Nintendo Reconfirms Release Windows For Major Upcoming Switch Games

Paves the way for a Switch 2!

I don't even care with those major titles.
They are not even interesting games for me.
Only Kirby Return to Dreamland DX that caught my attention.
But overall I only care with interesting unpopular games either from Nintendo Direct or from play-asia.

@Anti-Matter Ok then.

That is a shockingly stark list tbf for this year especially as Metroid might not come until 2024, two of them are ports/remakes and zelda is a delayed game from 2022, but hopefully they have some unannounced games ready for this year or early next year.

The switch 2 won't be launching any time soon especially as the switch OLED isn't even 2 years old until October 2023 and they wouldn't bring out a new console so soon to avoid potential backlash from OLED buyers. I think the OLED basically marked the half way point of the switch's life cycle.

Hardly a shocking list, some great games. There is also an imminent Direct which will more than likely reveal more for 2023.

@DarkTron Yep, happens every time.

I'm interested in all of these titles. I'll be playing ToTK for months I'm sure.

I expect several titles to be added to this list in the inevitable direct this month.

There are most certainly more games planned for the Switch from Nintendo. Another Mario sports game seems like a guarantee. Xenoblade Chronicles X is the only one not on Switch, so I still think that's pretty likely. Plus, isn't a remake of the Wii Fatal Frame coming to Switch? Star Fox has never missed a generation since its debut, so I could see that happening as well unless Nintendo counts Star Fox 2 as the Switch's Star Fox, but that technically released on the SNES Mini first.

Will be very surprised if there isn't a big Mario title on there before the year is done.

I'm holding off from pre-ordering Tears of the Kingdom. Got plenty to play just now and I would prefer to play it on the Switch's successor if it comes out on that like BotW did on Switch and Wii U. Although can't see a Switch 2 coming soon so I'll probably end up getting TotK later this year anyway unless there's a Switch 2 announcement.

That's a hilariously dire release schedule.

It seems a bit slim.
What doesn’t help they don’t the big AAA third party as well.
It’s all about a new 3d Mario platform game for me. They have milked and abused the old games remake on switch platform games.
Very very lazy on the new AAA platform game front on the Switch.

And there was Nintendo saying with now only one hybrid console to make games for instead of separate handheld and home consoles, there would be more big AAA games. Bit of joke really.

Nintendo as much as I would love a super powerful Nintendo console.
Please don’t do it, you would never get a big AAA game out the door to the gamers.
To much work, not enough experience and studios to small.
It’s a shame we will never see Zelda or Mario etc at say a level of fidelity of HFW etc.

@Ade117 "Xenoblade Chronicles X is the only one not on Switch, so I still think that's pretty likely"

XC3 is getting a story DLC this years so I think a XCX port is pretty unlikely, at least this year

@Ade117 there was never a Star Fox for Wii.

Give us a Direct you cowards!

@antimatter, Jesus every post I see from you is a complaint….

@Dezzy70 You think Nintendo has a small development studio?

This year will be the year for a new FZero if the rumors are real. I think we will finally be getting WindWaker and Twilight Princess revealed for the second half of the year.
Pikmin 4 releasing soon is also a rumor floating around.
The only mystery now is Metroid Prime 4.
Advance Wars seems likely to release in these couple of months according to yet other rumors.
Also the third Xenoblade DLC releasing at the end of February surely.

That's fairly meagre, that does give credence to the "Nintendo are switching development to the next console"-rumours, well, that and that the Switch is pretty old by now.

@UltimateOtaku91 but the Switch is coming up to six years. The OLED is newer but only the screen. The eternals are still at least 6 years old, possibly more. I personally think a new Switch will come out Christmas 2024. And hopefully its actually powerful enough to run games properly. 1080p at 60fps should be standard for a handheld, especially considering most mobile phones can do it.

They will have some surprises that they are not mentioning yet.

Nintendo have been lazy on the AAA games front. Too many remakes, and too many Pokémon games for my liking.

I miss the days of the Wii U. Great games, one after another. Wasn’t many games, but their was always something very good to play!

Seems like when I log onto NL website, it’s just full of Pokémon news. Great if you like Pokémon, but I don’t personally.

