Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

@Grumblevolcano Drag X Drive is a super small game with barely any content. I don’t think Nintendo really cares about a direct being close to the release date announcement for it.

OK, I'm a little late for this as it happened while I was on vacation, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the Donkey Kong Bananza direct. While I'm still a bit sad that Mario's Switch 2 adventure hasn't been announced yet, I'm definitely quite a bit more excited for Bananza. This game looks like a really good time. The direct did a very good job getting me excited for the game, and when I do eventually get a Switch 2, I'll be sure to play through it to the end. I love a good platformer after all, including the DKC games. Heck, I have a soft spot for Donkey Kong 64 as well, even though I do know that game is a bit rough around the edges at points.

Yeah I didn't think we were gonna get a big showcase this month. Maybe a partner one at the very least.

Having one this month after 2-2½ months would've been a very short gap by Direct standards at least, even following a console launch and now that they have Nintendo Today!, they can spread news over a longer period of time.
September seems pretty locked in, then I think will return to having February, June and September ones next year.

How Mario's 40th anniversary weaves into this, I'm not so sure. Will it be a part of the general Direct or have it's own thing entirely, I know the latter happened in 2020 but I've always been curious as to what Plan A would've been for that year had the pandemic not occurred.

So... a Gamecube NSO announcement shadowdropped, how do you guys think this will affect any upcoming directs?

So if we’re getting DK Bananza previews next Tuesday, could we get something else on Wednesday? I think we’re due another Kirby Star-Crossed World trailer soon, so maybe that?

@VoidofLight
It would be a big missed opportunity if it turns out to be correct. I’m sure the next Mario title is at least in development, it would be very odd if we don’t get a new main Mario title within one year of the new console launch which I don’t think has ever happened before.

@Tayrailbridge
I think Mario Kart is still considered a spin off Mario title like Mario Golf, Tennis, Party, etc. We are very much overdue for a new 3D Mario game. I think this has been the longest gap between 3D Mario games (At least 8 years).

@Don Bowser's Fury?

i really hope the rumors abt a july direct are true, but it just seems so unlikely, as grumble volcano pointed out. i think they want to give the month to DK BANANZA. i wouldnt be surprised at a direct in september w a prime 4 shadow drop, release dates for Hyrule Warriors and Air Riders, something mario, and sneak peaks at 2026 titles such as animal crossing and pokemon gen 10. nintendo is getting very unpredictable nowdays tho!! hopefully we will at least get a another Jamboree DLC trailer and something else next week.

@Tayrailbridge Between original 3D Mario games. Bowser's Fury is a bonus mode to a Wii U port, not a full game.

By that standard, it absolutely is. The next longest was 6 years between 64 and Sunshine.

@Bolt_Strike By technicality, it's a spinoff from a remake, yes. To Nintendo, however, I think they would consider it a proper installment.

@Tayrailbridge Maybe. But we're in a new console generation so it hardly matters.

As far as Mario Kart, no it does not count as a big Mario game. Gameplay wise it's a completely different genre of game. When people say they want a "Mario" game they mean a platformer, and in this case they're specifically wanting a new, original 3D Mario platformer. There's nothing yet that satisfies that. Not Mario Kart which is a different genre. Not DK Bananza which is a different IP with a different gameplay style more focused around beating baddies and deforming the level terrain as opposed to Mario focusing on athletic platforming. Yes, Mario Kart is a high seller, but so is 3D Mario, so it should be here sooner rather than later. It's not the end of the world to not have it this year, but having to wait a few years in would definitely be harmful.

@Bolt_Strike You're acting like Nintendo not releasing a new 3D Mario for a few more years is going to kill them. They have a constant stream of Mario content. They're going to be fine. If anything, there's been waaaay too much Mario content in a short period of time imo. To the point where it feels like they're going to burn people out of the IP if they're not careful.

@Bolt_Strike It's not like Nintendo is obligated to release a new entry of every different type of Mario game every year. They sell games for money, so they'll focus on selling games that make money. MKW clearly has had a lot of effort put into it, and it has sold remarkably well, so I don't see why they would feel the need to quickly put out a 3D mainline game. Like I've said before, Nintendo would most likely view MKW as a mainline game anyway.

