Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@PikminMarioKirby Ah I misunderstood, that makes sense then.

@zlobnicazelda Possibility? Yes. Likelihood? Low. The most likely developer of a 2D Zelda remake presently is Grezzo, who just finished Echoes of Wisdom. Given it's reception, it's quite likely they'll be tasked with a new game, rather than a remake. Even if they do a remake, it would definitely be near the end of the 2 year mark at earliest, because it'd just be entering development now.

So then the question is who else could be developing it right now?

Inti Creates might sound like an odd choice, but Inafune did produce Minish Cap back at Capcom. That said, they don't have the capacity for multiple projects, and we know their current one.

Looking at the heads of the ALttP GBA version, both of them went on to fund Crafts & Meister. That's not out of the question, but it would be a little out of left field.

So what about talent in the indie realm? Tunic's Isometricorp Games has only that game under their belts, highly unlikely. Ittle Dew's Ludosity? Definitely a more established company, but they're Swedish, which means language barriers. Not out of the question, but again unlikely. Blossom Tale's Castle Pixels? They're only a 3-dev team, probably not.

So that leaves either Shiver (unlikely, they are supposed to be primarily doing ports), or a complete left field option like Capcom or Bandai-Namco. Or a very obscure company we've never heard of, like Grezzo back in the day. Either way, the chances aren't great right now... but we are likely to see another new 2D Zelda title at least.

I feel that how Zelda is handled in the early Switch 2 era will set the tone for the Switch 2 itself. If we see something like WW or TP brought over then that indicates Nintendo wanting Switch 2 to be the place to play Nintendo games as in you don't need any other consoles. However if we see a BotW remaster/remake (like TLoU Part 1 for PS5) then it gives the impression that Nintendo has the same problems as Sony.

@link3710 some interesting ideas I hadn't thought of! I could really imagine Inti Creates working on an Adventure of Link Remake, but just gonna add with no disrespect that Inafune doesn't work at Inti, they just worked with him when he worked at Comcept on Mighty No 9 . I could see them having the workforce to do multiple projects though as they apparently have roughly 100 workers now, I just it looked up, and I think Zelda II could be a comparatively simple game to work on. I wonder if they would rework it completely into more of a Metroidvania or stick to its original concepts.

@Grumblevolcano I agree. Also, the fact that those games have not been releases as remakes for so long means that they are purposely held back for a good timing. That is, when there is the need to have a Zelda game when there is no such thing in the vicinity. Such as the first year after a new console launch...

@Grumblevolcano Nah, even if they were do to a BotW port/remaster early I don't think that would point to the same issues for the entirety of Nintendo. Nintendo can do a BotW rerelease on Switch 2 and still have other games to sell from other IPs. We can pretty much lock in a 3D Mario and Mario Kart as being Switch 2 exclusives, for example. It might tell us that Zelda specifically is suffering, but Nintendo itself may still be fine as long as they have a sufficient number of exclusives. It's if we see a lot of cross gen releases that Nintendo might feel Sony-esque and I'm kinda doubting we'll see too many. There may be a few here and there, but I'm also looking at multiple IPs that seem likely to release in the first few years that wouldn't really make sense as cross gen. Besides the aforementioned 3D Mario and Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, the Gen 10 Pokemon games, Kirby, 2D Metroid, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Fire Emblem are viable candidates to release in the first 3 years and I can't see any of those having cross gen releases as they've either had multiple Switch entries or they're more AAA/high selling IPs that feel ready to turn the page on the Switch.

Anyone think the announcement of the F-Zero games today (very happy about it) might be a sign of when the next Direct will be? Do they normally announce NSO (and in particular GBA games) on a Wednesday? In my recollection it seems to be a thing they announce more on a Thursday or Friday, but I could be wrong. Maybe clearing the table for a Direct this Friday, announced tomorrow?

I will admit I'm jumping at shadows at this point cause I'm so excited for Switch 2/any Nintendo Direct.

@AStupidID They did a similar F-Zero timing back in March. Big F-Zero 99 update and F-Zero Maximum Velocity for NSO Expansion Pack announced a day apart.

So the NSO Expansion Pack announcement timing is likely a result of the F-Zero 99 update timing.

