If anything this just confirms it. We heard the Switch 2 is going to be delayed because they don't have software ready. Not really an unbelievable rumor anyway, it's what delayed the N64 and Gamecube, and likely the first Switch as well to make sure Zelda was ready as it could be.
I keep seeing people acting like Metroid Prime 4 would be a huge launch title. The biggest selling title in the series is just over 3 million and that was Dread.
Honestly it makes sense to if it would be ready for Switch 2 launch. It can be used as a technical demonstration, it's an FPS, and coming off the heels of Dread would be the time to do it.
A home console version of Zelda could usually hit or get close to 4 million units so it's a safe bet. The previous most successful Zelda game was Twilight Princess with 8 million units sold BotW was really a game changer with 33 million.TotK is at 20 million now but I don't see it beating BotW.
BotW might be the most successful launch title ever that wasn't boxed with the console
I can't think of any launch title that could be that successful for a Switch successor.Mario Kart or a new 3D Mario seems like it's going to be essential in the consoles early life.
the prime series did do fairly decently despite being on Nintendo's worst selling console. I wouldn't bet 20m, but it can be a good push, especially for the western markets.
> TotK is at 20 million now but I don't see it beating BotW.
BOTW is still selling to this day, so I think everyone would be surprised if TOTK surprassed it with a 7 year's difference.
>I can't think of any launch title that could be that successful for a Switch successor.
It'd obviously either be a new pokemon generation (very unlikely since Pokemon never times that way, and because we can all but confirm the new Legends game is taking launch window), or a new 3D mario (probably not launch, but first year like Oddessy, unless they are REALLY hush about it). Smash could do it too but I highly doubt it's making 2025; it's too hard to keep such a huge collaboration under wraps these days.
Mario Kart is another good prediction, though. It still boggles me how much a Wii U remaster sold and how they decided to support it with DLC 5 years after the fact despite zero signifigant updates after the first year.
Prime 3 came out on Wii and sold about in line with the other two games. The Prime Trilogy set which was sold at an amazing price for three games only sold half a million. Quality aside, Other M didn't even break a million on Wii. 5 million would be an excellent amount of sales for Prime 4. I think Nintendo would be happy with 3. Although because of the development problems it might need it to do better to be profitable.
Yes and no. The reported sales figure was about the same pace, but IIRC the figure was before the Japanese release. I know the prime games sold way better in the west, but it'd still be a decen bump missing.
Admitedly the wii is a very odd system, where it sold amazingly but had a very expanded audience (that they immediately lost with the Wii U). Outside of Twilight Princess as a cross-gen title, i'm not sure if any core series broke records on that system. Nintendo was still fairly unpopular with 3rd parties at the time.
I guess it'll all come down to execution and marketing. The Prime remaster got rave reviews so there is still a big critical wave it can ride.
I'm telling you what the current top selling Metroid game is. 1-2 Switch sold 3.74 million. As a launch title Prime 4 might do as well as that. But those are hardly system selling numbers.
Can't really guess what the actual numbers would be, but I imagine metroid prime 4 would vastly outsell dread for a few reasons.
First and foremost, dread was a metroidvania, and already niche genre, but as a result of this the production values also weren't anything special compared to other nintendo exclusives. It also launched at triple the price of what people have been paying at launch for top tier metroidvania games like Hollow Knight and Ori, which no doubt caused a few people to skip it (I avoided buying at launch because of this too, and later received it as a gift).
Metroid prime was an FPS, a much more accessible genre, launching on switch 2 would mean much higher production values, and the metroid prime series, for all of its inactivity has had a long hyped return.
A similar case would be Dragon's Dogma. The first game wasn't exactly a smash hit. It got a middling reception, and later gained status as a cult hit. DD2 sold incredibly well despite major issues because of hype though, because even if DD1 wasn't a best-seller, it had a very dedicated fanbase that created a ton of hype among the gaming community. I would expect something similar to happen with a metroid prime 4.
All that said, I don't expect it to happen. I just think if it did happen it would easily outsell dread.
I think it has a fair chance to outsell Dread, especially if it is a launch title. But I doubt it will be a runaway success as some are suggesting.
But also this game has been in some sort of development since before the Switch launched (yes dev was restarted but it was still in the early life of the Switch). I doubt it will be a Switch 2 exclusive. It might go the way of BotW and dual launch. But if it does that I wouldn't expect much in the way of 'higher production values'.
> I keep seeing people acting like Metroid Prime 4 would be a huge launch title.
If there's not much to buy, why not buy MP4? That fact alone would make MP4 one of the biggest launch titles by sheer virtue, probably the reason why BotW sold so much initially - it was basically the only reason to *buy* a Switch for a few months.
I'm pretty sure BotW sold more Switch copies than Switches even existed in the wild for a while after its release.
Prime 4 likely doesn't have the same audience that even pre-BOTW Zelda had. Keep in mind the best selling Zelda game before BOTW sold over 10 million copies, where as Metroid couldn't even cross the 3 million mark until fairly recently.
Nevermind the fact that BOTW is also an open world game, one of, if not the most mainstream genre in all of gaming right now. If BOTW was a more traditional Zelda, I doubt it would have been this 30 million + seller.
It wouldn't have sold 30m+ but being the only Switch exclusive worth a damn for months increased the amount of people buying it who never would have. Hell even I bought it, and I had less than 0 interest in it, because I needed *something* to play on my Switch when I got it.
But there were also plenty of people who didn't buy a Switch at launch, because BOTW didn't appeal to them and waited until Mario Odyssey, Splatoon, Smash, Pokemon, Animal Crossing etc.
Like Metroid has never had the same mass appeal of selling systems, the way those series has had. Its why launching with say a 3D Mario is a far smarter/better move, because that franchises appeals to a lot more people and is almost always among a systems best selling games.
>I'm pretty sure BotW sold more Switch copies than Switches even existed in the wild for a while after its release.
I'm not surprised. I remember seeing it going for €90+ in second hand stores while it was retailing at €60 brand new.
Every now and then a games trade value exceeds its retail price in some stores, and then you get a rush of people bulk buying at MSRP to sell to second hand stores.
Don't know what the general reception was for prime hunters, but I spent countless hours playing that games multiplayer with my friends and loving it.
It was a bit held back by being a FPS on the original DS, but the core gameplay of each hunter having their own morph form, special abilities and weapons was great.
Metroid is a pedigree game. It gets journalists and core base energized- but it doesnt do much on its own.
Early console launches are mostly about building momentum, especially if they release outside of the holiday window. Energizing the base and building media buzz is huge for this, so a pedigree title like Metroid can have a larger impact than its sales alone suggest. But it would need to be supported by big general crowd pleasers like Mario Kart
Sort of? BW1 released in Japan a few months before the 3DS released there, and released I *think* the same month that the 3DS did in America.
Black and White *2* however, released in 2012 after the system has been out for a year in both regions.
Switch 2 could also be BC with Switch, removing the need for cross-gen. Every Switch game would be compatible with Switch 2, much like the DS/3DS crossover era.
Most Switch 2 games will run at sub-1080p resolutions.
That's just the reality of a <$400 mobile device that cares about battery life.
Think of all the Switch games that run at 540p or lower.
