Grumblevolcano

For those wondering about the lack of a warning that Switch successor isn't present, it's to do with the tweet length limit. Nintendo UK split the Direct announcement into 2 tweets with the 2nd one being:

"Please note, there will be no game announcements or mentions of the Nintendo Switch successor during this presentation."

Considering the patch which fixed Tomb Raider 3's stuttering released earlier on in the week, I decided to play that and its DLC before starting Brothership.

Is that last sentence perhaps suggesting you may be able to play Switch 2 with your Switch 1 as a controller like the Wii U Gamepad was for Wii U?

I think February reveal and September release. September release would fit perfectly with a 3D Mario launch title coinciding with the SMB 40th anniversary (like how 3D All Stars coincided with 35th anniversary and Mario Maker coincided with 30th anniversary).

As for February reveal, I feel it's to do with Legends Z-A. There's annual Pokemon Presents coinciding with Pokemon Day (February 27th) so it's a safe guess that Legends Z-A debut gameplay will be revealed on February 27th 2025. My guess is that the game releases in the normal November Pokemon slot so they'd showcase the debut gameplay running on Switch 2 and I feel that February reveal for Switch 2 is more likely than prior to February.

While my favourite Star Fox entry is Assault, I think I'd want a Zero + Guard port the most from the franchise because it rescues 2 more games from the Wii U.

Probably focused on Sonic X Shadow Generations. While I've beat the game and unlocked everything, there's still stages I want to improve my times on or get S ranks in the lead up to Brothership's launch next week.

Absolutely preordering the physical version, my 2nd most anticipated release of 2025 so far (first is Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered).

The Wind Waker tease is cruel when the game isn't playable on Switch but apart from that it's a cool announcement. Hopefully regarding Splatoon 3, they include the Grand Fest versions of songs.

I think reveal will be in February and release in September.

While XCX was one of the games at the top of my most wanted to be ported over, there's plenty of other games the Wii U got that I want to see come to Switch taking into account both Wii U games and VC.

I'm so happy that this game is finally coming to Switch!

Focusing on Sonic X Shadow Generations but also playing Splatoon 3 for the Splatfest. Generations is looking at the moment like it will end up being my GotY.

@Toastmaster It's specifically Splinter Cell Blacklist that doesn't feel believable to me, not the concept of Ubisoft doing more remasters and remakes. If the rumour was something like another Assassin's Creed game or a Far Cry game that's being remastered/remade, that would feel very believable.

Splinter Cell Blacklist makes it sound really fake to be honest.

My favourite minigames generally were the returning ones from Mario Party 4-6.

My guess is Kid Icarus. Since Nintendo killed the 3DS eshop in 2023, they've been delving deeper into 3DS territory for Switch like LM2 and DKC Returns (Switch port gets the 3DS exclusive levels) so I could see a Kid Icarus Uprising remaster happen to prepare people for a new game.

Really excited for this, will be playing it as soon as my physical copy arrives.

I'd say 8/10. Really like the boards (favourite is Rainbow Galleria), Jamboree buddies create extra fun chaos and the side modes are cool as well (especially Koopathlon) however there's not enough minigames for the main Mario Party mode.

I'd say Switch is Nintendo's best system yet. A really cool gimmick (the ability to seamlessly move between being a home console to being a handheld), fantastic selection of 1st party games both old and new, 3rd party support has been strong and the OS is all about being able to get into the games you want to play as quick as possible.

As for Switch 2, I don't see it being revealed before late January at the earliest. February would be my guess around the usual Direct slot for that time of year.

Super Mario Party Jamboree will be my focus until Sonic X Shadow Generations releases next week.

@TheExile285 The eshop listing for the Digital Deluxe edition says there'll be a Digital Deluxe Season Pass which contains the extra contents.

Sounds very promising for the most part though the review mentioning battle pass does concern me. Can you share more about how the system is handled?

"The next year" doesn't necessarily mean talking specifically about 2025. As they're saying in context of Expansion Pack turning 3 years old, it may very well be about year 4 (October 25th 2024 - October 24th 2025).

The whole situation regarding Smash Wii U showcases that Nintendo will continue to support the Gamecube controller as long as Smash still exists.

Probably continuing with F-Zero GP Legend and Climax via the NSO app. It's interesting how F-Zero Climax continues GP Legend's approach of higher difficulties having different, more difficult tracks (e.g. Standard Bronze Cup is different to Expert Bronze Cup) but this time being different locations too.

This has a very good chance of being my 2025 GotY. So excited to replay The Last Revelation and Chronicles.

Angel of Darkness is for sure the weakest entry in the franchise but it's still appreciated that the game is going to be playable on current hardware.

The speed at which Tomb Raider games are being brought over to current platforms makes me think the Survivor Trilogy (2013, Rise, Shadow) will come to Switch 2.

I can't say I'm interested in the product itself but the announcement timing when there's so much Switch 2 talk was absolutely hilarious.

@LXP8 It's to do with the type of Direct. There were no general Directs in 2020 (the next general Direct after September 2019 was February 2021) however there were smaller Directs in 2020.

September 2020 had a Direct celebrating SMB's 35th anniversary, a Partner Showcase and a Monster Hunter Direct.

The current situation is that Nintendo has 2-3 less games than normal looking ahead. In normal circumstances on top of what's already present you see:

• A game for mid/late November
• A game for March
• Sometimes a game for February

There's enough going on in October and early November that Nintendo could easily go through October just on what's already announced but I don't see them announcing Switch 2 in November/December because of the holiday shopping season.