Am I missing something? Maximum Velocity releases on March 29th?
Or am I stupid and can't read? 😂😅😅

@Budda Maximum Velocity released on March 29th 2024.

@Grumblevolcano ah great research there makes sense

@AStupidID
Ohh. I get it now... I really can't read. :')

Now that it's October and they skipped a September Direct, does anyone think a Direct is going happen this month, or that another Direct won't happen until next year in February? I believe that them skipping September is a bit surprising but interesting, maybe it could be a sign of something they want to show soon, but I think I could be overanalyzing a bit. But, it would be surprising if we went throughout the final months of this year without at least one more Direct.

@Pastellioli My guess is no Direct until February, perhaps a reveal in January though, allowing that February Direct to showcase S2 exclusives and cross-gen games?

@CaleBoi25 I think that could be it, since September is usually the month for news and they skipped it, I think maybe they could hold off on revealing stuff till February, since that month will be when a lot of the titles they showed off in the June Direct a few months ago have already been released. I could see them waiting till a majority of the June Direct games are released and then revealing a couple more titles next year.

I do wonder what will be the time for them to reveal the next console and some games for it. I have been guessing that early 2025 will be the reveal for the Switch 2 after a few more Switch units sell this holiday, but a lot of people have been saying October is the reveal (plus Nintendo Life is also predicting that they will reveal the Switch soon) or that they will reveal it near the 8th anniversary of the Switch in March 2025, but I am a bit uncertain as to when they actually will reveal it since Nintendo is very unpredictable with dates.

@Pastellioli Well the Switch 2 reveal is the million dollar question and the elephant in the room when it comes to any kind of Direct. The one thing I'll say is that we're probably not seeing a general Direct. We may see a Switch 2 Direct or presentation to reveal games though. But again, it's hard to say if the Switch 2 will be revealed in October or if we have to wait until Q1 2025 to see it. A lot of people are taking the leaks and rumors to mean that a reveal may be imminent... but we haven't gotten anything yet. They promised us a Switch 2 reveal by the end of March so that's the latest we'll be waiting, but it remains to be seen if it's going to be revealed earlier or later in that time frame.

At the very least, we can say with certainty that it will be revealed within the next 6 months. Not news, I'm aware, but it's at least something to remember and ease our minds.

@Bolt_Strike
If it's anything like the Switch reveal they'll just drop a tweet out of nowhere. Probably when people don't expect it. And I think it's fair to say they're very much aware of the hype train/leaks going on

Remember that on fire chibi robo? That was posted when the internet was in a similar state with the NX hype cycle. Apparently on one of the Kit and Krista podcasts they went into that. The higher ups were not happy about it and there was an internal investigation. So I suspect this time around it's going to even more business as usual until we get a tweet out of nowhere

The only thing we have to go on in terms of predicting it is whether or not third parties start to get antsy about it. Also leaks, leaks suggest production and leaks mean Nintendo is not controlling the message. They don't suggest a specific date but the longer this drags out the higher the risk the of leaks or a third party stealing some of the limelight

Yeah, Nintendo are much more aware of the hype cycle and fandom than we give them credit for. Not all the time, mind you, but more than we think. Heck, I remember back around when the Switch was first revealed. Etika (Or at least someone he knew) put together a fake Switch, and it looked so real that it sent some of the higher ups at Nintendo of America in a frenzy. Ah, good times...good times.

@skywake All true, but one thing to also remember is that if they are just going to do a random trailer drop again they're going to want a lot of people to see it to get social media buzzing. Not as many people are following Nintendo's official channels (if anything they're following a news site like this one or a social media influencer), so they're going to want to give some kind of advance notice. So just like last time and with typical Directs, if they were to go that route, they're probably going to announce the reveal the day before it happens. That really is a good balance in that regard. It's far enough away that they can build up a big enough audience while being close enough to prevent outside companies and leakers from doing too much damage to the messaging.

I'm still rooting for a reveal before the Nov 5th financial meeting. Which means October in practice since they wouldn't want to be right on top of the media chaos which will be the US presidential election also on Nov 5.

Although they would also avoid having right on top of Jamboree, it feels like there are a lot of days in October where a reveal would work.

@skywake I wonder if normal timings apply? Is it before 2PM UK time?