Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@FishyS Do they publish the actual gross profit numbers? Given the numbers quoted are a ratio of software to hardware it kind of makes sense given that hardware is dropping off a bit as sales of the hardware slow down. Software obviously still doing pretty well though - it would be pretty worrying to see hardware still >50% at this point as it would mean the software sales would be dropping off at the same rate as the hardware.

@IceClimbers Based on an interaction I had with Nintendo it sounded like this was the case, but sad to see it confirmed now. Hopefully with this and the gold points, Nintendo softens the blow with a Direct or something.

It does make sense that Switch game vouchers wouldn't be able to be used on Switch 2 games, to be fair. It's just a matter of whether we'll be getting Switch 2 vouchers or something equivalent to replace them.

Yeah, they publish both net sales and gross profit. The percentage of hardware profit actually went up by 1% this year but only because overall gross profits went down 27% because of lack of games like TotK and Mario Wonder. The overall multi year trend has definitely had hardware falling faster than software. I'm curious if Switch 2 will make the hardware profit go back to over 50%.

I hope they still have vouchers and it's just an issue of $55 vouchers for $70 games or whatever. Vouchers both made NSO feel worth it and made it feel ok to buy some games day-1 rather than waiting for sales.

I realize in some countries there are day-1 sales for physical games but for those of us without those, vouchers are nice.

I suppose we’ll know today within the next few hours if anything is happening this week? I’m still betting tomorrow, a mini direct maybe coinciding with a partner show.

It's past 3pm UK time now so it seems the silence yesterday was just preparation for the announcement regarding Gold Points ending in March. There's still hope for Direct announcement on Wednesday for airing on Thursday but time is running out.

@FishyS Yeah I've got a few day 1 games through the Switch Voucher program with the cheaper price (Mario Wonder, TTYD, and Brothership), very convenient and cheaper. Still waiting for another game to be announced, I still got a voucher and nothing announced right now really interests me. Hopefully Switch 2 will have something like this, it'd be a shame if there wasn't.

@Grumblevolcano Yeah a Direct probably won't be happening tomorrow unless it's a mini. Thursdays aren't uncommon so it is also possible a Direct could air that day as well.

I believe Nintendo said they'd keep making Switch games as long as there's enough demand, so I think they're going to continue supporting Switch. A Switch 1 Direct feels like the only realistic way to fulfill this since we barely know any upcoming Switch games.

If they have a Direct soon, what does everyone expect to be announced there? I either expect it to be a mini or a partner showcase, but for some reason I expect a partner showcase far more. I haven’t really seen any rumors on other new Switch games besides Planet Robobot, which I feel like will either be in a possibly smaller Direct or will just get a shadow-drop announcement randomly.

@Pastellioli
Maybe the games for first launching of Switch 2.
Hopefully ARMS 2 will be happened.

@Pastellioli Switch games for April, May and June. I mean, probably just remasters (and there are plenty of rumours to take your pick from. They have to be right eventually lol.)
But I can't believe they would keep quiet till April. 129 Million Switch users being ignored on top of them discontinuing reward schemes could have a negative perception. (If it was Sony, they would be called arrogant.)

@GrailUK I can totally see Nintendo doing that. They could have not said anything about the April Direct time until near the time but instead out the blue they just came out and said it at the start of February. I can totally see Nintendo just do nothing else until April. I think Nintendo’s marketing from now onwards is basically Switch 2 and Switch 2 games. Outside some social media trailers that’s what I think they’ll be doing.

@Pastellioli

Anything that isn't being reserved for the Switch 2 presentation on April 2nd.

@Novamii Gold points and vouchers were pretty much the best features on eShop, so it's very sad we got bad news for both of them today. Hopefully we get similar Switch 2 features soon, but I'm not counting on it.

@Pastellioli If they do a general Direct soon, I think there will be a Kirby game (most likely Robobot remake).
Metroid Prime 4 needs a release date, so we'd probably get that as well.
I doubt Pokemon would be there (including Legends Z-A) since the Pokemon Presents will most likely happen next week. Mario probably won't have a huge presence either, since 3D Mario and Mario Kart will likely be at the April Direct, and we don't know the plans for Mario 40th anniversary or Mar10 Day yet.
A Pikmin 4 DLC/Pikmin Spin-off could happen, there have been rumors of some sort of spin-off this FY, so maybe it'll happen here.
Some sort of NSO update makes sense, hopefully we finally get DK64 and DKR.
There was a rumor that a remake/new game in a more niche franchise was going to happen soon, so maybe that's the Fire Emblem 4 remake?

@PikminMarioKirby I for sure expect something maybe related to Planet Robobot, since that seems to be the most heavily rumored game for a Switch remaster.

