Alright everyone, I've just updated the OP for what I expect to be the penultimate time. I'd like to close out my time as OP with some introspective remarks.
I've spent much of this year's hype cycles stewing in resentment of the regularity of the Nintendo news cycle and the precision with which some can now predict it. My mentality was one of chaos worship as I longed for the uncertain times for Nintendo news of years past. In addition to 2020, which I see as the height of these threads despite the lack of an actual Direct that year, Direct hype as we've come to understand it began in a very uncertain time for news about Nintendo Switch: the start of 2018. The first new year for Nintendo Switch brought with it great intrigue, as we didn't yet understand how the software composition of the platform would look in the years to come.
However, the past several days have brought me to the conclusion that my yearning for this feeling is misguided. What we all see embodied in
@LukasManak22 is the maturation of Direct speculation: a robust commitment to facts, reason, and understanding of why Nintendo will do what and when. Yes, he knew exactly when the February Direct would be, as did many others, based on precedent alone. This week however will be a triumph for simple reasoning: there are no Nintendo games after Pikmin, and they need to have them announced by the financial briefing on Friday. It was cognizance of Nintendo that brought us here, not just a passive deference to patterns. I, for one, am very satisfied by how this story ends, though I wouldn't have said so mere weeks ago.
As I said before, Direct speculation has matured, both fundamentally and superficially. Our improved understanding of how Nintendo markets games represents a fundamental maturation of this endeavor, while the simple fact that we are now on-topic more than not represents immense superficial improvement. Indeed, the community finding a home has created a superior environment for both casual discussions and enthusiast ones like this. While the circumstances that led to its creation were obviously distinct from this, I have to thank
@bellydrum for improving the activity of this community in an effort merely to save it.
As an aside, the third discussion topic that I previously alluded to felt unneeded and outright counterproductive as the thread gained momentum. While I consider the guided discussions great appetizers and their creation a success, this thread no longer has use for any guidance at all. Where we're going we don't need rails.
I hope that every last one of you gets something out of this week's Nintendo Direct. For the first time in a few years, I'm feeling excited myself.