• Hey everyone, staff have documented a list of banned content and subject matter that we feel are not consistent with site values, and don't make sense to host discussion of on Famiboards. This list (and the relevant reasoning per item) is viewable here.

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

When is the next general full-length Direct?

  • June

    Votes: 130 38.0%

  • July

    Votes: 40 11.7%

  • August

    Votes: 15 4.4%

  • September

    Votes: 129 37.7%

  • October

    Votes: 1 0.3%

  • November

    Votes: 1 0.3%

  • December

    Votes: 1 0.3%

  • January

    Votes: 13 3.8%

  • February

    Votes: 1 0.3%

  • Never

    Votes: 11 3.2%
  • Total voters
    342
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
Reader mode
Bulgowski said:
Honestly, this. I see this all over the internet where people try to reason games into existence when there is no indication they exist and then get all upset when they, uh, don't exist.

Biggest one being Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD where the logic of "Nintendo is porting all the Wii U games" made these games a logical conclusion that people have been saying are locks for like 4 years now and there is still no indication that they actually exist.

I feel the same with 2D Mario. I haven't seen any credible rumors besides assumptions based on brand synergy with the movie or going down the check list of Nintendo IP without a new title on Switch yet over the last few months everyone is acting like it's a confirmed, real game.
Click to expand...
EPD in Kyoto started hiring staff for a new 2D game in October 2019. We also know that level design staff with 2D Mario experience worked on Splatoon 2, but then didn't work on either Octo Expansion or Splatoon 3.
 
MisterSpo said:
EPD in Kyoto started hiring staff for a new 2D game in October 2019. We also know that level design staff with 2D Mario experience worked on Splatoon 2, but then didn't work on either Octo Expansion or Splatoon 3.
Click to expand...
They actually did work on Octo Expansion. But it does not matter, it's been a while. Many of them have been allocated to Pikmin 4 and 2D Mario respectively.
 
LukasManak22 said:
They actually did work on Octo Expansion.
Click to expand...
My bad! That would leave them unaccounted for since summer 2018, though, with the hiring call for Kyoto's 2D title coming in October 2019.

The key point is people aren't just making uninformed guesses. It's an educated guess based on hiring calls, staff distribution, and the broader context for late 2023 (no Pokemon title leaving the holidays wide open for another major Nintendo brand; Super Mario having some presence on Switch pretty much every October).
 
Easiest way to speculate is to count how many years we’ve been without a franchise especially when it is active and has dedicated teams attached. Going a step further and looking at hiring calls and where staff has and hasn’t appeared only makes predictions more sure. That doesn’t account for when things go wrong behind the scenes of course, but it’s a good rule of thumb nonetheless.

Since it was mentioned on the last page, ports and remasters are hardly easy to predict especially in regards to timing even if you can again look at the studios who typically handle these things and make guesses. I feel very confident we’ll one day see Wind Waker and Twilight Princess HD both come back, but they might be in the cross gen period in 2024 or 2025.
 
MisterSpo said:
My bad! That would leave them unaccounted for since summer 2018, though, with the hiring call for Kyoto's 2D title coming in October 2019.

The key point is people aren't just making uninformed guesses. It's an educated guess based on hiring calls, staff distribution, and the broader context for late 2023 (no Pokemon title leaving the holidays wide open for another major Nintendo brand; Super Mario having some presence on Switch pretty much every October).
Click to expand...
Yeah, pretty much. I have been saying for a long time that they have been busy with concepts and stuff until about a year when Maker 2 shipped since more staff was then available, while some people who worked on Maker 2 went to Pikmin in 2019, like Shigefumi Hino - Pikmin 1,2,3 Director his last credit being game design for Maker 2, he is Director of Pikmin 4 without a doubt.

It's not even that it's that tied to movie release as many say since it was delayed due to pandemic, same for the movie.
 
I’m really glad Everybody 1-2 Switch got announced in that we know the “big” game for June. Additional bigger stuff this late would be very surprising, especially with Nintendo handling Rain Code in Europe, but we do have room of course for NSO stuff and most interestingly potentially Mario Kart DLC Wave 5 if it isn’t in July.

Mainly saying this because it’s time to look forward with Zelda behind us and start speculating about how August - December especially will start shaking out. I’m still feeling 2D Mario for September makes the most sense as the next big pillar game after Pikmin. The surprise revival of Stinky Horse really did shake up the speculation game as the smaller games have one less slot to be in now.
 
MisterSpo said:
Kinda funny but reading Nintendo's June Newsletter and Stinky Horse ain't even in it.
Click to expand...
I'm kinda rooting for them to do a gameplay video like Aonuma did with TotK, just EPD4 playing Stinky Horse. I know no one needed it, but after reading this post you need it too.
 