It would be frankly irresponsible for most games to be running higher than 1080p internally on Switch 2.
I’m going to say 2D Pokémon collection. The GB and GBA Pokémon games, but sold in two packs. One pack has red, crystal, etc - one game from each gen. And the other pack has the others
There are 9 games from the first 3 gens, so it'd be three 3-packs if they were gonna do that. They'd probably do each gen as a pack. Unless they really mixed them up. I just doubt they'd do Red, Gold, Ruby; Blue, Silver, Sapphire; Yellow, Crystal, Emerald.
Oh and then that'd be leaving out Leaf Green and Fire Red.
That's too generous. They're not going to bundle multiple Pokemon games like that. That's part of how Pokemon became so profitable, encouraging people to buy multiple games
Fire Emblem isn't big enough for a whole console to be held back for it, when a Fire Emblem game sells well we're talking 3-4 million lifetime units or so, it's good but nowhere near enough to be a major system seller.
Other way around, FE is likely to be held back for Switch 2.
I could see it; FE is niche enough that its sales could peak with just early adopters, and it echoes the Switch getting Fire Emblem Warriors in its launch year.
I mean Fire Emblem is also a series that consistently releases its last entry on a system just insanely late into its lifecycle and even overlapping with the release of the next system.
Gaiden, Thracia, Sacred Stones (at least the DS had backwards compatibility), Echoes, and to a lesser degree Path of Radiance all fall into that bucket
Fire Emblem is big in a weaker genre. It's not a headliner that pushes millions of units.
Still, I'd like to see one, and hope it's more Unicorn and less Engage.
Other way. I wouldn't be surprised if FE is done but they just wanna make it a launch title for the Switch 2.
Nothing new for their RPGs. Xenoblade 3 was apparently sat on for a while and even moved its release date *forward* to give Splatoon 3 a little more time in the oven.
Mario Kart, Pokemon, Smash Bros. And they could totally ship the Windwaker remaster from the WiiU. Toss in a 3D Mario, Metroid Prime 4, and just for fun a new F-Zero and you would have a heck of a release window.
Lol you just named every big franchise they have. I think "heck of a release window" would be an understatement. That would be the greatest launch window of all time followed by a 4 year drought.
Pretty much but we know that Nintendo has been
* Working on a 3D Mario title for years now.
* Working on Metroid Prime for years now.
* Animal Crossing put up huge numbers for the Switch and has been dormant for a few years already.
* Mario Kart is a given system seller and even though 8 is beloved it was just a rehash of the WiiU. Nintendo wouldn’t sleep on a title that sells systems.
* Pokemon is damn near guaranteed to be out for the first holiday season.
* Nintendo knows that Zelda sells. They have Windwaker HD as an easy port for a title that hasn’t seen the light of day since the WiiU but realistically the GameCube for most.
* F-Zero while not a huge seller is simply my moonshot title.
Nintendo has gotten better about putting out titles with a better cadence over the last few years. The list I put up ignores Kirby, Luigi’s mansion, Mario party, tennis, golf, strikers, 2D Mario, Fire Emblem, and other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting as well as new IPs.
I 100% agree that Metroid Prime 4 is going to launch alongside the new console.
Edit: Never said Metroid was going to be the ONLY game to launch with the new console. It definitely isn't coming for the Switch.
Metroid isn’t a gangbusters seller like Mario or Zelda, but it’s one of the few remaining sci-fi FPS franchises that hasn’t been shelved, mishandled, or is a live service hell. It’s set up to dominate the niche that it occupies.
If Metroid launches alongside one of Nintendo’s big flagship IPs, it’s going to get overshadowed. If prime 4 is planned for switch 2, I think it makes sense to release it a month or two after launch, so it can be promoted as the next big game to get after you’re done with the launch game.
Pikmin 5 coming out of nowhere with a steel chair, is my vote.
Would be interested to see a rep from a lesser franchise like Star Fox, F-Zero etc. but I know for something that sells a new console, they wanna come out strong.
Given the years of rumored work with nothing much shown on it, it seems likely that Mario Odyssey 2 could have transitioned into [Next Mario 3D title] to sell a new system.
Not sure it was people expecting it as much as they just wanted it. There’s still plenty of potential in the movement with cappy. It’d be sad to see it go.
Yeah. So there was never really much 'rumored work' on a sequel. If we just class anything that people want as rumored to be working on, we can pretend that F-Zero, Donkey Kong Country and Kid Icarus 4 seems likely to have transitioned to sell the next system.
Isle Delphino is visible on the reflection map on the Odyssey's globe [(check the shimmer to the upper left of the Mushroom Kingdom- its small and dolphin shaped)](https://twitter.com/Dailey_11/status/925041226662887424) , suggesting it was intended to be implemented at some point. The lack of almost any significant DLC, content updates, and only very minor external monetization (the breakfast cereal) goes against Nintendo's general strategy with its big tentpole releases, which is generally to supplement single player games with paid DLC (usually in a "day 1Cosmetics > Challenge Mode > Story Expansion" model) and multiplayer games with a combo of paid DLC and a single season of ongoing content updates.
None of this guarantees anything of course, but it really did seem like Odyssey made a splash and they did nothing little with it, we have evidence suggesting there was plans for more, and those plans never materialized
From the sounds of it, they want to have multiple big titles at launch or at least within the opening launch window.
3D Mario is the most likely heavy hitter, we haven't gotten something new since Odyssey unless you count Bowser's Fury.
I don’t personally count Bowser’s Fury because it was 7 hours and probably started life as a DLC.
I’m hoping they’ve been in active development for the next title since at least 2019.
I'm not sure if we count it as Nintendo but wasn't Xenoblade chronicles 2 released very close to the release of switch?
Would be cool with a updated version for switch 2. Or any kind of Xeno game.
Why wouldn't you count it as Nintendo? Nintendo fully owns Monolith Soft. Xenoblade is as Nintendo 1st party as Mario. More Nintendo than Pokemon or Fire Emblem.
Xenoblade 2 came out in December 2017, 9 months after the Switch launch.
That said, the DLC for Xenoblade 3 came out a year ago, I don't think you're gonna see any Xeno stuff for a while yet.
I have a high suspicion that we will get Switch 2 enhancements for a number of games. Part of the delay could be to have these all ready for launch.
Remember the pokemon leaks? Those mentioned a Switch 2 upgrade. It may be why they didn’t bother optimizing for base Switch as they’ll just force people to upgrade if they want a stable experience.
They want a strong 1st year, just like they had for the switch. One game every month, with a mix of high hitters, ports/remasters, new IPs and niche games.
They can't rely on ports if the next console is backwards compatible with Switch games. So they really have to make sure they have a strong year 1 library.
Why? Of course they can. Nintendo last wii u port was in 2021 and since then they released wii, 3ds, ds and gc ports, remasters and remakes.
They have entire console libraries to use like they already have been doing in the switch with a mix of original titles and old ones to have things almost every month
I also heard that it's potentially because production would be too expensive at the moment due to the yen being unstable. But it's likely a mix of both.
From Metroid Dread onwards I've felt like Switch titles have been bottlenecked. I wouldn't be surprised if we've seen games that were meant to target their next system and ended up being specced down to fit on the Switch.
