StarTopic Nintendo Direct Speculation |ST5| Uncharted Territory: Drake's Deception

[TreIII]

unless it's a soulsbourn, then they can throw it into the fucking trash

Indeed.

It should be a Nioh-like masocore game made by Team Ninja instead.

 

[MrBones]

ahem

Not expecting a Direct until September. Think 2 directs a year is the standard going forward, unfortunately

It would be on-brand for Switch era Nintendo to skip having a holiday game entirely this year. Wouldn't be surprised if they aren't launching anything major after Pikmin 4 and are saving everything for the next system. Or maybe shadowdrop a small H2 title on Twitter at most.

They can coast on TOTK's success, Pikmin 4, and Zelda/Pokemon/Mario Kart DLC.

Called it. Another win for the pessimists.

You'll take your 2 Directs a year + Twitter shadowdrops and you'll like it.

 

[Cubs017]

I don't have a lot of trust in Nintendo rumors, or people guessing at what Nintendo is doing just because they have limited or no information. That said, my thought has always been that there should be a point where new hardware is somewhat imminent and therefore Nintendo's releases would slow down. Both to start marketing the new hardware, but also to hold a bunch of releases for it's launch period/first year. So a dry 2nd half of 2023 makes a lot of sense to me if hardware is on the way.

Maybe. It looks like hardware sales are definitely slowing down, though. Is Nintendo really OK with just punting a year or half a year? If hardware sales are down they have to make that up somewhere. Not putting out much software seems like a risk - especially with how difficult it has been for companies to meet the demand for new hardware recently. You're either going to have to go cross-gen or accept a slower year or two.

I'm not really so sure. They're still a business and they have people to please.

 

[Rooster]

I'm surprised more people aren't bullish on a reveal sooner than later. The way Nintendo has organized the rollout of their slate wherein next week onward, there's one summer game and that's it for the entire company's known lineup (minus those two unseen, forever tbd games) seems suspicious to me.

To me it appears like they're making room for something else to have all the attention. Were this a normal year, I don't understand why the reveal strategy has been so different. It just seems like if there were to be an announcement sooner than later, this is how it'd play out beforehand...

I know the lack of smoke from leakers is conspicuous and strange, but I'm not saying the release needs to be this year too. I'm also not saying the reveal is imminent, just that... it seems on the horizon. Plus, you know leakers. They sit on shit until one person says something, and then the floodgates open.

I would also imagine that Nintendo is treated this as info of the highest sensitivity, and if there is no physical event or nearby release, it will be easier to withhold.

 

[Chaotic Neutral]

ahem




Called it. Another win for the pessimists.

You'll take your 2 Directs a year + Twitter shadowdrops and you'll like it.

Declaring a win for no Direct until September in May is a bold move

 

[Thunder84]

Aren't most directs leaked from partners? Insiders rarely seem to know if a direct is happening because of 1st party stuff, they know due to third parties being told the direct date or whatnot.

There's been way too many Nintendo 1st party games that have slipped through the cracks for me to buy that insiders somehow know the state of Nintendo's H2 lineup. It's one thing to know of a game's existence, it's another thing to know of a company's entire lineup.

 

[LukasManak22]

I am once again in a Direct thread presenting you the Nintendo Direct lore

 

[GamerJM]

I'm surprised more people aren't bullish on a reveal sooner than later. The way Nintendo has organized the rollout of their slate wherein next week onward, there's one summer game and that's it for the entire company's known lineup (minus those two unseen, forever tbd games) seems suspicious to me.

To me it appears like they're making room for something else to have all the attention. Were this a normal year, I don't understand why the reveal strategy has been so different. It just seems like if there were to be an announcement sooner than later, this is how it'd play out beforehand...

I know the lack of smoke from leakers is conspicuous and strange, but I'm not saying the release needs to be this year too. I'm also not saying the reveal is imminent, just that... it seems on the horizon. Plus, you know leakers. They sit on shit until one person says something, and then the floodgates open.

I would also imagine that Nintendo is treated this as info of the highest sensitivity, and if there is no physical event or nearby release, it will be easier to withhold.

I think people are sorta traumatized and conservative on predictions because so many folks got burned on the Switch Pro predictions, multiple times even. That being said, I am of the opinion that we'd have leaks if it were this Summer, though I do think Fall is quite possible.