At the rate I’ve been playing Tears of the Kingdom I’m all set for the rest of the summer at least, but I just want to know when or if Nintendo has a Direct this summer so that I don’t have to bullshit an excuse as to why I have to leave work early (or not show up at all) with only one day’s notice. If it’s on a Wednesday at 6PM EDT as is standard for Directs not tied to E3 then I should be fine, but again it looks like we won’t know until the day before 😅
 
0
Why is confidence so high in a 2D Mario this year if the same team also works on Pikmin, which is releasing in just two months? These are both franchise where the main series is done internally with little outsourcing support. Is there another situation where a Nintendo team released two full games just months apart? Based on timeliness and reporting both of these games would have been in pretty early development during COVID, which we know impacts games worse earlier in development cycles. We also know Nintendo had the toughest time adjusting to work from home.
 
Supreme Bum 01 said:
Why is confidence so high in a 2D Mario this year if the same team also works on Pikmin, which is releasing in just two months? These are both franchise where the main series is done internally with little outsourcing support. Is there another situation where a Nintendo team released two full games just months apart? Based on timeliness and reporting both of these games would have been in pretty early development during COVID, which we know impacts games worse earlier in development cycles. We also know Nintendo had the toughest time adjusting to work from home.
Click to expand...
It’s not the same team. EPD teams are literally just creative heads/producers and the rest of the staff(art/programming) just flexes within the company depending on where projects are within their production timeline.
 
Supreme Bum 01 said:
Why is confidence so high in a 2D Mario this year if the same team also works on Pikmin, which is releasing in just two months? These are both franchise where the main series is done internally with little outsourcing support. Is there another situation where a Nintendo team released two full games just months apart? Based on timeliness and reporting both of these games would have been in pretty early development during COVID, which we know impacts games worse earlier in development cycles. We also know Nintendo had the toughest time adjusting to work from home.
Click to expand...
EPD groups don't really exists. New Super Mario Bros 2 shipped in August 2012 and U shipped just 2 months from that. Different people are working on different projects.
 
Last edited:
Supreme Bum 01 said:
Why is confidence so high in a 2D Mario this year if the same team also works on Pikmin, which is releasing in just two months? These are both franchise where the main series is done internally with little outsourcing support. Is there another situation where a Nintendo team released two full games just months apart? Based on timeliness and reporting both of these games would have been in pretty early development during COVID, which we know impacts games worse earlier in development cycles. We also know Nintendo had the toughest time adjusting to work from home.
Click to expand...
Like others are saying, EPD 'groups' aren't equivalent to fixed development studios. There are small teams of senior staff who have responsibility for particular series, and sometimes there might be two sets of staff like that in a single group. In this case yeah, EPD 10 has responsibility for Pikmin and 2D Super Mario, and EPD 5 has Animal Crossing and Splatoon. But the bulk of the staff come from the central pool which is shared across franchises and series, and they move from project to project as demand dictates. Like I said above, level designers for 2D Mario have worked on Splatoon, which is just one example of staff moving across groups and franchises.

And again, it comes down to hiring calls and knowing what particular staff have done. Kyoto had a 2D title in production in October 2019 when they hired for it. Staff with 2D Mario experience worked on Splatoon 2 content until summer 2018 but didn't help with Splatoon 3. Super Mario Maker 2 launched in 2019 and support for it wrapped up in early 2020. It's not some pie in the sky stab in the dark to think the next 2D Mario could be nearly ready.
 
Pikmin 3 got delayed in early 2013 so it was developed concurrently with NSMBU.

2D and 3D Mario have always been released close to each other since 2006 but never in the same year almost as if to offset some risk if the 3D title wouldn't catch on. So if it doesn't come out this year that means we have to wait even longer for the 3D title since that surely takes much more time to develop than a 2D title. And then when you consider there's also Tokyo 2D title in the works that Nintendo likely won't release to close to another 2D title 2D Mario for 2k23 is pretty much a lock.

#TeamJune
 
LukasManak22 said:
image.png
Click to expand...
I don't know if my internet was being weird or if this is just a super high resolution image but this loaded so slow it reminded me of being on dial-up internet way back when.
 
Last edited:
Joe said:
This thread might launch its deepest panic mode ever if Pikmin 4's release comes and goes without any Direct.
Click to expand...
The week after Pikmin 4 is the latest I'd put a summer Direct. I'm also wondering when we get a Pokemon Presents, because with the DLC needing details and stuff like Detective Pikachu and perhaps Mystery Dungeon becoming due, there's stuff there that needs to be talked about.
 