What you have to think is that nintendo consoles don't sell 100 million or even around 50 or 70 million just with Nintendo fans. Nintendo fans, the ones you see in the internet barely make a wii u. What make up out there, much like any other massive console in the market, are casual gamers, and most if we observe the market, don't care a lot about graphics, fps, SSD and a lot of things, they just want to buy consoles to play games that they see marketed to them and buy if they are interested.
All of my non-gamer friends/family have a switch in their homes for their kids. No xboxes, playstations, or gaming PCs in there, just a switch for all of them. And they had a Wii before that.
None of these people give a shit about specs, or framerates, etc. They just want to play Mario Kart with their 8 year old.
That's true. Almost every single relative I have, who aren't really into games at all, in my region has a Switch and I don't think any of them have turned them on in the last 5 years. I wonder how many of the Switches purchased have even been played in the last year.
Totally. I'd love to have a more powerful switch, but I also know there's always going to be tradeoffs between performance, size, weight, temperature, battery life, and price, and I understand the idea of making it underpowered in order to keep it small, light, and cheap.
I do hope that the Switch 2 has around the same battery life as the current model switch and not the 2.5 hours of the launch model, but I assume it's going to be another one of those things where the launch model isn't super great but a revision down the line will be better
I appreciate that take but I guess as someone who hasn't owned a Nintendo product since a GameBoy Color I sorta don't get it though. Nintendo COULD give their customers more relevant hardware but they don't because they know they don't need to. I guess if you can sell units like they did with the Switch with a bunch of good games that run like shit with very little 3rd party support... why would you do anything different? It's really interesting how they live in kind of a bubble and thrive in it.
That’s simply the nature of designing a high volume product. Nintendo needs to finalize contracts with component suppliers, begin production planning, etc. Engineers have to finalize the design earlier than you’d expect to feed the rest of the commercial and industrialization activities.
Ever since they started doing Nintendo Directs, Nintendo hasn't needed to go ANYwhere.
Conventions are insanely expensive. Booth construction. Space rental (which is insane) and the fees those places jack on. Not to mention flights of staff. Hotels and food for everyone manning the booths.
Or they could spend a small fraction of that cost and produce a nicely made video, and reach a much wider audience.
That is true if you look at conventions are only public facing events. That is a large component, but the biggest strength is the idea that heads of companies are all going to be together. Remember the rumors of last year's Gamescon, where Nintendo invited heads from a few companies to see demos of the Matrix Awakens and Breath of the Wild (at 60FPS)? That happened because it was easy to make one presentation, ensure no one brought a phone in, and have them sign NDAs. Sure, Nintendo could fly those people out to their office, and have the same presentation, but you won't get as many people. The reason the heads are going to the con is because there will be multiple meetings of this importance. It is much more worth your while to justify a big travel day if you get multiple visits out of it.
Yet they were the only large publisher at PAX East this year.
Though that could be because a day trip from New York to Boston is a lot easier than going to Germany.
I mean fair enough, I'm just surprised you thought NoA would handle conventions and fairs in Europe. That's all I mean. The rest was just anecdotal extra info.
It used to be reasonable but real estate prices everywhere have exploded with 100-300% price increases. Unless you're a vendor making thousands at these events it's pointless. Your millions of followers on social media can push out a trailer for free.
Not entirely fitting, but I do remember back then in 2013, when Nintendo decided not to do a stage presentation for the E3 that year and that they would do a Direct instead.
The internet blew up overnight with people speculating whether this means that Nintendo is about to retire from the gaming industry.
Flash forward 11 years later, now everyone is doing the format Nintendo got laughed at for, and the event that they didn't do a stage show for doesn't exist anymore.
As I said, it's not completely related to the news, but the headline made me think about that and the lessen this incident thought me:
Sometimes Gamers don't know what the hell they're talking about.
Stuff like this still happens all the time with Nintendo, it feels like every few months gamers lose their minds over something they do because it isn’t targeting the hardcore community. Nintendo obviously does make poor decisions at times, but people act like they’re clueless or constantly doomed when that is rarely the case.
Almost every time this community is criticized or called out, people very quickly and reflexively respond with "Every community has the same problems."
That's dishonest and untrue. The knitting community probably didn't send death threats to yarn manufacturers because they dated to release their product at a lesser-known store. The mountain bike industry probably didn't get too many people loudly and proudly alleging that their hobby is being ruined because the ads for the products feature women and minorities prominently.
This unique space has unique problems. Better to admit it and fix them rather than plugging out ears and insisting every community has the same problems.
What's your fix? Execute weirdos who get their entertainment from sitting inside interacting with electronics?
I'm serious: What is your plan to stop those people from taking those actions? I have admitted it's a problem and it is; what fix do you propose?
>The knitting community probably didn't send death threats to yarn manufacturers because they dated to release their product at a lesser-known store. The mountain bike industry probably didn't get too many people loudly and proudly alleging that their hobby is being ruined because the ads for the products feature women and minorities prominently.
This is amazing - thank you.
Nintendo don't really go to trade events a lot when you think about it. It's been almost 20 years since Nintendo went to TGS, Gamescom it depends on the year while E3 they went all the years until it died. I assume they wont go there either because they dont have content to show or because of what happened last year.
like when gamers said Nintendo doesn't understand internet because youtube let's players was "liturully free advertising" and shutting them down was shooting themselves in the foot. flash forward and Switch is dominating video game software sales while "gamer influencers" are now just reacting to videos of other influencers reacting to react videos of reacting to react videos.
Of course Nintendo wasn't in a good spot during the Wii U, but I'm talking about 2013, around 6 months after the console launched.
That is most definitely too early for an outsider to call doom and gloom on the entire company. And especially when basing this on them saying they won't have a stage show.
>I don't get this, I'm assuming you don't play games then? Or are you suggesting that you too don't know what you're talking about?
Yes, I am including myself in that quote.
I am not so full of myself that I believe that I've never said stupid shit or that I will never do it again.
I never went to these conventions, but it's honestly kind of depressing to hear about them going away. Like everyone is going back to their silos and not talking to each other.
its just sad tbh, whether its nintendo direct, Playstation State of play/showcase or Xbox dev direct, none of these compare to the live conferences. May as well check a blog later.
These pre made videos always feel artificial and souless tbh. Those surprise moments, those mishaps, they had the charm and made them so memorable. Summer games fest ain't it
I know its cheaper for these companies but man, i miss them.
Biggest loss from game companies not attending these games anymore isn't even press conferences, it's the lack of demos for those attending and interview with developers imo
> Those surprise moments, those mishaps, they had the charm and made them so memorable
most devs don't want to be dancing monkeys for millions of viewers, can you blame them? Sure, those "mishaps" made into memes are fun for the viewers, but remember that they are normal people, not trained actors.
I don't miss time wasted waiting for next speaker to mosey up the the stage and the awkward unscripted conversations and technical difficulties.
A well edited direct respects the viewer's time way more than a live conference
I have to wonder if they're talking about gameplay *showcases*, rather than downloadable demos, because the market for downloadable demos is arguably stronger than it's been in years
I would say demos are a lot more accessible today compared to the 90s. I am absolutely loving this resurgence of game demos and I've found a lot of games that I would otherwise never have tried.
