Topic: Next Nintendo Direct?

Honestly it feels like everyone saying that there's going to be a Direct in April or June is just copium. The fanbase is just desperate for more games but it doesn't sound like they have much. I could see a Mini at best to announce some more remasters but I suspect we won't see another general Direct until Spring 2025. They just don't seem like they're going to have enough games to justify a full Direct until next gen, and I suspect a Switch 2 presentation is going to take the place of the usual September Direct, so I suspect we're in another lengthy drought of a full Direct. The transition to next gen and the rumored delay just feels like it's going to lead to a long period of little to no news and activity.

@Bolt_Strike It's hardly Wii U-ville just yet lol.

I think it might be quiet until late may or june. I welcome being wrong, though.

@GrailUK Ehh, it's close enough at this point. There's been no new AAA games announced in a year, with the exception of Mario Wonder and Princess Peach Showtime (can you even call that AAA?) it's been just remakes and remasters in that time. There's been more remakes/remasters and third party games on the Switch than the Wii U, but other than that this does feel like Wii U-ville right now. It's been bone dry for a while and the games that should be ready to release soon are more suitable for next gen than the Switch.

@Bolt_Strike If you take away the ports/remasters/remakes, 2018/2020/2021/2023 were pretty much Wii U-ville in the sense that there would’ve been sizeable game droughts in those Switch years. The key lesson Nintendo learned from the Wii U era is that game droughts are very bad so you fill in the gaps between new games with ports/remasters/remakes.

The point being that the entire package should be considered. A packed year that has lots of ports/remasters/remakes is still a packed year.

@Magician
And it sold a million fewer than Three Houses.

On top of that, Dread is the best-selling Metroid game of all time.

Of all time.

@FishyS @CaleBoi25 @OctolingKing13 The thing about NoA tweets are that there’s at least 2 so like for example for April 10th so far there’s been these:

As well as a retweet of a tweet about Tales of the Shire. I was wrong about Direct timing but it is unusual for there to only be 1 tweet in a day from NoA on the 9th.

@rallydefault yes but the hype level is super high for prime 4, plus Metroid prime remastered sales numbers are impressive

@rallydefault
Again, and I'm sounding like a broken record here, two things. Firstly a game to launch Switch 2 does not mean it's THE game to launch Switch 2. When I say save it for Switch 2 I mean to say it should be A game to launch Switch 2

And the idea that you'd put it as a Switch holiday game because it'd sell more units? I mean firstly if it's cross gen the install base will be better not worse. But more importantly, what good is more units for a game in a series that historically doesn't move many units. Metroid Prime 4 is and has never been a game for making a huge return. It's a showpiece game. The Switch does not need another showpiece game, the Switch 2 does

Metroid Prime 4 as a Switch swansong title with no attachment to Switch 2 would make people ask "and why do we need better hardware again?". If it's associated with Switch 2 though? People will mentally associate the quality of that game with Switch 2. And that is FAR more important than a slight boost to Switch in its last holiday sales period

Wanting an April direct is copium; assuming there will be a June direct when literally every year for more than a decade except 2020 has had one is just logic. 2020 clearly would have had one also if not for the pandemic.

@Grumblevolcano Ehh, 2018 and 2021 had a few more than 2020, 2023, and this year so far, and 2020 can be excused because of the pandemic which was outside of their control. So it's really these last two years that have been the most suspect.

Ports and remakes are a good fallback option and certainly better than nothing, but they shouldn't be relying on them as much as they have because it's mainly built on old content which isn't as entertaining. In that sense they kind of only count as half a game. Nintendo really needs to continue building up their dev teams and new IPs this next generation to start filling in more of these gaps, one game per month is not going to be achievable at the rate they're currently operating (probably closer to an average of 1 every 1 1/2-2 months).

@FishyS 2022 also did not have a general Direct, so it's more than just the pandemic clearly. Notice that with the exception of 2023, the June Directs all have one thing in common: they were E3 presentations. June Directs WERE a sure thing in the E3 days, but now? Less so. Granted there's a small sample size, but for the most part when they didn't attend E3, they didn't bother with a full Direct in June. It was usually just a Partner Showcase or a game specific Direct. I wouldn't hedge your bets. They probably won't go for a June Direct if they don't think they have enough new games to show off, and I don't think they do. Again, a Mini in June might make some sense but a full fledged general Direct feels unlikely.