So I think we'll either see a Switch 2 reveal this week or a Switch 1 general Direct in November after Brothership launches (e.g. have a Direct on November 14th with Prime 2+3 being a shadow drop to celebrate Prime 2's 20th anniversary).

Undecided as I finished Echoes of Wisdom earlier in the week. Maybe F-Zero X to try and unlock the X cup (I have it unlocked on Wii VC but not NSO).

It's noticeable but doesn't harm the experience, same with the Link's Awakening remake.

Fantastic to see that Climax is finally going to be available outside of Japan and I'm excited to replay GP Legend. Between this and the Satellaview content for F-Zero 99, that leaves GX as the only F-Zero game missing from Switch.

Hopefully GX gets a remaster (proper physical version like they've done for other GCN games would be much better than doing GCN NSO) and then they delve into a new game.

The last time an accessory company leaked the Switch 2 release timing, the following month there were lots of reports about internal delays.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/01/random-ai-gameshark-successor-claims-to-know-switch-2-release-date-then-backtracks

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/02/rumour-new-report-from-nikkei-corroborates-switch-2-delay-into-2025

It'll be interesting to see if history repeats itself.

All focused on Echoes of Wisdom, it's been a really fun game so far.

They fell off the "more power" path after the Gamecube and it did them the world of good.

Nintendo's been extremely quiet about NSO Expansion Pack recently (last game was early August). While I do think September's NSO game will be a Rare N64 game like Conker, maybe it's Sonic GBA games or 3D Blast announced here instead?

Undecided as I'm kind of wasting time waiting for Zelda to arrive. Will probably revisit Splatoon 3's Grand Fest venue to listen to more music though.

If there's something this month, this week is most likely. They wouldn't have done something like a general Direct or Switch 2 reveal in the first half of September because of Splatoon 3 meanwhile next week is Zelda which leaves this week as the sole week of September that's available for those kind of announcements.

Some kind of Switch 2 reveal feels most likely considering announcing the console would open up for 3rd party announcements at TGS. A Switch 1 general Direct would be a really nice surprise though.

It was truly an amazing experience. Spent a fair amount of time just exploring the hub, watching the performances and seeing how things evolved over the days of the event.

As for the Splatfest itself, it was really cool having Tricolor be available every day and I got to play some Tricolor stages I didn't play much previously due to Splatfest timing. I also really liked that for songs played during matches, they added in songs from previous games and Splatoon 3's campaign into the mix.

The final map felt a bit unfair for defenders initially but over time I came to the conclusion it was a fair map for both sides, just very fun and chaotic. The way music changed based on who got the 2nd Ultra Signal was a really cool touch.

It's fantastic that you can revisit the hub at any time. A shame it's locked behind amiibo but considering they went that route, they should at the very least make the amiibo more available so those who haven't got the amiibo can get it.

Splatoon 3 turned out to be a fantastic successor despite initial questions of whether Splatoon 2 should've just been supported for longer instead and I'm excited to see what comes next.

Splatoon 3 for Grand Fest, going to make the most of this final event that I can.

If I recall correctly, the last proper Capcom physical Switch release in Europe was Monster Hunter Stories 2 in 2021.

I think Switch 2 needs to be cheaper than the PS5 Digital Edition (£389.99) but still have a cart slot.

@Reztobi Redfall and Starfield are the only Xbox console exclusive Bethesda games as a result of the Bethesda acquisition at current. The others that were originally Xbox console exclusive got announced for PS5 as part of the new multiplatform strategy so it's a safe guess that Starfield will go multiplatform at some point.

I think it'll be something like Forza Horizon 5, MCC or a Gears collection containing the 360 games (leaning towards Forza). One thing about the Skyrim reveal was the surprise factor, a 3rd party (Bethesda) that stopped supporting Nintendo hardware after the N64 decided to return.

As Switch got massive 3rd party support, I feel the only way to get a similar surprise factor with Switch 2 would be to delve into exclusivity. Microsoft has started their multiplatform strategy but I think delving into the big 3 (Halo, Gears, Forza) would still add a surprise factor because those are the franchises that have defined Xbox for so long.

Meanwhile my hope is a FF segment similar to the one in the September 2018 Direct but like with Remake, Rebirth, 16, 13 trilogy, Tactics, a console version of 15, etc.

So I guess that means the original plan was Indie World by itself on August 27th (which is very normal timing for Indie World) and then the Partner Showcase or a general Direct containing the Partner Showcase content would've been in September but plans changed suddenly with the Partner Showcase happening the same day.

Seems like more evidence for those Switch 2 September reveal rumours...

Focusing on Splatoon 3 for Big Run. I get that this Big Run and Grand Fest are the end for Splatoon 3 events so enjoying them while they last.

Hopefully the annual MK8 Deluxe bundle returns.

I'd prefer focusing on missing 1st party icons first. Like if they finished off the missing courses for MK8 Deluxe (BCP waves 3-6), I was looking forward to having a Wii Daisy Circuit icon.

I think the week beginning September 16th feels the most likely at this point. While I thought a March 2025 reveal and September 2025 release made the most sense, Nintendo's actions over the past week or so make that unlikely.

Nintendo's promoting Splatoon 3 Grand Fest (September 12th - 15th) so heavily that I don't see them announcing Switch 2 before that ends however you have the Switch 1 Fall lineup starting on September 26th which a Switch 2 reveal would clash with.

Announce September 18th, release April 10th 2025 would be my guess.

The game's looking fantastic so far, excited to get around to playing it.

On a different note, I was surprised that Nintendo did the timing pretty much the exact same time as the Concord shutdown announcement. I hope this is a sign that Nintendo won't fall into the live service trap with Switch 2.