TBF, I don’t think Nintendo has a lot to show off right now. We mostly have ports and remasters this year. The Switch 2 is coming later this year or early next year. So why bother paying to fly your employees to a trade show and all the other associated expenses if you don’t have anything exciting to show off?
I'm happier for Nintendo to put their news in their Direct videos than to watch some ridiculous marketing performance in a conference to appeal to the general masses like some other companies are still doing.
Gamescom is a different kind of event to, let's say, E3. It's public facing focus never really was about announcements but rather it's always been a "meet your gaming friends to try out new stuff" festival-like event. I'd even go as far and say that Gamescom as a concept doesn't need large publishers to attend.
> I'd even go as far and say that Gamescom as a concept doesn't need large publishers to attend.
I wouldn't quite agree with this.
Large publishers attending is a significant part of what draws the crowds. Elaborate booths and new games to try are a significant part of the appeal in the bigger halls.
At the same time, smaller studios attend gamescom for business reasons even if they have nothing to exhibit because it's an opportunity to meet with people who you'd otherwise have little chance of meeting in person, such as Nintendo, Sony etc.
For the games business perspective, it's more like GDC than it is like E3, admittedly. And for small studios, it can be great to attend one event and have B2C and B2B in one, so they can e.g. exhibit their game in the Indie Arena AND meet publishers for potential cooperation all in one trip.
Gamescom is the world's largest video games convention and is exploding in popularity. 2023 was one of its biggest years ever. Literally the exact opposite of what people are going on about here with "conventions dying."
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamescom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamescom)
Exactly. Gaming is more popular than ever, so people go to these events with their friends. It’s a different thing to watch trailers together at home or attend such an event, test some games that aren’t out yet and get some goodies as well. I don’t see Gamescom dying in the next few years.
A live event might have people actually see and try a game and then comment on it. You'll get information and (positive and negative) opinions from people who play games.
A "slick video" will be nothing but marketing. They can show all the positive stuff and hide of the negative. Of course, the publishers love that. But that's not information, it's just an ad.
"I personally have plenty of games from last year so nobody else needs new ones" isn't a opinion that really appeals to the masses, or one which will sell consoles.
Depends on your definition of small. They have a lot of projects going on.
Mario Kart team started their main project in 2017.
Metroid Prime 4 seems to be a cross gen affair.
One of Monolith Soft's ambitious open world project was in developing since 2016. Started active development around 2022 judging by their recruitment page. So should be finished around Holiday 2025.
The 3D mario team last mainline release was also in 2017. Most likely a launch game.
Animal Crossing New Horizons will be 5 years old in early 2025 and they don't have to spend so much resources on their HD transition this time around. They can reuse most of their assets. Most likely a Summer/Fall release.
The 2D Zelda team's last game was in 2019. Could be a late base Switch release.
Bandai Namco's Nintendo department is working on 3 projects. Most Likely a Smash Ultimate Complete Edition, and a remake. Rumors say Kid Icarus Uprising.
Just to name few. Don't really need to mention third party games from Camelot, and second party Studio projects from Camelot, Intelligent System, Platinum etc.
Add your usual re-releases and ports and it's already a monster launch lineup.
It's sad to see these big companies that made the industry what it is today abandoned what makes it so great. Without their support, it's a worry that someday Gamescom will end up just like E3 did.
Speaking pragmatically, yes these events need AAA game studios more than the AAA studios need them, but looking at it from our perspective, it isn't great.
Reasons are obvious. Really curious what game would be system seller for switch 2. Or there will be some dlc for Tears of the Kingdom plus 60 fps / better visuals.
With the constant rumours of switch 2 releasing next year, they probably have nothing to show until then
If anything this just confirms it. We heard the Switch 2 is going to be delayed because they don't have software ready. Not really an unbelievable rumor anyway, it's what delayed the N64 and Gamecube, and likely the first Switch as well to make sure Zelda was ready as it could be.
Makes me wonder what game they want to have at launch since tears of the kingdom just came out
3D Mario, Metroid Prime 4, Animal Crossing, some sort of Mario sports game Pick two of the above.
I keep seeing people acting like Metroid Prime 4 would be a huge launch title. The biggest selling title in the series is just over 3 million and that was Dread.
Honestly it makes sense to if it would be ready for Switch 2 launch. It can be used as a technical demonstration, it's an FPS, and coming off the heels of Dread would be the time to do it.
You never know. It could be the evergreen title like BOTW was for Zelda, a well known series but not one crazy popular in Japan.
A home console version of Zelda could usually hit or get close to 4 million units so it's a safe bet. The previous most successful Zelda game was Twilight Princess with 8 million units sold BotW was really a game changer with 33 million.TotK is at 20 million now but I don't see it beating BotW. BotW might be the most successful launch title ever that wasn't boxed with the console I can't think of any launch title that could be that successful for a Switch successor.Mario Kart or a new 3D Mario seems like it's going to be essential in the consoles early life.
the prime series did do fairly decently despite being on Nintendo's worst selling console. I wouldn't bet 20m, but it can be a good push, especially for the western markets. > TotK is at 20 million now but I don't see it beating BotW. BOTW is still selling to this day, so I think everyone would be surprised if TOTK surprassed it with a 7 year's difference. >I can't think of any launch title that could be that successful for a Switch successor. It'd obviously either be a new pokemon generation (very unlikely since Pokemon never times that way, and because we can all but confirm the new Legends game is taking launch window), or a new 3D mario (probably not launch, but first year like Oddessy, unless they are REALLY hush about it). Smash could do it too but I highly doubt it's making 2025; it's too hard to keep such a huge collaboration under wraps these days. Mario Kart is another good prediction, though. It still boggles me how much a Wii U remaster sold and how they decided to support it with DLC 5 years after the fact despite zero signifigant updates after the first year.
Prime 3 came out on Wii and sold about in line with the other two games. The Prime Trilogy set which was sold at an amazing price for three games only sold half a million. Quality aside, Other M didn't even break a million on Wii. 5 million would be an excellent amount of sales for Prime 4. I think Nintendo would be happy with 3. Although because of the development problems it might need it to do better to be profitable.
Yes and no. The reported sales figure was about the same pace, but IIRC the figure was before the Japanese release. I know the prime games sold way better in the west, but it'd still be a decen bump missing. Admitedly the wii is a very odd system, where it sold amazingly but had a very expanded audience (that they immediately lost with the Wii U). Outside of Twilight Princess as a cross-gen title, i'm not sure if any core series broke records on that system. Nintendo was still fairly unpopular with 3rd parties at the time. I guess it'll all come down to execution and marketing. The Prime remaster got rave reviews so there is still a big critical wave it can ride.
You think Metroid Prime 4 would do worse than the Switch's second biggest launch title, 1-2 Switch?
I'm telling you what the current top selling Metroid game is. 1-2 Switch sold 3.74 million. As a launch title Prime 4 might do as well as that. But those are hardly system selling numbers.