 

[Lugia667]

all we need now is NateDrake to says something vague and people to go crazy over it, then we have the true speculation thread

 

[Apopheniac]

Aren't most directs leaked from partners? Insiders rarely seem to know if a direct is happening because of 1st party stuff, they know due to third parties being told the direct date or whatnot.

There's been way too many Nintendo 1st party games that have slipped through the cracks for me to buy that insiders somehow know the state of Nintendo's H2 lineup. It's one thing to know of a game's existence, it's another thing to know of a company's entire lineup.

if they're going off knowledge of a Partner Showcase it makes some degree of sense under the logic of "if they had stuff for H2 they'd do a regular Direct." falls apart once September rolls around, but by then the better part of a year has passed since that commentary and only the most brain-addled forum nerds remember it

unless we're gambling on a big old Switch 2 blowout, but after last year folks are probably wary of that

 

[Deleted member 2]

There is

it’s coming out this week!

No it's isn't

 

[Dardan Sandiego]

No it's isn't

played myself

 

[Pokemaniac]

Detective Pikachu 2 is real and it's references by staff interviews very recently but as long as it's not proper announcement, it's not on their schedule. The same how Pikmin 4 never was before because Miyamoto said it in interview. Also am not sure if they will be publishing this one.

The game was officially announced in a press conference in 2019. It's just more of a TPC project, most likely.

I don't have a lot of trust in Nintendo rumors, or people guessing at what Nintendo is doing just because they have limited or no information. That said, my thought has always been that there should be a point where new hardware is somewhat imminent and therefore Nintendo's releases would slow down. Both to start marketing the new hardware, but also to hold a bunch of releases for it's launch period/first year. So a dry 2nd half of 2023 makes a lot of sense to me if hardware is on the way.

Don't see any reason for Nintendo to slow down. The marketing cycle will probably only be a few months at most, like the Switch, and they don't need to "save" things for new hardware when they can just patch games and upgrade them to run natively.

I'm of a couple minds here regarding hardware. Yes, Nintendo has nothing on the calendar after July, or even announced. However, if 2023 for new hardware was happening, I feel like we would be having a lot more leaks by now.

I feel like there's this weird phenomenon where lots of people simultaneously underestimate how much has already leaked while overestimating how inevitable leaks are.

 

[meatbag]

It looks like hardware sales are definitely slowing down, though

I mean, we have to qualify that while hardware sales are slowing down, Switch is still selling at numbers you can't scoff at. For 2023 Switch is still tracking ahead of the PS4's peak year, I believe.

I'm surprised more people aren't bullish on a reveal sooner than later

Way I see it, if we get a Direct in June, or perhaps don't get any event at all in June, then I doubt new hardware is going to be revealed.

Aren't most directs leaked from partners? Insiders rarely seem to know if a direct is happening because of 1st party stuff, they know due to third parties being told the direct date or whatnot

Pretty much why we have to take insider speculations with a grain of salt. Often they're working with second- or third-hand information when it comes to this sort of thing.

 

[SirShorse]

I am once again in a Direct thread presenting you the Nintendo Direct lore

someone should string together all Nintendo Directs, from the first one, the mini's, the micro's, Digital Events, E3 ones, game specifics, Partner Showcases up until the February 2023 Direct and make one giant Direct movie

I'd watch

 

[LukasManak22]

someone should string together all Nintendo Directs, from the first one, the mini's, the micro's, Digital Events, E3 ones, game specifics up until the February 2023 Direct and make one giant Direct movie

I'd watch

Challenge accepted.

It would likely need to include every region variant that was exclusive to specific region. In total that would probably be more than 70 hours of content. Not sure how long that would render lol.

Not to mention that some Directs are even deleted already and not be easily available anywhere to watch. At a latest example they are doing this with japanese ones, luckily I am always saving them imao.

This idea is so great that I will probably do it in the future.

 

[SirShorse]

Challenge accepted.

It would likely need to include every region variant that was exclusive to specific region. In total that would probably be more than 70 hours of content. Not sure how long that would render lol.

Not to mention that some Directs are even deleted already and not be easily available anywhere to watch. At a latest example they are doing this with japanese ones, luckily I am always saving them imao.

This idea is so great that I will probably do it.

