seller and cross platform like Metroid. That just lessens what’s available when it does finally release.

@FragRed That assumes Metroid was cross platform to begin with. The idea of it having a Switch 2 version has only been speculation and/or an assumption; it could very well be a Switch 1 only title.

@FragRed I dont think even Myamoto knows this much about Nintendo's future lol

@luckyseven And then Mario wonder and the ton of other games got revealed lol

@DiamondCore That is true, the 2 you mentioned are the WORST.
The one's I dont mind are Around the clock (because he will do actual confirmed news as well) and uh thats it 😂

@Sigran102 Yeah I agree with you, I hate that one source says "Oh guys its coming in 2025 now" and everyone takes it as official confirmation that its coming 2025, when not even a week ago they were so sure it was coming in 2024 like dont be so gullible lol (watch me be wrong 💀)

@GalaxicGlobe exactly. I don't trust any of the rumors. I didn't trust the ones that said 2024 with a march reveal either, I just think that timeline makes sense regardless. We don't need leaks to tell us that a new system is obviously on the way.

@FragRed So much has happened very recently, here's a few things:

• Palworld vs. Scarlet/Violet
• Xbox podcast revealing future of Xbox
• Sony's financial results revealing no new major IP releases in April 2024 - March 2025 and PS5 growth has peaked
• Take Two's financial results giving potential insight to GTA6's release window

It could be something as simple as GTA6 release window changing so Nintendo needs extra 1st party software in the gap left by GTA6.

Local tin foil vendor here! March 3rd is the 7 year anniversary of the launch of the Switch. According to google "The number seven has also ingrained itself into both the celebration of life and the mourning of death in Japan." Perhaps more than just the Partner Showcase is having a Rebirth soon?

@kryano March 3rd is a Sunday. 😆 So I think that one isn't happening.

If it is March at all, I'm thinking very late March after Peach comes out.

I'm still holding to my firm belief that I've been rattling on about for years on here now. There won't be different versions of games. There will be single versions of games that run differently on different hardware

If they make Metroid Prime 4 a "late Switch" title rather than a "Switch 2 launch" title it'll still be technically the same thing. In my view. All that'll change is the optics. It'll go being talked about as a Switch 2 game that has Switch compatibility to a Switch game that gets an "enhancement patch" that'll open up some Switch 2 features. But it'll technically be the same

Kinda like how back in the day Pokemon launched well over two years before the GBC in Japan and so they probably saw the Colour programming in it as neat little bonus for a Gameboy title. Which it was. "Isn't it nice that the GBC recognises the Super GameBoy pallets?". While in the West the GBC and Pokemon basically launched ontop of each other. I remember just assuming Pokemon Red/Blue were "Class B" games, GBC enhanced, like Yellow and eventually Gold/Silver. They weren't but that's how I remember viewing them

I just hope if this truly is the next gen system, that there's actual exclusives. This gen on the PS5 and Xbox front has been pretty awful. Hardly any reason to even own the new consoles, let alone boot them up. They hardly have any games worth playing on them.

@VoidofLight Ever since Microsoft teased the next generation console and Sony claimed the PS5 is in the latter half of its lifecycle, I have seen more and more people say how underwhelming this generation has been.

@FragRed Yeah. Like I get that Covid screwed over development of games and plans for the consoles, but do we really need the next Xbox and next PS so soon? Especially when the tech for PS5 and Xbox Series hasn't even gotten used by the majority of games? I feel like this gen should be longer if anything. This is why exclusivity really matters.

@VoidofLight Also everyone is complaining about the costs and development resources and time needed as hardware becomes more powerful. Yet, they’re talking about new consoles and in Microsoft’s case, once again touting the biggest technological leap ever. I don’t blame everyone for feeling unsatisfied with the current generation. It’s something Nintendo has to be mindful of if I think when launching Switch 2

@FragRed I just hope Nintendo keeps it up with what they're doing. While people say "Console generations are dead," I feel like the generational system is what keeps the value of the console in the first place. I tend to buy a console for its games, and I tend to want to have games using the features of said consoles in order to justify purchasing the new console in the first place. If a switch 2 got announced, but Nintendo released the new games on both the normal switch and the successor, I'd probably just keep to the normal switch.

@VoidofLight Well we're practically guaranteed to be getting new Mario, Zelda, Kirby, Fire Emblem and Pokemon games within the first year or two of the next system so that alone would probably put the other two consoles to shame in terms of exclusives XD