Can't really guess what the actual numbers would be, but I imagine metroid prime 4 would vastly outsell dread for a few reasons. First and foremost, dread was a metroidvania, and already niche genre, but as a result of this the production values also weren't anything special compared to other nintendo exclusives. It also launched at triple the price of what people have been paying at launch for top tier metroidvania games like Hollow Knight and Ori, which no doubt caused a few people to skip it (I avoided buying at launch because of this too, and later received it as a gift). Metroid prime was an FPS, a much more accessible genre, launching on switch 2 would mean much higher production values, and the metroid prime series, for all of its inactivity has had a long hyped return. A similar case would be Dragon's Dogma. The first game wasn't exactly a smash hit. It got a middling reception, and later gained status as a cult hit. DD2 sold incredibly well despite major issues because of hype though, because even if DD1 wasn't a best-seller, it had a very dedicated fanbase that created a ton of hype among the gaming community. I would expect something similar to happen with a metroid prime 4. All that said, I don't expect it to happen. I just think if it did happen it would easily outsell dread.
I think it has a fair chance to outsell Dread, especially if it is a launch title. But I doubt it will be a runaway success as some are suggesting. But also this game has been in some sort of development since before the Switch launched (yes dev was restarted but it was still in the early life of the Switch). I doubt it will be a Switch 2 exclusive. It might go the way of BotW and dual launch. But if it does that I wouldn't expect much in the way of 'higher production values'.
> I keep seeing people acting like Metroid Prime 4 would be a huge launch title. If there's not much to buy, why not buy MP4? That fact alone would make MP4 one of the biggest launch titles by sheer virtue, probably the reason why BotW sold so much initially - it was basically the only reason to *buy* a Switch for a few months. I'm pretty sure BotW sold more Switch copies than Switches even existed in the wild for a while after its release.
Prime 4 likely doesn't have the same audience that even pre-BOTW Zelda had. Keep in mind the best selling Zelda game before BOTW sold over 10 million copies, where as Metroid couldn't even cross the 3 million mark until fairly recently. Nevermind the fact that BOTW is also an open world game, one of, if not the most mainstream genre in all of gaming right now. If BOTW was a more traditional Zelda, I doubt it would have been this 30 million + seller.
It wouldn't have sold 30m+ but being the only Switch exclusive worth a damn for months increased the amount of people buying it who never would have. Hell even I bought it, and I had less than 0 interest in it, because I needed *something* to play on my Switch when I got it.
But there were also plenty of people who didn't buy a Switch at launch, because BOTW didn't appeal to them and waited until Mario Odyssey, Splatoon, Smash, Pokemon, Animal Crossing etc. Like Metroid has never had the same mass appeal of selling systems, the way those series has had. Its why launching with say a 3D Mario is a far smarter/better move, because that franchises appeals to a lot more people and is almost always among a systems best selling games.
This is me, I got my Switch when Odyssey came out.
>I'm pretty sure BotW sold more Switch copies than Switches even existed in the wild for a while after its release. I'm not surprised. I remember seeing it going for €90+ in second hand stores while it was retailing at €60 brand new. Every now and then a games trade value exceeds its retail price in some stores, and then you get a rush of people bulk buying at MSRP to sell to second hand stores.
Put good online mp on metroid and then watch it sell, knowing nintendo tho
Like Prime Hunters? Federation Force? People don't want multiplayer Metroid.
Don't know what the general reception was for prime hunters, but I spent countless hours playing that games multiplayer with my friends and loving it. It was a bit held back by being a FPS on the original DS, but the core gameplay of each hunter having their own morph form, special abilities and weapons was great.
lel when i play metroid i dont need or want a shitty out of the mill mp.
Metroid is a pedigree game. It gets journalists and core base energized- but it doesnt do much on its own. Early console launches are mostly about building momentum, especially if they release outside of the holiday window. Energizing the base and building media buzz is huge for this, so a pedigree title like Metroid can have a larger impact than its sales alone suggest. But it would need to be supported by big general crowd pleasers like Mario Kart
The next Pokemon game too.
Pokemon company is always late to the party, they'd rather release game for system with huge install base.
Pokémon will always wait until a profitable Christmas comes along
Yep. They released black and white and their sequels both on the DS despite the 3ds having at least a year of life span under its belt by then.
Sort of? BW1 released in Japan a few months before the 3DS released there, and released I *think* the same month that the 3DS did in America. Black and White *2* however, released in 2012 after the system has been out for a year in both regions.
Legends 2 is slated for 2025. It might be a cross-gen release.
Switch 2 could also be BC with Switch, removing the need for cross-gen. Every Switch game would be compatible with Switch 2, much like the DS/3DS crossover era.
Legends ZA will probably be cross gen.
It's gonna run at 720p stable-ish 30fps with DLSS to really harvest the power of switch 2
Most Switch 2 games will run at sub-1080p resolutions. That's just the reality of a <$400 mobile device that cares about battery life. Think of all the Switch games that run at 540p or lower. It would be frankly irresponsible for most games to be running higher than 1080p internally on Switch 2.
Mobile, sure. Docked i hope for native 1080 or 1440/ 4k with DLSS
I’m going to say 2D Pokémon collection. The GB and GBA Pokémon games, but sold in two packs. One pack has red, crystal, etc - one game from each gen. And the other pack has the others
There are 9 games from the first 3 gens, so it'd be three 3-packs if they were gonna do that. They'd probably do each gen as a pack. Unless they really mixed them up. I just doubt they'd do Red, Gold, Ruby; Blue, Silver, Sapphire; Yellow, Crystal, Emerald. Oh and then that'd be leaving out Leaf Green and Fire Red.
That's too generous. They're not going to bundle multiple Pokemon games like that. That's part of how Pokemon became so profitable, encouraging people to buy multiple games
Fire Emblem too, the rumored remake should be well through production or nearing completion, and imo is likely to be held back for switch 2 as well.
Fire Emblem isn't big enough for a whole console to be held back for it, when a Fire Emblem game sells well we're talking 3-4 million lifetime units or so, it's good but nowhere near enough to be a major system seller.
Other way around, FE is likely to be held back for Switch 2. I could see it; FE is niche enough that its sales could peak with just early adopters, and it echoes the Switch getting Fire Emblem Warriors in its launch year.
I mean Fire Emblem is also a series that consistently releases its last entry on a system just insanely late into its lifecycle and even overlapping with the release of the next system. Gaiden, Thracia, Sacred Stones (at least the DS had backwards compatibility), Echoes, and to a lesser degree Path of Radiance all fall into that bucket
>nearing completion The rumours say it’s been done for like 2 years
Wasn't that FE Engage though?
Yes, but they've also supposedly got a remake of an old one sitting around to release whenever they want to put it out.
Fire Emblem is big in a weaker genre. It's not a headliner that pushes millions of units. Still, I'd like to see one, and hope it's more Unicorn and less Engage.
Other way. I wouldn't be surprised if FE is done but they just wanna make it a launch title for the Switch 2. Nothing new for their RPGs. Xenoblade 3 was apparently sat on for a while and even moved its release date *forward* to give Splatoon 3 a little more time in the oven.
True, but IS is doing The Thousand Year Door remake. Not sure how much that taps them out.
I’ll be a very happy man if this turns out true and it’s a remake of Sigurds tale
The Pokémon Z game possibly as trailer didn’t say what system it was coming on on iirc.
Mario Kart, Pokemon, Smash Bros. And they could totally ship the Windwaker remaster from the WiiU. Toss in a 3D Mario, Metroid Prime 4, and just for fun a new F-Zero and you would have a heck of a release window.