Hopefully this list expands soon, not a ton of variety there right now. This year has only the xenoblade 3 DLC thats interesting to me, so hopefully that gets a couple more games to go with it.

And this is just what we know on the first party front, besides a lot of third party releases (Rune Factory 3, Record of Agarest War, Hogwarts Legacy, Risen and Remnant, potentially the still in-development Genshin Impact and Kingdom Come: Deliverance...) to expect. And at this time last year, we were still heedless of the incoming big bangs like Xenoblade 3, No Man's Sky and NieR Automata.

@arabiansanchez
Compared to other companies yes, especially when you add up all their studios.

If you are telling me they have the amount of studios like say Sony. Then what the hell have those thousands of developers been doing for Nintendo.
I guess at the Nintendo theme park or watching the new movie 😂

@Anti-Matter why is it that every comment you
make on every post is complaining? “I don’t play this, I don’t play that, I only like this”.

Just means a direct is on the way.

Edit: oh look a direct was announced. And I am not surprised.

Slim pickings, yeah maybe. But there are so many indies coming out on the Switch that it more then offsets the lack of 1st party titles imo. I'm fortunate enough to have a PS5 too, so there is a lot that I can play. But even If I could only have the Switch, I'd be happy anyway.

"...we're confident Nintendo will fill out its release schedule for the remainder of the year in the coming weeks and months. Trust in Nintendo!"

Ha. I haven't had that confidence in Nintendo for a few years now. I'll believe it when I see it.

@Saturos1
Because I have very different interest in gaming.
The games I like to play are mostly completely different and not everyone here play my games choices.

Metroid Prime 4.... Why do I have the same feelings I had about Duke Nukem 4ever?

They're not going to list a load of release dates for unannounced games if a direct is around the corner. And if there are release dates to be announced for the TBA games they're not going to release them randomly. They'll wait for a reveal.

Well, if by some miracle they DO release Metroid this year, along with Zelda AND Pikmin, I know of AT LEAST one blue furry dude who's going to have a pretty packed gaming year

This absolutely will be padded out more with a Nintendo Direct.

I guess what we see here is the consequences of the Switch2/pro cancellation. Nintendo supposedly decided the current Switch will remain their main system for a bit longer, so I'm sure the next Nintendo direct will be packed with kind of "smaller" games

• Metroid Prime Remake
• Zelda TP or WW ports
• F-Zero port
• new DKC
• new StarFox (even a Zero port would be nice)

The next big wave (Prime4, new Mario) will have to wait for TotK to be out...
I'm quite sure the last few years of the Switch will be epic!

@Johnny44
I have rights to give my comments, even the harsh one.
I don't sugar coat everything.

Other than Zelda and Metroid Prime, there isn’t much left for Nintendo to do this gen. They’ve already cycled through the usual IP, so they maybe have something brewing with Capcom, Square, or some other 3rd party IP to fill out the 2023 schedule.

This happens every year, "sob sob they have nothing to show!!!!", even though it's only February and they usually show what they've got up until the middle of the year round about now. Direct comes out, "oh where did that come from???!?!!" Followed by more disappointment. Rinse and repeat...

So Fire Emblem Engage in January, Kirby in February, Bayonetta Origins in March, Advance Wars possibly April, then the biggie in May.

And Nintendo don't often show much that isn't coming out within six months and there will likely be a Direct in February.

Yeah I'm not worried. This happens every damn year.

@NotTelevision We have (weak) rumors for DKC, F-Zero, StarFox and Kid Icarus.There is hope for many great games to come.

Well, off course, we already have so many great games on the system Nintendo could call it a day
But I'm quite optimistic about 2023/early 2024 Switch games.

@Ade117 also wishing for a Star Fox game for Switch. I would be happy even with Star Fox Zero

I want Donkey Kong

@DarkTron https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2023/230207_5e.pdf
Here's the pdf with all the info from Nintendo's website if you want.

Direct incoming! it may be a quiet year but the evergreens will still sell regardless

@arabiansanchez They do have "a small studio". 1-UP Studio is pretty small.