MisterSpo said:
The week after Pikmin 4 is the latest I'd put a summer Direct. I'm also wondering when we get a Pokemon Presents, because with the DLC needing details and stuff like Detective Pikachu and perhaps Mystery Dungeon becoming due, there's stuff there that needs to be talked about.
Click to expand...
I feel like we are almost guaranteed to get something before Pikmin 4's release, and that a Pokemon Presents is the most likely. A Partner Showcase is also possible, but I feel big time Direct will be reserved for September.
 
If we're talking exclusively general directs, my gut feeling is that June is the last chance until the September pre-TGS one. I feel like July or August would be too close to the latter. Unless maybe we don't get as traditional of a September direct as we usually get. Or if they go balls to the wall crazy and give us two general directs less than 10 weeks apart.

We've entered Horse Shit era so who knows. But I'm sticking with September being the next one for now.
 
JorgenRaft said:
If we're talking exclusively general directs, my gut feeling is that June is the last chance until the September pre-TGS one. I feel like July or August would be too close to the latter. Unless maybe we don't get as traditional of a September direct as we usually get. Or if they go balls to the wall crazy and give us two general directs less than 10 weeks apart.

We've entered Horse Shit era so who knows. But I'm sticking with September being the next one for now.
Click to expand...
All we technically "need" for September is a Partner Showcase
 
I feel like I'm in a weird place for a new direct. I've really been mostly following them for the last 3 years for Zelda and now that Zelda is out, I really have no wants or needs for a direct. Yet still I look forward to it - part out of curiosity due to how light Nintendo's current line-up is and part out of weird habit at this point.
 
0
Raccoon said:
All we technically "need" for September is a Partner Showcase
Click to expand...
Depends how much is left this fiscal year, I think. I'd say there's 3 or 4 more games lurking in the second half of 2023, and 2 or 3 for the first quarter of 2024. Let's say two of those games are revealed in a Pokemon Presents. Are they going to announce 5 games in a single Direct this summer? The busier Directs have had around 5 reveals in the Switch era, I think, so it's not unprecedented.

I feel like a gradual strategy would better suit them, simply because revealing and communicating that stuff is going to take and space. It's one reason why I feel like the default June and September windows make the most sense.
 
MisterSpo said:
Depends how much is left this fiscal year, I think. I'd say there's 3 or 4 more games lurking in the second half of 2023, and 2 or 3 for the first quarter of 2024. Let's say two of those games are revealed in a Pokemon Presents. Are they going to announce 5 games in a single Direct this summer? The busier Directs have had around 5 reveals in the Switch era, I think, so it's not unprecedented.

I feel like a gradual strategy would better suit them, simply because revealing and communicating that stuff is going to take and space. It's one reason why I feel like the default June and September windows make the most sense.
Click to expand...
An early August Direct with TGS September Partner Showcase would most likely be the result of some combination of a few unusual circumstances:
  • no August game, an August game with a very short turnaround, OR a separate reveal prior
  • no September game, a September game with a somewhat short turnaround, OR a separate reveal prior
  • a lighter fall with DLC occupying a few release slots (Splatoon 3 Side Order, Pokémon)
  • a light fiscal Q4 (not common recently but certainly not unprecedented)

I'll get into it further once I start our first guided discussion (stay tuned), but a Pokémon Presents next week could cross t's and dot i's quite well.
 
If there's no Direct until September then Metroid Prime 4 is not coming out this year. That would be way too quick of a turnaround between reveal and release. It will instead be shown in the September Direct for a Q1 or Q2 2024 release.

If Metroid Prime 4 is a complete no-show in September then I don't even know what to think anymore.
 
xghost777 said:
I’m really glad Everybody 1-2 Switch got announced in that we know the “big” game for June. Additional bigger stuff this late would be very surprising, especially with Nintendo handling Rain Code in Europe, but we do have room of course for NSO stuff and most interestingly potentially Mario Kart DLC Wave 5 if it isn’t in July.

Mainly saying this because it’s time to look forward with Zelda behind us and start speculating about how August - December especially will start shaking out. I’m still feeling 2D Mario for September makes the most sense as the next big pillar game after Pikmin. The surprise revival of Stinky Horse really did shake up the speculation game as the smaller games have one less slot to be in now.
Click to expand...
I think June/July is pretty much locked in at this point, other than maybe a few third party games that are smaller, you're right. (sometimes I forget that we're already IN June, lol). And especially since Pikmin 4 is so late in July, I wouldn't be surprised if August is actually empty. But I'm still 100% expecting some kind of game release to be in mid-September, so it's just a question of when it gets revealed. I have a hard time believing that we'll make it all the way until September itself for that, so I really feel like we're getting some kind of Direct pre-September. At least that's my current thought. Also possible: The September game is a larger-ish third party game and it gets revealed elsewhere, and the Direct is in September as usual to detail the holiday period. But that still feels a bit late to me.
 