How would you cut together the region specific ones though, because some of them are very similar to eachother despite sometimes featuring many different games

gotta think about that pacing

 

[Rooster]

I think people are sorta traumatized and conservative on predictions because so many folks got burned on the Switch Pro predictions, multiple times even. That being said, I am of the opinion that we'd have leaks if it were this Summer, though I do think Fall is quite possible.

That's fair, though I think the evidence this time is different than the evidence of the previous times, being something Nintendo is actively doing (or not doing) versus leaker claims and datamines of limited timeframe-based utility.

Way I see it, if we get a Direct in June, or perhaps don't get any event at all in June, then I doubt new hardware is going to be revealed.

I agree with the first part. But I don't think a lack of info in June really changes the reasoning much. I don't think we're not going to get anything in June, because I don't think Nintendo has the shareholder meeting with Pikmin and that's it, but it doesn't have to be the reveal.

It could, in theory, be a twitter drop of a holiday Switch game that preempts the reveal, in order to not get drowned out by it later.

 

[Josh5890]

I feel like there's this weird phenomenon where lots of people simultaneously underestimate how much has already leaked while overestimating how inevitable leaks are.

I know about all of the leaks in the hardware thread. I just feel like if new hardware was ~six months out, we would be seeing more reporting about it by main sites like IGN and Kotaku. Unless Nintendo really plugged those leaks, I just can't see it being imminent.

 

[LukasManak22]

How would you cut together the region specific ones though, because some of them are very similar to eachother despite sometimes featuring many different games

gotta think about that pacing

I would just include region specific that never aired in other region = completely different presentation.

 

[Instro]

Maybe. It looks like hardware sales are definitely slowing down, though. Is Nintendo really OK with just punting a year or half a year? If hardware sales are down they have to make that up somewhere. Not putting out much software seems like a risk - especially with how difficult it has been for companies to meet the demand for new hardware recently. You're either going to have to go cross-gen or accept a slower year or two.

I'm not really so sure. They're still a business and they have people to please.

I agree, but from an investor perspective I think they are already kind of toast for the coming year or so anyway, so it might not really matter. Hardware and software are in clear decline, and have been for some time. Investor perspective on that isn't really going to change based on a small to moderate amount of difference on units and revenue in the coming year. I think at this point investors want to know what's next, not how Nintendo will prop up the Switch. From Nintendo's perspective, I'd assume they have more interest in securing the future of the business over short term cash flow.

That's not to say there will be no software at all, just limited. Nintendo will be happy to focus on the success of Zelda, theme parks and the Mario movie.

Don't see any reason for Nintendo to slow down. The marketing cycle will probably only be a few months at most, like the Switch, and they don't need to "save" things for new hardware when they can just patch games and upgrade them to run natively.

Seems hard to believe that Nintendo of all companies wouldn't have a wide slate of exclusive and crossgen software for new hardware planned for the first year, as they did with the Switch. They literally have no recourse or saving grace if they fail this transition. I don't think patching games after the fact solves that for them either.

 

[ITSMILNER]

The reason Switch 2 hasn’t leaked is because Miyamoto is handmaking all of them in his shed to prevent leaks.

 

[MisterSpo]

Seems hard to believe that Nintendo of all companies wouldn't have a wide slate of exclusive and crossgen software for new hardware planned for the first year, as they did with the Switch. They literally have no recourse or saving grace if they fail this transition. I don't think patching games after the fact solves that for them either.

This is exactly why they need to keep software output on Switch going consistently. It's by far and away the biggest part of their revenue stream, and it'll take some time for a new platform to become the majority revenue stream. Because of that, it makes zero sense to have six to twelve months without much software.

If they do that, not only do they accelerate Switch's decline, and therefore the decline of their own primary revenue stream, but they may well damage their own reputation (software 'droughts' etc), which could damage consumer confidence in their next system. It would also drive down engagement in the Switch platform as a whole, which is bad for every other metric, like third party sales, subscriptions, and DLC.

Nintendo reorganised so that they could consistently put out software during a hardware transition, precisely to protect all those metrics, like engagement and revenue. If we're approaching the transition, as seems likely, then if Nintendo have succeeded in their unified development environment the way they envisaged, then software support should continue consistently.