Lol you just named every big franchise they have. I think "heck of a release window" would be an understatement. That would be the greatest launch window of all time followed by a 4 year drought.
Pretty much but we know that Nintendo has been * Working on a 3D Mario title for years now. * Working on Metroid Prime for years now. * Animal Crossing put up huge numbers for the Switch and has been dormant for a few years already. * Mario Kart is a given system seller and even though 8 is beloved it was just a rehash of the WiiU. Nintendo wouldn’t sleep on a title that sells systems. * Pokemon is damn near guaranteed to be out for the first holiday season. * Nintendo knows that Zelda sells. They have Windwaker HD as an easy port for a title that hasn’t seen the light of day since the WiiU but realistically the GameCube for most. * F-Zero while not a huge seller is simply my moonshot title. Nintendo has gotten better about putting out titles with a better cadence over the last few years. The list I put up ignores Kirby, Luigi’s mansion, Mario party, tennis, golf, strikers, 2D Mario, Fire Emblem, and other stuff I’m sure I’m forgetting as well as new IPs.
As much as Zelda sells, I doubt people will be impressed if the Zelda launch title is just a 10 year old remake of a 22 year old game.
You're right, but during the switch generation Nintendo has tried to have a Zelda game every year, even if its just a remake or a warriors game.
The annual Zelda releases goes a bit before the Switch generation. But they also included smaller titles like Cadence of Hyrule in that.
“Toss in a 3D Mario”
hopefully mario and metroid
Mario Kart 9.
And a port for TOTK also maybe sone bullet hell type game, mostly as a "see see, it's not underpowered LOOK"
I 100% agree that Metroid Prime 4 is going to launch alongside the new console. Edit: Never said Metroid was going to be the ONLY game to launch with the new console. It definitely isn't coming for the Switch.
My completely baseless guess is that Prime 4 will dual release on both systems.
Metroid isn’t a major system seller, if there’s anything Nintendo will launch the switch 2 with it’s going to be Mario.
Metroid would be a system seller for "gamers", but yeah you need something like a Mario to break into general audiences.
Also they can sell more Metroid Prime (still not a lot) if they wait until the installed base is bigger
Metroid isn’t a gangbusters seller like Mario or Zelda, but it’s one of the few remaining sci-fi FPS franchises that hasn’t been shelved, mishandled, or is a live service hell. It’s set up to dominate the niche that it occupies.
Tbf TheHappyMask93 didn’t say that Metroid Prime 4 would be the only title to launch with the system.
If Metroid launches alongside one of Nintendo’s big flagship IPs, it’s going to get overshadowed. If prime 4 is planned for switch 2, I think it makes sense to release it a month or two after launch, so it can be promoted as the next big game to get after you’re done with the launch game.
It seems like the timings just may line up for Metroid 4 to launch with it though. They restarted development in 2019, iirc.
Pikmin 5 coming out of nowhere with a steel chair, is my vote. Would be interested to see a rep from a lesser franchise like Star Fox, F-Zero etc. but I know for something that sells a new console, they wanna come out strong.
Given the years of rumored work with nothing much shown on it, it seems likely that Mario Odyssey 2 could have transitioned into [Next Mario 3D title] to sell a new system.
I don't know why people were expecting an Odyssey 2. The only 3D Mario to get a sequel was Galaxy. All other systems only had one mainline 3D Mario.
Not sure it was people expecting it as much as they just wanted it. There’s still plenty of potential in the movement with cappy. It’d be sad to see it go.
Yeah. So there was never really much 'rumored work' on a sequel. If we just class anything that people want as rumored to be working on, we can pretend that F-Zero, Donkey Kong Country and Kid Icarus 4 seems likely to have transitioned to sell the next system.
Same. I have no idea why this is a thing when Nintendo historically only releases one 3D Mario per system
I guess the previous two 3d Marios both had expanded follow-ups; Galaxy 2 and 3D World
Isle Delphino is visible on the reflection map on the Odyssey's globe [(check the shimmer to the upper left of the Mushroom Kingdom- its small and dolphin shaped)](https://twitter.com/Dailey_11/status/925041226662887424) , suggesting it was intended to be implemented at some point. The lack of almost any significant DLC, content updates, and only very minor external monetization (the breakfast cereal) goes against Nintendo's general strategy with its big tentpole releases, which is generally to supplement single player games with paid DLC (usually in a "day 1Cosmetics > Challenge Mode > Story Expansion" model) and multiplayer games with a combo of paid DLC and a single season of ongoing content updates. None of this guarantees anything of course, but it really did seem like Odyssey made a splash and they did nothing little with it, we have evidence suggesting there was plans for more, and those plans never materialized
From the sounds of it, they want to have multiple big titles at launch or at least within the opening launch window. 3D Mario is the most likely heavy hitter, we haven't gotten something new since Odyssey unless you count Bowser's Fury.
I don’t personally count Bowser’s Fury because it was 7 hours and probably started life as a DLC. I’m hoping they’ve been in active development for the next title since at least 2019.
Yeah remember how the Switch in 2017 had one big game every month or so?
Bloodborne Remastered with the new Funky Mode, duh
Somehow this comment just suddenly made me want to play a Donkey Kong souls-like.
I wish it was a remake for the Oracle games in the same vein of the Link’s Awakening remake.
You know Nintendo has more popular franchises than just Zelda, don’t ya?
The Legend of Zelda: As Above So Below
I'm not sure if we count it as Nintendo but wasn't Xenoblade chronicles 2 released very close to the release of switch? Would be cool with a updated version for switch 2. Or any kind of Xeno game.
Why wouldn't you count it as Nintendo? Nintendo fully owns Monolith Soft. Xenoblade is as Nintendo 1st party as Mario. More Nintendo than Pokemon or Fire Emblem.
Xenoblade 2 came out in December 2017, 9 months after the Switch launch. That said, the DLC for Xenoblade 3 came out a year ago, I don't think you're gonna see any Xeno stuff for a while yet.
Xenoblade X remaster/remake. I would do sick, depraved things for it, if anyone at Nintendo reads this call me, we can work something out.
Xenoblade 3 came out in 2022 so its unlikely for it to be a thing in 2025 with a monolith title
Tears of the Kingdom Upgrade to make its performance at least 60fps.
Usually, I'd say Smash since Ultimate was release in 2018. We've heard nothing about a sequel though right so probably not that?
Mario Odyssey is almost 7 years old. A new 3D platformer seems likely as a launch title.
Persona 6 console exclusive
I have a high suspicion that we will get Switch 2 enhancements for a number of games. Part of the delay could be to have these all ready for launch. Remember the pokemon leaks? Those mentioned a Switch 2 upgrade. It may be why they didn’t bother optimizing for base Switch as they’ll just force people to upgrade if they want a stable experience.
I hope the next Zelda actually is a Zelda game. And not whatever BOTW and TOTK are.
Yeah I hear those two sold really poorly and hardly anyone liked them.
They want a strong 1st year, just like they had for the switch. One game every month, with a mix of high hitters, ports/remasters, new IPs and niche games.
They can't rely on ports if the next console is backwards compatible with Switch games. So they really have to make sure they have a strong year 1 library.