@Bolt_Strike True, I forgot June 2022 was a partner showcase plus a xenoblade mini direct. But they still chose to do something even without E3. At this point, I think people are just waiting for any direct whether or not it is a full length general direct or something else. June feels like a likely contender.

@Bolt_Strike Could be a third party partner showcase as well.

@FishyS I don't really think so. The ports/remakes and third parties are really niche/not as exciting. I think most people are waiting more for a general Direct that shows off new AAA games. They're most waiting for the Metroid Prime 4s, the 3D Marios, the Donkey Kongs, the Mario Karts, etc. And I think games of that caliber are done for the generation. And without those, we're probably not going to see anymore full Directs this gen either. We're most likely waiting for the new console to be announced at this point.

The lack of E3 does break the pattern as does it being late in the hardware cycle. They will want to get some of these announcement for the holiday period before those games happen though. Usually they ramp up releases around September so it'd want to be before then. And it would want to be after their May AGM

So probably June/July. Which is when E3 used to land anyways so, probably not a huge change there. I guess if the tail end of the year is super quiet they could drag it out into August/September? But.... June/July, I think makes sense

I wouldn't be holding my breath for anything before June though

Can't lie my gaming interest is at a all time low. I'm just waiting on the next system at this point. I'm okay with them surprising me with a COD on switch this year though.

@skywake
I just don't think Prime 4 is as big a deal as you guys do. I just don't.

Prime was such an amazing game, even for me who doesn't like Metroid all that much. But it still sold relatively poorly, and its sequels as well.

Metroid is a niche title. It's just that Super Smash Brothers has trained us to view Samus as a bigger character lol

Summer Games Fest is taking place on June 7th which might be more of a priority for 3rd party developers around that time which might make it harder for Nintendo to 'pad out' a full direct if they don't have many 1st party games to announce.

And regarding Switch 2 launch games, consoles historically don't tend to launch with a huge amount of games, Nintendo will have one big hitter ready and I'd would be staggered if that isn't a new 3d Mario.

@rallydefault
I think you're arguing an entirely different point than I am. My view is that Metroid Prime 4, wherever it lands, is going to struggle to break 5mill. I think it has a fair chance to beat Dread given it will be a much more substantial title. But for sales performance Metroid is generally Pikmin tier

But huge sales or not it'll still be an impressive game. And you need titles like that in order to market new hardware. Poor example but it's kinda like the difference between Pikmin 3 and New SMB U on the Wii U in that first year. For me Pikmin 3 was part of the reason I picked up a Wii U at launch. Not because I desperately wanted Pikmin, it wasn't that at all. But it was a well presented title that, for me, explained what the point of the Wii U GamePad was and sold the promise of HD content from Nintendo. Sure New SMB U sold more, everyone who got a Wii U had to pick it up, but New SMB U was a game you got for the Wii U not a game you got the Wii U for

Or it's kinda like how in that first Switch trailer they showed of Skyrim. Do I care about Skyrim on Switch? No, not really. I never picked it up. I have no interest in it. But Skyrim on Switch was shorthand for "yes, console games on a portable". I'm sure putting Skyrim in the marketing for the Switch early on sold a hell of a lot more Switch consoles than it sold copies of Skyrim on Switch. I mean, I'm on this forum and was convinced to get the Wii U so I was always sold on Switch. Even so, Skyrim on Switch? Certainly made Switch an easier buy

I feel like Metroid Prime 4 could be one of those titles for Switch 2. It's a title that'll be entirely wasted on the tail end of a console cycle. It's not going to sell 10s of millions on Switch no matter how big the Switch install base is. But it certainly is the sort of title that will drive early adopters to upgrade to Switch 2. Not necessarily for Metroid Prime 4 but for the library of software including Prime 4 that Prime 4 represents

And again, I still think they need more than Prime 4. I think they need Mario in some shape or form whether it's Kart or a big 3D title or both. They probably also want something out of left field and something from their back catalogue. Probably a quality remake or remaster. All of that stuff..... but Metroid Prime 4 should be a large part of that strategy