Grumblevolcano

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.

I really hope Astro Bot is #1 next week.

AAI collection (sadly digital only in Europe), Echoes of Wisdom physical, FF Pixel remasters physical, Mario Party physical, Tomb Raider 1-3 physical and Sonic X Shadow Generations physical are definite but may get others as well.

Most excited for Sonic X Shadow Generations by far.

Considering cheaper games by SEGA get physical versions when extra content is added (e.g. Sonic Mania and Sonic Origins got "Plus" expansions which resulted in physical versions), I think it's a relatively safe guess that there'll be a physical bundle for some combination of Yakuza 0/Yakuza Kiwami/Yakuza Kiwami 2 in the future.

Probably Splatoon 3, leaning more towards Salmon Run in preparation for next weekend's Big Run.

Nice to see the focus being on GCN this time. While the N64 games are good, I like the GCN games much more.

@Fizza I agree not to rule it out considering Capcom chose to release 2 AA collections in a year.

An interesting approach pairing both together, excited to see what comes. Hopefully Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac happens considering the teases from the Pac-Man twitter account earlier on in the year.

Returning to the Klonoa collection. Its release timing was unfortunate with XC3 a week later and then Booster Course Pass wave 2 the week after so it got lost in the backlog.

They've got a really nice selection of levels and bosses for the Shadow campaign so far. Maybe it's 2 levels and 1 boss per game?

The Nintendo Museum was in last September's general Direct so I guess this makes sense.

The current announcement did remind me that the Super Nintendo World DK expansion is happening later on in the year so we may get a Direct for that as well.

I don't see Legends Z-A appearing considering this is an esports event. GO, Unite and the TCG mobile app are the most likely to get announcements, maybe something for Scarlet/Violet if you're very lucky.

Started the Scarlet Blaze path for Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes earlier this week. Figured now was a good time considering the absolute earliest an upcoming Fire Emblem game could release is February 2025.

@EVIL-C Porting 1st party titles to other platforms by choice always results in more coming to those platforms. The Xbox and PS strategies for PC shows this but most recently there's the Xbox strategy for releasing on PS. Even Forza Horizon 5 is seemingly coming to PS.

So if Lego Horizon Adventures was published by Sony on Switch then you'd likely see Sony decide to port more stuff that they think would sell well on Nintendo hardware. The upcoming Astro Bot being a very fitting pick considering it's very Nintendo-like.

So now we have our answer, Lego Horizon Adventures is coming to Switch solely because Lego forced Sony to bring it to Switch rather than Sony actually wanting to bring it to Switch.

This is really useful information as it says not to expect Astro Bot on Switch 2.

I wonder what happened to the Sonic 3 movie, it's apparently releasing in 4 months yet there's no news.

I'm really glad that Tango Gameworks got revived, this is fantastic news.

Splatoon 3 for the Splatfest, making the most of it while it lasts especially considering next month is the final Splatfest.

Sonic already has a game releasing in October, RGG are announcing their next game at TGS in September and announcing something Persona would steal the spotlight from Metaphor so I don't think the unannounced game is Sonic/Like a Dragon/Persona.

Two Point Campus successor maybe?

Upon finding out the Switch version of Tomb Raider 3 was buggy, I chose to play the Lara Croft collection instead. Currently on the 2nd game of the collection (Temple of Osiris) and I'm liking it so far.

@JohnnyMind I think Pokemon Legends Z-A will end up getting in the top 10 considering Pokemon Legends Arceus got around 15 million despite being sandwiched between 2 other mainline releases (BDSP in November 2021, Legends Arceus in January 2022, Scarlet/Violet in November 2022).

With seemingly more breathing room between the mainline entries this time, I'd imagine that Scarlet/Violet overtakes Sword/Shield this Holiday and Legends Z-A overtakes NSMBU Deluxe by the time Gen 10 is announced.

Nice seeing both games do well. I do wonder how well Brothership will do, 3 Mario RPGs in the space of a year was an odd choice.

It's very interesting that they chose to announce now. Maybe there isn't a Pokemon Presents in August after all and they announce stuff like the TCG release date at Worlds.

Definitely Outer Wilds, Tomb Raider 1-3 collection and Echoes of Wisdom. Hopefully Tomb Raider 3's stuttering gets fixed by the time the physical release happens, I started the game few days ago and it was very buggy so I'm holding off playing it further until the next patch.

Investigations is sadly digital only on Switch in Europe (much like MH Stories physical was only PS4) so undecided whether to wait for a sale. Also undecided on Emio.

I went for Switch carts because they're the most convenient to use. It's like how the Switch OS is my favourite OS despite stuff like themes and eshop music not being present.

Don't see it happening, especially while the NSO voucher program exists.

Finished the TTYD remake (I like it more than the original) but instead of moving straight on to Tomb Raider 3 and its DLC, I figured I'd return to Pac-Man World Re-Pac in case the next Direct has a Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac announcement.

I felt Three Houses had the better story meanwhile Engage had the better gameplay.

I'm not ready to move on, Nintendo could release Switch 2 in like 2030 and I'd still be happy provided the software lineup for Switch 1 continues to stay strong.

I wonder if Emio will get icons.

My guess would be mobile stuff considering the TCG app launches this year but it could maybe be for a random announcement like how a Pokemon car was at Gamescom 2022.

I finished Nintendo World Championships NES Edition yesterday so I'm now deciding on my next game. Leaning towards either Tomb Raider 3 + its DLC or TTYD with the other one being the game I play afterwards.

The intro shown off in the Direct definitely looked playable rather than just a cutscene.

@Sidewinder172 It's important to remember that the Playstation community uniting in backlash against Jim Ryan is the sole reason why the PS3 and Vita still live today. Without that monumental effort, the stores would've been shut down in 2021.

Splatoon 3 for the Splatfest, just like the last few I'm taking full advantage of the ability to play a Splatfest while they still exist. The "Thank You for Playing" message in the Sizzle Season 2024 catalog makes it seem like Summer Nights is the penultimate Splatfest with FinalFest ending up being around late August.

@OldGamer999 Online preorders for consoles are always a gigantic mess, Switch 2 will be scalped in droves as usual.