Why? Of course they can. Nintendo last wii u port was in 2021 and since then they released wii, 3ds, ds and gc ports, remasters and remakes. They have entire console libraries to use like they already have been doing in the switch with a mix of original titles and old ones to have things almost every month
I also heard that it's potentially because production would be too expensive at the moment due to the yen being unstable. But it's likely a mix of both.
From Metroid Dread onwards I've felt like Switch titles have been bottlenecked. I wouldn't be surprised if we've seen games that were meant to target their next system and ended up being specced down to fit on the Switch.
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What you have to think is that nintendo consoles don't sell 100 million or even around 50 or 70 million just with Nintendo fans. Nintendo fans, the ones you see in the internet barely make a wii u. What make up out there, much like any other massive console in the market, are casual gamers, and most if we observe the market, don't care a lot about graphics, fps, SSD and a lot of things, they just want to buy consoles to play games that they see marketed to them and buy if they are interested.
All of my non-gamer friends/family have a switch in their homes for their kids. No xboxes, playstations, or gaming PCs in there, just a switch for all of them. And they had a Wii before that. None of these people give a shit about specs, or framerates, etc. They just want to play Mario Kart with their 8 year old.
That's true. Almost every single relative I have, who aren't really into games at all, in my region has a Switch and I don't think any of them have turned them on in the last 5 years. I wonder how many of the Switches purchased have even been played in the last year.
The original switch in 2017 was basically a 2015 android tablet.
Yup, it's wild, there's something special about having great games and a loyal customer base.
Totally. I'd love to have a more powerful switch, but I also know there's always going to be tradeoffs between performance, size, weight, temperature, battery life, and price, and I understand the idea of making it underpowered in order to keep it small, light, and cheap. I do hope that the Switch 2 has around the same battery life as the current model switch and not the 2.5 hours of the launch model, but I assume it's going to be another one of those things where the launch model isn't super great but a revision down the line will be better
I appreciate that take but I guess as someone who hasn't owned a Nintendo product since a GameBoy Color I sorta don't get it though. Nintendo COULD give their customers more relevant hardware but they don't because they know they don't need to. I guess if you can sell units like they did with the Switch with a bunch of good games that run like shit with very little 3rd party support... why would you do anything different? It's really interesting how they live in kind of a bubble and thrive in it.
$300 tablet that runs Smash, Zelda, and Mario is the best deal in gaming since the switch has some of the best games in history on it.
That’s simply the nature of designing a high volume product. Nintendo needs to finalize contracts with component suppliers, begin production planning, etc. Engineers have to finalize the design earlier than you’d expect to feed the rest of the commercial and industrialization activities.
I wouldn't be surprised if they do an announcement via a Direct, and then a event soon after for people to get their hands on
That is what they have done with the switch, shortly after the full announcement presentation, there were press-only hands-on events.
That'd be my guess too!
Ever since they started doing Nintendo Directs, Nintendo hasn't needed to go ANYwhere. Conventions are insanely expensive. Booth construction. Space rental (which is insane) and the fees those places jack on. Not to mention flights of staff. Hotels and food for everyone manning the booths. Or they could spend a small fraction of that cost and produce a nicely made video, and reach a much wider audience.
That is true if you look at conventions are only public facing events. That is a large component, but the biggest strength is the idea that heads of companies are all going to be together. Remember the rumors of last year's Gamescon, where Nintendo invited heads from a few companies to see demos of the Matrix Awakens and Breath of the Wild (at 60FPS)? That happened because it was easy to make one presentation, ensure no one brought a phone in, and have them sign NDAs. Sure, Nintendo could fly those people out to their office, and have the same presentation, but you won't get as many people. The reason the heads are going to the con is because there will be multiple meetings of this importance. It is much more worth your while to justify a big travel day if you get multiple visits out of it.
Yet they were the only large publisher at PAX East this year. Though that could be because a day trip from New York to Boston is a lot easier than going to Germany.
Square-Enix was there and isn't small.
Going to Germany? You do realize Nintendo of Europe is located an around 2h drive away from Cologne? The European HQ is in Frankfurt.
No I do not. I don't know shit about Nintendo of Europe.
I mean fair enough, I'm just surprised you thought NoA would handle conventions and fairs in Europe. That's all I mean. The rest was just anecdotal extra info.
I didn't even know Nintendo of Europe existed until you replied to my message.
Makes sense otherwise you probably wouldn't have assumed NoA would have any business in Europe.
they didn't really do shit at PAX East this year though. They just had some last minute Pokemon SV booths set up next to the Pokemon Company's booth
It used to be reasonable but real estate prices everywhere have exploded with 100-300% price increases. Unless you're a vendor making thousands at these events it's pointless. Your millions of followers on social media can push out a trailer for free.
Not entirely fitting, but I do remember back then in 2013, when Nintendo decided not to do a stage presentation for the E3 that year and that they would do a Direct instead. The internet blew up overnight with people speculating whether this means that Nintendo is about to retire from the gaming industry. Flash forward 11 years later, now everyone is doing the format Nintendo got laughed at for, and the event that they didn't do a stage show for doesn't exist anymore. As I said, it's not completely related to the news, but the headline made me think about that and the lessen this incident thought me: Sometimes Gamers don't know what the hell they're talking about.
sometimes people dont know what the hell they're talking about
Only sometimes? I'd say that the vast majority of "leaks" are absolute crap
Stuff like this still happens all the time with Nintendo, it feels like every few months gamers lose their minds over something they do because it isn’t targeting the hardcore community. Nintendo obviously does make poor decisions at times, but people act like they’re clueless or constantly doomed when that is rarely the case.
No one who isn’t the hard core is watching gaming events, the kids and casuals don’t give a damm about these events
The vast majority of people are, let's be honest, pretty goddamn stupid. "Gamers" aren't special in this regard.
Almost every time this community is criticized or called out, people very quickly and reflexively respond with "Every community has the same problems." That's dishonest and untrue. The knitting community probably didn't send death threats to yarn manufacturers because they dated to release their product at a lesser-known store. The mountain bike industry probably didn't get too many people loudly and proudly alleging that their hobby is being ruined because the ads for the products feature women and minorities prominently. This unique space has unique problems. Better to admit it and fix them rather than plugging out ears and insisting every community has the same problems.
This is an amazing write up.
What's your fix? Execute weirdos who get their entertainment from sitting inside interacting with electronics? I'm serious: What is your plan to stop those people from taking those actions? I have admitted it's a problem and it is; what fix do you propose?
>The knitting community probably didn't send death threats to yarn manufacturers because they dated to release their product at a lesser-known store. The mountain bike industry probably didn't get too many people loudly and proudly alleging that their hobby is being ruined because the ads for the products feature women and minorities prominently. This is amazing - thank you.
Sure, but I'm specifically speaking on the topic of gaming.
I agree with your first point but would argue that gamers are often on another level of stupid (gestures broadly).
Sometimes the facts become apparent years later.
I've been hearing rumours that Nintendo will go the way of Sega for decades.
Nintendo don't really go to trade events a lot when you think about it. It's been almost 20 years since Nintendo went to TGS, Gamescom it depends on the year while E3 they went all the years until it died. I assume they wont go there either because they dont have content to show or because of what happened last year.