If Nintendo need to stockpile games for new hardware, then that means their development environment isn't good enough to support multiple platforms through a strong transition. If that's the case, then that's a big failing for the company, and not a positive situation.

 

[Dardan Sandiego]

Indeed.

It should be a Nioh-like masocore game made by Team Ninja instead.

 

[Pokemaniac]

I know about all of the leaks in the hardware thread. I just feel like if new hardware was ~six months out, we would be seeing more reporting about it by main sites like IGN and Kotaku. Unless Nintendo really plugged those leaks, I just can't see it being imminent.

With how willing game journalists seem to be to believe that Nintendo is about to go from feast to famine in just a few months, I think Nintendo plugging those leaks is a somewhat likely scenario.

Seems hard to believe that Nintendo of all companies wouldn't have a wide slate of exclusive and crossgen software for new hardware planned for the first year, as they did with the Switch. They literally have no recourse or saving grace if they fail this transition. I don't think patching games after the fact solves that for them either.

Never said they wouldn't, but that doesn't require an actual slowdown of releases. If Nintendo keeps up their current pace and releases some strategic patches for games releasing in the lead up to the hardware, they should have plenty of games to go around.

 

[famicorpse]

As someone who's next game is Pikmin 4, I really hope the rest of 2023 isn't barren for Nintendo.

 

[Dark Cloud]

all we need now is NateDrake to says something vague and people to go crazy over it, then we have the true speculation thread

We need him to come in here and confirm what Andy said…

 

[Josh5890]

We need him to come in here and confirm what Andy said…

That would destroy us all

 

[TreIII]

Funniest thing is that it's not like Team Ninja invented the term, either!

 

[Josh5890]

 

[LuckyNumber69]

We need him to come in here and confirm what Andy said…

"No Direct until next February, Switch 2 releasing Holiday 2025"

Then after roughly a month of coping and seething, Nate comes back to the thread, posts "lol jk" and proceeds to leave Famiboards forever

 

[MisterSpo]

Nintendo's gonna be June 14th or later, I think.

 

[GamerJM]

I feel like there's this weird phenomenon where lots of people simultaneously underestimate how much has already leaked while overestimating how inevitable leaks are.

For me it's just the timing of the leaks. We haven't heard anything from a third-party with a dev kit this year, right? Usually that happens in the year of release by this time iirc.

 

[SammyJ9]

Castlevania fan here chiming in to tell Konami to ignore this message.

A 3D Souls-y Castlevania is the dream, at least for me. It just fits so perfectly. But I will happily take any and all 2D Igavanias, too! Pretty much the only thing I don’t want is a 3D entry that’s more Lords of Shadow/God of War-like. Even then I’d probably still play it, unless it’s terrible.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

The game was officially announced in a press conference in 2019. It's just more of a TPC project, most likely.

Don't see any reason for Nintendo to slow down. The marketing cycle will probably only be a few months at most, like the Switch, and they don't need to "save" things for new hardware when they can just patch games and upgrade them to run natively.

I feel like there's this weird phenomenon where lots of people simultaneously underestimate how much has already leaked while overestimating how inevitable leaks are.

The only real leak is a crypto group stealing a bunch of data a few years away and that doesn't signal anything about a release date compared to traditional leaks.

A few months marketing cycle similar to the Switch would have the console announced and significant amounts of information given... In a month if it's released this year.

But no one has heard anything like that happening soon.

 

[SpaceGodzilla]

wonder if Detective Pikachu 2 is taking so long because it's an actual video game and not a glorified visual novel like the first

 

[SammyJ9]

Indeed.

It should be a Nioh-like masocore game made by Team Ninja instead.

We just got one of those and it was very medium. Although if they bring back more of the RPG elements and complexity from Nioh rather than more like Wo Long, I could be interested. My only issue there is I feel like a 3D Castlevania really needs good level design, and that’s an area I don’t really believe in the Nioh team too much.

 

[Pokemaniac]

The only real leak is a crypto group stealing a bunch of data a few years away and that doesn't signal anything about a release date compared to traditional leaks.

A few months marketing cycle similar to the Switch would have the console announced and significant amounts of information given... In a month if it's released this year.

But no one has heard anything like that happening soon.

Details have been slowly leaking out of Nvidia since then. It wasn't just a single event.