Vyplo said:
Do you still think Nintendo as something relevant for late 2023, at the moment? can't recall if was you that entertained the chance of Metroid Prime 4 or 2D Mario for the fall. there is still a chance?
Click to expand...
I suspect Prime 4 by end of the current Fiscal Year (ideal hope is this holiday, of course). There are other games I know coming to Switch that remain unannounced but I don't believe are 2023-slated.
 
NateDrake said:
I suspect Prime 4 by end of the current Fiscal Year (ideal hope is this holiday, of course). There are other games I know coming to Switch that remain unannounced but I don't believe are 2023-slated.
Click to expand...
Are we still under the assumption your claim that "F-ZERO will have its moment in 2023" (correct me if I'm wrong) is still a true statement as of now?
 
I think June or early July Direct to reveal 2D Mario(October/November), Metroid Prime 4 (October/November or spring 2024) and a few remasters and DLC is still the most likely, then a September Direct to give more trailers to those and announce Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War remake for Q1 2024 or show Metroid Prime 4 if it's a no show in June, and maybe DK, but that can be February Direct if it's June or July.
 
SirShorse said:
Are we still under the assumption your claim that "F-ZERO will have its moment in 2023" (correct me if I'm wrong) is still a true statement as of now?
Click to expand...
It should be announced this year, at minimum; but plans to marketing can shift at any moment. Metroid Prime and Everybody 1-2 Switch being fine examples of Nintendo waiting until they want to announce and release.
 
I can believe that F Zero, Paper Mario and even Kid Icarus Uprising remasters are real, but I also feel like re-releases are some of the easiest things for Nintendo to move around as schedule filler. Personally I feel like they're better off in the first half of 2024, to plug any gaps in Switch's last year as the sole system, rather than later this year.

If Nintendo are following the usual structure, they'll likely have something Mario in October, something popular ahead of Black Friday in November, and something else in September. A small release might follow at the start of December. I can see August being blank. With mainline Pokemon absent, maybe 2D Mario goes to November, with something from NdCube or Detective Pikachu getting October.
 
MisterSpo said:
I can believe that F Zero, Paper Mario and even Kid Icarus Uprising remasters are real, but I also feel like re-releases are some of the easiest things for Nintendo to move around as schedule filler. Personally I feel like they're better off in the first half of 2024, to plug any gaps in Switch's last year as the sole system, rather than later this year.

If Nintendo are following the usual structure, they'll likely have something Mario in October, something popular ahead of Black Friday in November, and something else in September. A small release might follow at the start of December. I can see August being blank. With mainline Pokemon absent, maybe 2D Mario goes to November, with something from NdCube or Detective Pikachu getting October.
Click to expand...
I can see the final year(s) of the Switch being a lot like the end of the 3DS. One or two big swan song games and then a lot of ports and remasters to fill in the gaps as they ready the launch of the next system. I wouldn't be surprised if Metroid Prime 4 is the last major Switch exclusive game we get (either holiday 2023 or Q1 2024) and then the rest of 2024 being remasters of F-Zero, Paper Mario, etc.
 
Been away in the game development sphere, Are we expecting a Direct this month or waiting until September for a non-partner one?
 
0
Metroid Prime 4 and Tomodachi are the wildcards for me in 2023. I could see both being close to completion, and they'd both be useful later this year. Prime 4 for the enthusiast audience and Tomodachi for the more mainstream audience. But we're already at 3 confirmed EPD titles for 2023 and I think, if there's a fourth, it's much more likely 2D Mario.
Joe said:
I can see the final year(s) of the Switch being a lot like the end of the 3DS. One or two big swan song games and then a lot of ports and remasters to fill in the gaps as they ready the launch of the next system. I wouldn't be surprised if Metroid Prime 4 is the last major Switch exclusive game we get (either holiday 2023 or Q1 2024) and then the rest of 2024 being remasters of F-Zero, Paper Mario, etc.
Click to expand...
It wouldn't surprise me if Switch gets an exclusive Tomodachi title, maybe this year but more likely next. But there'll be some form of cross gen period and backwards compatibility too, so it's not as if the Switch titles in the years ahead will be restricted to the old machine.
 
Reader mode
Status
Not open for further replies.


Back
Top Bottom