Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

Welp, I was wrong about Nate being wrong. Still don't like the guy, but it's great to see the system is officially revealed.

Pokemon rarely ever gets major converge in a general Nintendo direct, but the inevitable Pokemon day direct will be around the same time anyways and we'll likely see the first actual look of ZA there.

Yeah, Pokemon day is when we'll see Z-A. Not a general direct for Switch 1.

@Seacliff Yeah not sure why I listed Z-A. I doubt it’ll be in a Direct (unless it’s shown for a few seconds in the Switch 2 Direct), most likely get more info on Pokemon Day.

@Dev-N Really hoping for Robobot Deluxe, really good Kirby game that definitely deserves a remake. I think it’s pretty likely we’ll see it at the potential Switch 1 Direct, and then maybe a summer release?

I wonder what the Mario game(s) will be this time in the case of a theoretical Switch 1 February general Direct, Mario has never been absent from a general Direct before but we're in interesting situation where a lot of Mario options have been exhausted meanwhile others are no doubt being saved for Switch 2.

My guess would be Mario Sluggers for June, the past 3 Switch 1 Mario Sports games were June (Mario Tennis Aces in June 2018, Mario Golf Super Rush in June 2021, Mario Strikers Battle League in June 2022) and Sluggers is the last of the GCN Mario Sports franchises which haven't appeared on Switch yet.

@Grumblevolcano They're going to announce a new Mario spin-off that has never been done before. Mario rhythm game.

@VoidofLight Just Mario Dance

I've heard a lot of people bring up Sluggers but I kinda wonder what the sales potential of it is. I know baseball is a big deal in the two biggest regions for Nintendo but it doesn't really rate outside. They didn't even bother to make a PAL version of Sluggers when they released it on the Wii

Maybe it's my more Australian-centric perspective showing I would've thought Mario Hoops would have a broader appeal. If they were going to do a quick Mario Sports title. But more broadly I think there are other opportunities for Switch titles this year. Where's Rhythm Heaven? That doesn't need to be Switch 2. And what about Wario Land? I feel like I've been asking for both of those since Switch day 1

With that said, I think a Feburary Direct kinda has to talk about Nintendo Switch Online. I think that's the main thing. Maybe they release that game they had the playtest for last year? Or possibly they expand NSO to a new system. Switch could do DS but while you're announcing that you could show how the mouse input on Switch 2 does DS on TV better

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Dance_Revolution:_Mario_Mix

@skywake The DS would probably be something shown in the Switch 2 direct if anything.

Mario’s presence at the February Direct will likely be minimal. Kart and 3D will likely be saved for Switch 2 stuff, and we’ll likely get Mar10 and/or Mario 40th anniversary presentations this year.

I think Mario will get something at the February Direct, but probably nothing that big. My guess is 2 Mario announcements at the February Direct at most (I’d love to be wrong though!)

@skywake Agreed, as fun as I'm sure Mario Sluggers is, I can see them going down the Mario Sports Mix/Mario Sports Superstars route and compiling a bunch into one game...although these have had a mixed reception in the past.

I want a new Mario Sluggers, but if it’s gonna be unfinished like the other Mario Sports games on Switch, I’d rather not get a game at all.

Thinking the timeline will be something like this:

• Mid February Direct for Switch 1
• Pokemon Presents on Pokemon Day
• Xenoblade X and maybe an Indie World in March
• April 2nd Switch 2 Direct
• Late May/early June Switch 2 launch

I think the Pokemon Presents will start with mobile game updates, then a Pokemon spinoff on NSO (Pinball RS?), a Pokemon soundtrack added to Nintendo Music (my guess is either Sword/Shield or Legends Arceus), and then a big unveiling for Legends ZA.

@IceClimbers Honestly I can still see Gen 10 being shown off this Pokemon Day. I don't like the idea of that, but given Z-A is seeming to be a Summer Release, November is kinda.. left oddly empty for Gamefreak's stuff.

@VoidofLight I could maybe see them teasing gen 10, but there’s no way they would release it and Z-A a few months apart from each other. I could maybe see them showing a short teaser for a vague 2026 release

@SplatRay001 I wouldn't put it past Gamefreak to release it in November. They never said they were going to start delaying their games. Wouldn't surprise me if it comes out this year (given a new generation releases every three years, and it's the one pattern they tend to not break due to how it could collapse the series). The 2026 anniversary will probably be DLC for Gen 10.

I hope I'm wrong on this all, since I really want Gen 10 to be a polished game, but from the way that TPCi was talking after Scarlet and Violet, it sounds more likely that the release schedule isn't going to change- and that they're going to try to find other ways to increase quality.

@VoidofLight I could see that. I guess the fact that Legends is releasing so late makes the whole thing feel kind of awkward. I know they promoted both BDSP and Legends Arceus at the same time, but a remake is significantly less important than a full new generation. There is that three year pattern, though, so who knows.

If Legends and Gen 10 are coming out shortly after the Switch 2, I’m curious to see if they’ll make only switch 1 versions or have some sort of next gen upgrade

@SplatRay001 The interesting thing to me is that Legends Z-A is slated for May-July. That's usually the gap period between the teaser on Pokemon day for the next generation of Pokemon until the next big piece of news for the game (august is when the news cycle tends to officially start for the next generation usually).

So technically if Z-A releases during the summer, it wouldn't interfere with Gen 10, and Gen 10 wouldn't interfere with Z-A. Z-A's cycle would just close the gap in-between information that Gen 9 and Gen 8 had with its games.

@VoidofLight I suppose I could see that. There was one a time where I thought three mainline pokemon games in one year was impossible, but I was proven wrong (BDSP, Legends Arceus, Scarlet/Violet). At this point I wouldn’t put anything past TPC, though I’m really hoping the quality of the games aren’t compromised too much, and that this isn’t another Arceus-ScarVi situation where both games should’ve been more polished than they were.