 

[chocolate_supra]

The only real leak is a crypto group stealing a bunch of data a few years away and that doesn't signal anything about a release date compared to traditional leaks.

A few months marketing cycle similar to the Switch would have the console announced and significant amounts of information given... In a month if it's released this year.

But no one has heard anything like that happening soon.

But the information in said leak led us to concrete info on what chip is being used, which allowed users to find evidence that said chip is likely taped out as of last year and is nearing if not already in production, hence the expectation of a release date being sooner rather than later.

The Nvidia leak is not the only piece of information we have.

 

[Instro]

Typically as you get close to Nintendo software releases, things start leaking out from QA, localization, and marketing. So you'd expect that even if their knowledge is limited, there would be a few things out there that people like Grubb would be aware of releasing soon. Definitely odd that it's apparently so quiet that he and others seemingly think Nintendo has little or nothing going on. As others have mentioned the closest comparison would be during early COVID where they went quiet on the marketing and event front, but in that instance they had quite a lot of things already announced or known, or on the way.

I'll bank on the FY briefing illuminating us a bit as to why, but who knows.

 

[stodesign12]

Hmm... it feels this is going to be a loooong thread. Like 300+ pages before any Direct, probably in September now.
I trust Jeff, if he hasn't heard anything that's actually valuable info too, and we may not have a general Direct this June.

 

[rickyson33]

You know exactly what I expect.

I feel like them bringing back the nudie playing cards or the love hotels would be too damaging to their fledgling movie business at this point

 

[RaymondBryce]

Pikmin 4 gets its own Direct, Nintendo coasts on third parties and evergreens until Switch 2

I think they’ll actually show Metroid Prime 4 this year since they finally released Prime 1 remastered. Maybe they’ll release an update in the fall with amiibo support to tie the two games together. Other than that, Zelda DLC for sure. They still have MK8 tracks left too. Maybe they have the DK game but I think their 2H will mostly be DLC and pikmin 4.

So I’m guessing partner in June, general in September. No new NSO platforms, but a trickling of games throughout the year. Lots of GBA games they can add, plus several announced N64 games and hopefully more Rare.

Edit: maybe one of those rumored GC-era things like F-Zero or namco

It would be on-brand for Switch era Nintendo to skip having a holiday game entirely this year. Wouldn't be surprised if they aren't launching anything major after Pikmin 4 and are saving everything for the next system. Or maybe shadowdrop a small H2 title on Twitter at most.

They can coast on TOTK's success, Pikmin 4, and Zelda/Pokemon/Mario Kart DLC.

To only release one or two small games in the final 5 months of a year would be a disaster for Nintendo. They haven't done that in at least a decade (maybe ever?)

I just wouldn't be surprised if this was a 2016 Wii U situation in preparation for the next console.

Even with what we know so far, 2023 is far from being a 2016 Wii U sutuation

Confirmed Games​

Pikmin 4 [July 21]
Metroid Prime 4
Detective Pikachu

Confirmed DLC​

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass (Wave 5: Feather and Cherry Cups)
Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass (Wave 2: Side Order)
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero (Part 1: The Teal Mask)
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope Season Pass (DLC 2)

Rumored/Speculated Releases​

(asterisks denote titles not indicated by staff profiles, hiring calls, or other reliable sources)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Expansion Pass*
Grezzo's "Jet Dragon"
NdCube's Semi-Annual Party Game*
Stinky Horse Game*
EPD8's 3D action game
EPD8's 2D action game (Donkey Kong?)
EPD10's 2D action game (Super Mario?)
Monolith Soft's action game
Nintendo contracted to Bandai Namco 3D action game remaster
Creatures' Something or Other (Pokémon TCG thingy?)
F-Zero GX HD*
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door HD*
The Legends of Zelda: The Wind Waker & The Twilight Princess*
Good-Feel's Something or Other*
NST's Something or Other*

Confirmed Third-Party Games:​

(asterisks denote titles not confirmed for Switch)