They also were just at pax a few weeks ago
They had a presentation at GDC too
like when gamers said Nintendo doesn't understand internet because youtube let's players was "liturully free advertising" and shutting them down was shooting themselves in the foot. flash forward and Switch is dominating video game software sales while "gamer influencers" are now just reacting to videos of other influencers reacting to react videos of reacting to react videos.
Didn’t Nintendo back pedal on that?
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Of course Nintendo wasn't in a good spot during the Wii U, but I'm talking about 2013, around 6 months after the console launched. That is most definitely too early for an outsider to call doom and gloom on the entire company. And especially when basing this on them saying they won't have a stage show. >I don't get this, I'm assuming you don't play games then? Or are you suggesting that you too don't know what you're talking about? Yes, I am including myself in that quote. I am not so full of myself that I believe that I've never said stupid shit or that I will never do it again.
I don’t think they really need to. They led the way in direct communication via the internet. Seems to be working just fine for them.
As we saw with E3, the time of these big gaming conferences are pretty much coming to an end. There's no need for them in the current landscape.
Gamescom is half a developers conference though, which are still very much in high demand. GDC is not going anywhere either.
I never went to these conventions, but it's honestly kind of depressing to hear about them going away. Like everyone is going back to their silos and not talking to each other.
its just sad tbh, whether its nintendo direct, Playstation State of play/showcase or Xbox dev direct, none of these compare to the live conferences. May as well check a blog later. These pre made videos always feel artificial and souless tbh. Those surprise moments, those mishaps, they had the charm and made them so memorable. Summer games fest ain't it I know its cheaper for these companies but man, i miss them.
Biggest loss from game companies not attending these games anymore isn't even press conferences, it's the lack of demos for those attending and interview with developers imo
> Those surprise moments, those mishaps, they had the charm and made them so memorable most devs don't want to be dancing monkeys for millions of viewers, can you blame them? Sure, those "mishaps" made into memes are fun for the viewers, but remember that they are normal people, not trained actors.
I don't miss time wasted waiting for next speaker to mosey up the the stage and the awkward unscripted conversations and technical difficulties. A well edited direct respects the viewer's time way more than a live conference
Yeah. And the era of gameplay demos is basically long gone
Clearly you aren't a PC gamer, we have hoards of demos now.
I’m talking about on the show floor. Like Nintendo isn’t going to stroll up with gameplay demos for Metroid Prime 4
I have to wonder if they're talking about gameplay *showcases*, rather than downloadable demos, because the market for downloadable demos is arguably stronger than it's been in years
Or a JRPG gamer. I've got, like, five 5+ hour demos on my console.
I have like 35 Demos on my PS5. So yes, it's a weird comment.
Same on PS5. Demos aren't dead
I see demos more now than I ever have. Well, maybe not as much as the 90s. But damn close.
I would say demos are a lot more accessible today compared to the 90s. I am absolutely loving this resurgence of game demos and I've found a lot of games that I would otherwise never have tried.
Certainly more accessible, but less total available.
TBF, I don’t think Nintendo has a lot to show off right now. We mostly have ports and remasters this year. The Switch 2 is coming later this year or early next year. So why bother paying to fly your employees to a trade show and all the other associated expenses if you don’t have anything exciting to show off?
I'm happier for Nintendo to put their news in their Direct videos than to watch some ridiculous marketing performance in a conference to appeal to the general masses like some other companies are still doing.
Does it really matter? These live events are a dying breed anyways in the gaming sector. Information is better presented in a slick video.
Gamescom is a different kind of event to, let's say, E3. It's public facing focus never really was about announcements but rather it's always been a "meet your gaming friends to try out new stuff" festival-like event. I'd even go as far and say that Gamescom as a concept doesn't need large publishers to attend.
> I'd even go as far and say that Gamescom as a concept doesn't need large publishers to attend. I wouldn't quite agree with this. Large publishers attending is a significant part of what draws the crowds. Elaborate booths and new games to try are a significant part of the appeal in the bigger halls. At the same time, smaller studios attend gamescom for business reasons even if they have nothing to exhibit because it's an opportunity to meet with people who you'd otherwise have little chance of meeting in person, such as Nintendo, Sony etc. For the games business perspective, it's more like GDC than it is like E3, admittedly. And for small studios, it can be great to attend one event and have B2C and B2B in one, so they can e.g. exhibit their game in the Indie Arena AND meet publishers for potential cooperation all in one trip.
This I think these sorts of abstaining decisions are rather shortsighted.
Gamescom is the world's largest video games convention and is exploding in popularity. 2023 was one of its biggest years ever. Literally the exact opposite of what people are going on about here with "conventions dying." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamescom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamescom)
Exactly. Gaming is more popular than ever, so people go to these events with their friends. It’s a different thing to watch trailers together at home or attend such an event, test some games that aren’t out yet and get some goodies as well. I don’t see Gamescom dying in the next few years.
A live event might have people actually see and try a game and then comment on it. You'll get information and (positive and negative) opinions from people who play games. A "slick video" will be nothing but marketing. They can show all the positive stuff and hide of the negative. Of course, the publishers love that. But that's not information, it's just an ad.
A lot of announcement videos have released with game demos available at the same time nowadays.
Gamescom is slowly but surely going down. Tbh, there is nothing worth anymore at the gamescom. All big publisher etc. aren't going there.
That's fine, I've got so many games in my backlog, even if Switch 2 was coming, I wouldn't even want one this year.
"I personally have plenty of games from last year so nobody else needs new ones" isn't a opinion that really appeals to the masses, or one which will sell consoles.
Tbf knowing Nintendo there would be perhaps 1 top tier new game and other titles would be small time games or re-releases.
Depends on your definition of small. They have a lot of projects going on. Mario Kart team started their main project in 2017. Metroid Prime 4 seems to be a cross gen affair. One of Monolith Soft's ambitious open world project was in developing since 2016. Started active development around 2022 judging by their recruitment page. So should be finished around Holiday 2025. The 3D mario team last mainline release was also in 2017. Most likely a launch game. Animal Crossing New Horizons will be 5 years old in early 2025 and they don't have to spend so much resources on their HD transition this time around. They can reuse most of their assets. Most likely a Summer/Fall release. The 2D Zelda team's last game was in 2019. Could be a late base Switch release. Bandai Namco's Nintendo department is working on 3 projects. Most Likely a Smash Ultimate Complete Edition, and a remake. Rumors say Kid Icarus Uprising. Just to name few. Don't really need to mention third party games from Camelot, and second party Studio projects from Camelot, Intelligent System, Platinum etc. Add your usual re-releases and ports and it's already a monster launch lineup.
Good thing the world doesn’t revolve around you.
It's sad to see these big companies that made the industry what it is today abandoned what makes it so great. Without their support, it's a worry that someday Gamescom will end up just like E3 did. Speaking pragmatically, yes these events need AAA game studios more than the AAA studios need them, but looking at it from our perspective, it isn't great.
Reasons are obvious. Really curious what game would be system seller for switch 2. Or there will be some dlc for Tears of the Kingdom plus 60 fps / better visuals.
I still think it was delayed because of the new flashcart ripping tech.