I think the really interesting question in the 'do we need a 3d Mario soon' debate is — how much will Bananza sell?

The craziest aspect of the Switch 2017 lineup is the fact that 3 of the games are in the top 5 best selling Switch games 8 years later.

Mario Kart World will inevitably stay a top selling Switch 2 game over time. But will DK soar evergreen for years or will it merely do ok?

@VoidofLight I mean if you count spinoffs yeah, but as far as main series platformers? The last 3D platformer was in 2021 and the last NEW 3D platformer was in 2017. We're definitely not oversaturated there. The "oversaturation" of content you're feeling has more to do with how Mario has an ungodly amount of spinoffs to the point where the IP is pretty much a yearly occurrence.

As for whether or not it would "kill" them, of course it wouldn't, but they'd be in a much worse sales position by putting 3D Mario on the back burner simply because it is THE flagship IP for Nintendo and sells bucketloads.

@Tayrailbridge I mean 3D Marios tend to be some of the highest sellers on their consoles and Odyssey was the 5th highest at 29 million, so it should be a high priority. Both the 3D platformers and Mario Kart are both high selling games that appeal to very different styles of gameplay with very different audiences, so there's definitely room for both (and there's been instances where they released relatively close to each other).

@FishyS DK has always been relatively niche compared to Mario, doubtful it'll ever be comparable to a game like Odyssey. I'd say a realistic sales target for Bananza would be around the 10 million mark, I don't see it selling much more than that. Mario is THE mascot of Nintendo, it naturally draws in a lot more sales because everyone knows who he is and immediately associated him with Nintendo.

@Bolt_Strike The spin-offs sell bucket-loads too. To the casuals, Mario is Mario. Regardless if it's a big 3D platformer or if it's an RPG spin-off.

I feel like DK is going to fill that niche that 3D Mario is leaving anyways. I don't doubt they're going to make a new 3D Mario, but it'll probably be a couple of years until we see it.

@Bolt_Strike Like Voidoflight mentioned, Donkey Kong seems to be taking 3D Mario's place (for the moment at least). Bananza was made by the same team as Odyssey, and it seems that it's being marketed as the next big thing.
Regarding audiences, I disagree. Mario Kart is generally marketed toward a younger demographic, yes, but I know plenty of adults who play MK and have bought the Switch 2 just for World. The audiences for both styles of games are pretty much the same. If you own Mario Odyssey, you own Mario Kart 8.

Yeah, saying Mario Kart is mostly for kids is disingenuous. I know tons of adults that are around me who want to play Mario Kart World. A lot of people my age, and most of them aren't heavy gamers. Heck, even one of my teachers for my college classes wanted to play Mario Kart World.

I mean the platformers and Kart are really the only ones that sell bucketloads. Party and Sports sell well, but not quite bucketloads, they're a tier below the former two.

As I said in the previous post, Mario sells far more than DK. No DK game has cracked 10 million. Odyssey nearly tripled that mark. Bananza almost certainly will not come anywhere close to Odyssey or the Switch 2's 3D Mario. Financially speaking, using DK as a substitute for a 3D Mario is one of the most foolish decisions they could make, and I have a hard time believing Nintendo is this stupid. Most likely, the actual explanation aligns with the rumors we heard about DK a few years ago (what we've learned about Bananza does align with what we heard about DK back in 2021, even seemingly contradictory rumors such as whether or not it was 2D or 3D can be explained because the game has some 2D bonus rooms), that the Odyssey team has expanded and can work on two games now instead of having to choose one or the other.

I never said anything about age. By "audience" I'm talking about genre. Mario Kart is a multiplayer racing game. The 3D Mario games are platformers that are primarily single player. Those styles have entirely different appeal to different gaming preferences. It is not pretty much the same audience. Someone that doesn't like multiplayer, competitive, or racing wouldn't be interested in Mario Kart, and someone that doesn't like platforming or single player wouldn't like 3D Mario. And sales wise they have different sales totals. MK8D sold 66 million and Odyssey sold 29 million. That means that there's 37 million people that bought MK8D that didn't buy Odyssey, and there's most likely millions (I'd estimate 5-10 million) that bought Odyssey and not MK8D. The idea that they're substitutes for one another is ridiculous.