I think news related to Prime 4 is a possibility for sure, since I think that’s one of the already announced OG Switch games that’s just awaiting a release date now.

I feel like they’ll likely announce some more remasters of some games from the GameCube, Wii, or 3DS. I don’t think they’ll announce Wii U ports since a lot of the already requested Wii U Switch ports already released. I know there were those Twilight Princess and Wind Waker ports every leaker has been saying exist, but I wonder if they do, because they seem like obvious choices for Switch ports but they haven’t been announced or hinted at. Some think that they are likely holding off announcing them and saving them for the Switch 2, but that should be taken with a grain of salt.

I do think there could be an NSO update, and I feel like with most Directs NSO info is common and almost guaranteed. Not sure what library would get the update…maybe N64 but I don’t think Nintendo is that fast with updating that (usually takes them 2-3 months), so maybe it’ll be SNES, NES, Genesis or one of the Game Boy libraries.

Oh yeah, I forgot about those rumored Fire Emblem remakes. I think when I used to follow leaks and rumors, someone was saying that remakes were being worked on but it’s been years since that was last reported on, so I feel like there’s a 50/50 chance it’s real but also not real. I don’t actually know if images of the supposed remake has leaked, but I don’t know since I stopped following leaks and leaked pictures. But, I think a smaller or niche franchise would maybe get a small announcement related to it.

Yes, I also don’t expect Pokémon news since they save that for Pokémon Presents instead, so Pokémon content in a possible February Direct is likely a no.

@GrailUK I can see them focusing on remasters or ports of old games to kind of bridge the gap for the Switch 2, whenever that releases this year.

I do feel like the chances of a February Direct are starting to run out, initially I expected a February 2025 Direct last year but after the Switch 2 reveal I kind of thought that the chances for an early 2025 Direct were lessened, but I could be wrong, though I usually don’t see Nintendo do Directs in quick succession. If they are, it’s probably going to be a shorter presentation and they’ll save the big Switch 2 news for April, and if not a Direct, probably a shadow-dropped announcement.

But, I maybe wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t do anything until April, kind of like how they skipped their annual September Direct last year and stayed silent for the rest of 2024 in terms of game news.

@Magician Yes, if they are doing a Direct this month, I would expect it to just be focused solely on OG Switch news, and then when the April Direct happens, they’ll probably shift all their focus to the Switch 2 and their games afterward. I am wondering if they’ll announce a few Switch 2 games during the upcoming presentation and if that will focus more on the console’s features instead.

@Anti-Matter If a possible February Direct happens, I think it’ll focus solely on OG Switch games rather than Switch 2 games. I think after the April Direct happens that will be when they’ll likely start discussing Switch 2 games rather than OG Switch games.

@Novamii @Pastellioli Yeah a Fire Emblem remake has been rumored for a long time like Metroid Prime remastered, and it definitely fits the description some recent leak(s) give. I imagine this is a full remake (more than MP Remastered was), maybe something closer to the TTYD remake?

I think Twilight Princess HD and Wind Waker HD were originally planned to get a Switch port, but I think Nintendo will now opt for GameCube NSO instead of remastering these and other GameCube games. Wii and especially 3DS feel very likely to be a focus with Nintendo remasters on Switch 2, and perhaps the mouse controls will work with these games?

@PikminMarioKirby The two Zelda games from GameCube were already remastered for the Wii U. All that Nintendo would need to do is some tweaking to make them work on a single screen setup instead of the two screens the Wii U used. Also I’m not sure there’s an awful lot from the GameCube library that’s worth an NSO library for. Outside a few first party games, what else is there? The little third party games the GameCube got from this period is going to be more expensive to license, if they can even be licensed.

@Novamii I'd love to see Rainbow Curse return, and that would work a lot better with a mouse. I don't recall the rumor, but I do remember something with the copyright. I don't think it'd be year 1 on Switch, it'd probably at least be after the new mainline Kirby game.

@FragRed I'd say GameCube has a similar sized library to N64, idk the numbers but there's a very good 1st party selection (Mario Sunshine, 2 mainline Zeldas and 4 Swords, Pikmin 1 (probably can't do Pikmin 2 with product placement), Metroid Prime 1 and 2, Luigi's Mansion, 4 Mario Parties, 4 Mario sports (Golf, Strikers, Tennis, Baseball), Animal Crossing, Paper Mario (?) (some stuff may prevent that from coming back outside of it's remake), Mario Kart, Kirby Air Ride, 2 Pokemon spin-offs, Donkey Konga, and 2 Star Fox games). With all of those, that makes about 24-25 1st party games they could do. Currently, GBA has 26 games, but only launched with 6, so I don't think quantity is an issue. I can't speak much for the 3rd party support, though.