@BTB20 What I meant was they are a sizeable software developer. I was responding to the notion that they wouldn’t have the capacity to develop and put out a AAA title with some graphical prowess.

It is also true that Nintendo do own some smaller studios under their overall umbrella, yes.

@Ade117
Star Fox wasn’t released on Wii.

@arabiansanchez I was just kidding. I know what you meant.

@BTB20 You scamp! 😂

@Anti-Matter so???

i bet we get a ton of cloud games before the year is done.
But im hoping for windwaker atleast before Switch Next comes or whatever its called.

Really can't complaint, when the list of upcoming games says

Zelda
Metroid
Pikmin

almost looks like a fake 4chan rumor,

absolutely beyond hyped for Pikmin 4, it's an IP I just got around to play on the Wii U, with Pikmin 3, and was instantly hooked, there isn't another game quite like it, challenging, complex, realistic, smart kinda lemmings type of vibe, and relaxing at the same time, really great games, very much anticipating any new footage or news about this tittle.

Why are there always replies to a non-existent Anti-Matter comment?

@Souflee @arabiansanchez I’m a huge Metroid Prime fan but honestly, 4 is looking like a bit of a pipe dream at the moment. I have a completely unfounded theory that it might be Nintendo’s cross-gen release this time, ala Twilight Princess (GCN / Wii) and Breath of the Wild (Wii U / Switch). Alternatively, maybe it skips Switch entirely.

More than any other Nintendo title, Prime WAS known for its graphics as much as its stellar gameplay. I’m wondering if Retro have maybe exceeded the Switch’s abilities in trying to make something that lives up to the old Trilogy.

I mean that fact that Metroid Prime 4 is still been mentioned, and the last half the year is empty.... gives me hope, even a bit of butterflies in the stomach, would it? could it?
Please Nintendo, megaton drop that for the end of the year, Sony and MS would just need to pack their bags and hope the year after is a better time for them lol.

@arabiansanchez I dunno that's really fair. There has been some epic releases on Switch. Doom (2016), Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein Young Blood etc... The Switch can do some amazing visuals, Metroid doesn't really need to go as hard as Doom for instance, its more an exploration/puzzler than a hardcore extreme fps. I think we'll all be gobsmacked when it finally surfaces. We all know it won't be 4k billion poly visual epic, but when it's coded well with decent optimized modelling, the Switch can produce some great stuff. imo.

@D_Munk It definitely can; Nintendo are masterful at achieving a lot with relatively modest specs. I hope I’m wrong and they manage to put out a MP4 sooner rather than later. Maybe the silence is a good thing and Retro are just avoiding the rumour circuit, given the fashion in which the project passed on to them.

@Anti-Matter So edgy

@arabiansanchez Unfounded theory? That's exactly what they're doing,

obviously when the development shifted to Retro Studios, a blessing in disguise, it would take a long time, Tears if the kingdom is set to release almost 6 years after botw, and it's gonna be running in the same engine, its a sequel, they just need to focus on creating the gameplay and environments,

now Metroid 4, is something that needs to be built from the ground up, without any foundation, something completely new, and the scope of it and what's expected of it, obviously it's gonna take a long time, fortunately for us, some yeas have already gone by and we'll eventually see some footage of the game,

now there is no doubt in my mind, it will release as a cross gen tittle on the Switch 2, and maybe run on the switch with some significant downgrade, Retro is the studio Nintendo uses when they really want a game to pop and have great visuals, like the work they did on the Mario Kart series, I'm expecting this game to be something truly outstanding and it makes sense, they'll use it to showcase the capabilities of the Switch sucessor

still working on Bayo 3, so I probably won't pick up the Bayo game

I was super meh on BOTW. Not sure I care enough to pick up the sequel. Not unless the open world is less bland and boring and has more to do

Don't care about Pikmin or the 40th Kirby game this gen

I do really want Advance Wars and Metroid Prime. Dates would be nice

Aside from Fire Emblem, Nintendo is really lacking this year for me

GBA games on NSO would be nice though. Let me play Golden Sun, you cowards

Even if I were to buy all those games, I wouldn't have time to play them all anyways. My only problem is that I'm only interested in 2.5 of those games. One of those games is still listed as TBA. One I'll buy day one. The .5 is a game that got delayed for silly reasoning that I've now lost interest in.