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie [July 7]
Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg [July 13]
Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening [July 20]
Disney Illusion Island [July 28]
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk [August 18]
Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster [summer]
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons [summer]
Samba de Amigo: Party Central [summer]
Rune Factory 3 Special [September 5]
Super Bomberman R 2 [September 13]
Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless [autumn]
Biomutant [November]
DecaPolice [2023]
Disney Dreamlight Valley [2023]
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes [2023]
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time [2023]
Fashion Dreamer [2023]
Fate/Samurai Remnant [2023]
Hollow Knight Silksong [2023]
Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road [2023]
Megaton Musashi: Wired [2023]
The Plucky Squire [2023]
Risk of Rain Returns [2023]
Suikoden I&II HD Remaster [2023]
Ys X: Nordics [2023]
Front Mission 2: Remake
The King of Fighters XIII: Global Match
Outer Wilds: Archaeologist Edition
Professor Layton and The New World of Steam
Dragon Quest III: The HD Seeds of 2D Salvation*
Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate*
Fatal Fury / Garou Returns*

There's also Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest - The Adventure of Dai.

No, it was just announced super early just like the first game.

RIP Detective Pikachu 2 lol

I don't think Detective Pikachu is on their list because it's pretty outside their orbit and more Pokémon company. I personally think it's alive but so delayed it's not relevant to Nintendo at the moment.

That said, this list is going to be all of three games come tomorrow, with only one TBA.

Detective Pikachu was never on their list as it was never formally announced. Just casually mentioned.

I mean, we have to qualify that while hardware sales are slowing down, Switch is still selling at numbers you can't scoff at. For 2023 Switch is still tracking ahead of the PS4's peak year, I believe.


Way I see it, if we get a Direct in June, or perhaps don't get any event at all in June, then I doubt new hardware is going to be revealed.


Pretty much why we have to take insider speculations with a grain of salt. Often they're working with second- or third-hand information when it comes to this sort of thing.

Once we get the final quater sales tomorrow, we'll probbaly get confirmaiton that this year Switch sales dropped below the PS4 peak.

 

[LukasManak22]

The biggest question of the century is. Will Dragon Quest 12 release on Switch?

 

[Dardan Sandiego]

To only release one or two small games in the final 5 months of a year would be a disaster for Nintendo.

Spoiler

i agree

 

[Deleted member 4629]

Without looking at other peoples predictions

2d mario
Fe4 remake
Metroid prime 4
Mokepd
Rhythm heaven
Kirby spin off
And either tomodachi life switch or ring fit 3

None of these are cross release but they will still be sold for the new console.

I'd love Tomodachi Life for the Switch! Although i think Tomodachi Life would work on mobile well. Although i hope the next mobile Nintendo game is Nintendogs based on that pattern filing from a couple of months ago.

 

[LuckyNumber69]

The biggest question of the century is. Will Dragon Quest 12 release on Switch?

It'll release on Switch 2 imo. Great way to sell a ton of Succ's in Japan.

 

[Pokemaniac]

Detective Pikachu was never on their list as it was never formally announced. Just casually mentioned.

Big Pokémon News from Tokyo

New mobile experiences, a new Detective Pikachu on Nintendo Switch, and more were announced at the Pokémon 2019 Press Conference.

www.pokemon.com

"POKÉMON CONTINUES TO EVOLVE WITH NEW INITIATIVES COMING SOON" - The Pokémon Company North America Official Press Site

press.pokemon.com

This wasn't some offhand mention in an interview. By any reasonable definition, the game was formally announced. It's just probably too far removed from Nintendo to be included on their release lists.

 

[LukasManak22]

It'll release on Switch 2 imo. Great way to sell a ton of Succ's in Japan.

It depends on when it's launching. If it's something like late 2024 then it can still release on this Switch, the install base is huge. Let's not forget they also released specially crafted version of DQ11 on 3DS.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

But the information in said leak led us to concrete info on what chip is being used, which allowed users to find evidence that said chip is likely taped out as of last year and is nearing if not already in production, hence the expectation of a release date being sooner rather than later.

The Nvidia leak is not the only piece of information we have.

Okay, so again:

1. We do not know if the chip was "taped out" for the Switch 2 or just for some Shield device or something else
2. We do not know if the taping out was actually completed, he just said he worked on the project while he was still there.
3. No info has been provided by people here on whether or not taped out chips are frequently cancelled or held back for years (because it's basically impossible to get info like this)

The signal of "Kat Bailey and Eurogamer have heard nothing whatsoever about a Switch 2 being announced in detail next month" is much stronger than this LinkedIn post.