It's the time of year when major gaming sites and gamers insist there's nothing in the pipeline for the latter half of the year. Like clockwork.

Anyway, this may be the year they're finally somewhat right. Nintendo is probably focusing more on the Switch successor, than anything. Well, maybe other than the Mario movie...

Your use of capitalisation in the article title made me think Nintendo were lining up releases for Windows akin to Sony

@IronMan30 Considering they started a film production company my they must be focusing on more than just the Mario movie.

@roboshort yes, they likely are going to make more than one movie. I think people are underestimating the importance of that studio.

I just wanna play Tears and Hogwarts Legacy, that's it. The rest is the rest.

@Uncle_Franklin He probably blocked you.

@hippoeater @_fatto_katto_
I have different interest in gaming so I prefer the underrated / unpopular games with hidden gems quality such as Epic Chef, Dodgeball Academia, Yokai Watch games, Portal Knights, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Yonder the Cloud Catcher Chronicles, etc so I prefer waiting for underrated games like these because they have the appeals for me rather than looking for too popular / too mainstream games like zelda or metroid or smash bros or etc that I have zero interest with them and they have zero appeal for me.
Am I edgy ? No.
I just have different gaming taste, nothing wrong for being different.

@BTB20

a badge of honour.

@Uncle_Franklin It's more likely his post got disliked into oblivion, I still think it's over 5 dislikes then the post vanishes...

I have three months to finish Breath of the Wild. :x

@WiltonRoots

I never knew about that.

@Anti-Matter
I think it's the attitude that comes off as edgy, not your taste

I already spend enough money on games I don't have time to play; this lineup is plenty for me.

Especially because this isn't my first year on planet Earth and I know there will be stuff announced for the second half of the year at some point.

@YoshiF2 @Don It was on DS, though, so Star Fox didn't miss that generation.

@Saturos1 just hit the ignore button. My life is much better for it. He’s insufferable.

I hope this means that they have some surprises up their sleeves. New Mario (especially with the movie hitting theaters soon)?

Either way Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom along with the recent releases (Pokemon, Fire Emblem: Engage, Kirby, Bayonetta 3, etc) is a lot of content to sit with for a while. Here's hoping for a little magic tomorrow.

@Anti-Matter Ah yes my favorite franchise that has sold hundreds of millions of copies and is incredibly mainstream, Pikmin.

If they don’t announce something or another direct for the second half of the year their investors will likely tank out.
That said, I’m sure they of all people are acutely aware of what they need to do.

I miss the days of so many first party games over two consoles. I suppose dev time has certainly increased per game.

I’m excited for Zelda and Metroid but would like to play a Pikmin game.

I hope they announce some more switch online things.

'Trust in Nintendo!'

Way to sound like a cult.

@Pod : You can beat the game in as little as half an hour. I believe in you!

@mariomaster96 @Ade117 : At this point, I think it's more likely that we'll see Xenoblade Chronicles X resurface as a nice 'n' easy launch title to diversify the Switch successor's launch line-up.

Either way, I doubt we will see a port until 2024 at the earliest given that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is still undergoing development.

@WiltonRoots : Are you sure about that?

I think if a post gets enough dislikes that the mods will review it for removal (in which case, the comment will be replaced with "[Removed - Reason]" in italics, but I don't think that Wii the Miiple have been given the power to collectively remove comments like that.

@Sisilly_G Yep I've seen it happen before round these parts, it's almost like the equivalent of being downvoted on other sites. They removed the amount of dislikes visible because I think they felt it encouraged pile-ons on certain people.

@WiltonRoots : I knew about the latter point (and part of me was even tempted to make a dummy account to see which of my comments were heavily disliked ), but I assumed that some people simply removed their comments due to a change of position or to avoid any further conflict.

@Sisilly_G Nope I've seen people come back and comment about how come their post has vanished - usually the mods give clear reasons. I think sometimes it breaks the flow of the comments, other times I think well I know some clown was being obnoxious and got disliked into oblivion.