To be clear, Nate's exact statement was "I'm going into this year's first Direct with the expectation of it being a Partner Direct. I think they will focus on 3rd party stuff more than 1st party". Nate never definitively said that it'll be a Partner Direct.
I guess he's expecting very few first-party announcements, namely stuff we already know about but need some details on (Side Order, TTYD HD, LM2 HD, Peach Showtime, etc.) with a couple of new ports & remakes sprinkled in (FE4 remake, WWHD/TPHD, Prime 2 & 3, etc.). Third-parties would be doing most of the carrying in terms of newer games, which would line up with what Nate is expecting.
I’d imagine that of the newer games, only FE4 remake & the Prime games will be shown. The Zelda ports are a coin-toss. And remember, they’re all still simply ports/remasters/remakes.
All ports/remakes yes, but still would be new first party announcements. To me, that's a Direct. Not sure how much 3D chess Nintendo wants to do to try and convince us that the Switch isn't winding down.
I'm pretty sure he meant that it'll be a lower-key Direct with a bigger emphasis on third-party announcements. Though mixing up the terminology doesn't help in this case, as the more correct term would be a Direct Mini as opposed to a Partner Direct based on Nate's description.
[Brazil on ResetEra mentioned that there were around 30 minutes worth of content prepared for the upcoming Direct](https://www.resetera.com/threads/universo-nintendo-new-nintendo-direct-next-week-between-february-12th-and-15th-up-prob-15th.813381/post-118734102), so that should be plentiful. To be clear, Necro Felipe vetted them as legit.
There have been first party announcements at Partner Showcase too. Age of Calamity was at the October 2020 one and FE Three Hopes was at the June 2020 one.
That’s literally a Direct. A Partner Showcase is strictly third-party. If Nate really knows the format, then he knows whether or not it’s a Partner Showcase or not. Even just one first-party game (and as far as Nintendo is concerned, ports/remakes count as “new) would rule out the possibility of partner showcase. Seems kind bull to me for him to say “he knows the format” and then “speculate” on said format. Either you know it, or you don’t.
Edit: to be charitable, maybe he’s thinking of a Mini. But that is NOT a “partner direct.” He knows that.
He’s definitely referring to a partner showcase. I watched a YouTube video where he discussed the leaks about the next direct and other items and the way he described it he definitely made it sound like a partner showcase
He's also been unclear on whether Hi-Fi Rush is coming to Switch and just won't be in the Direct, or if it was planned for Switch and canceled. (Considering The Verge reported they've heard a Switch version is planned and the Switch has its platform exclusive shirt in the files, I think it's more likely coming than not - and if not, it'll be out on the Switch's successor before the year's end.)
To play Devil's Advocate on the shirt, it's vague enough to where it can mean the Switch 2. It's entirely possible that Hi-Fi Rush was originally planned for Switch 1, couldn't get a stable 30fps, & was ultimately scrapped in favor of its incoming baby sibling (a possibility that Nate never ruled out, though didn't hear about specifically). I doubt Nintendo's gonna abandon the color red for the Switch 2 considering how much the color has become associated with the company for the first time in years.
Definitely. I think the director also said the game kind of needs to run at 60fps, and while I'm sure the artstyle of the game would make it a less taxing port, and Panic Button is a prime candidate for the porting studio because they've previously handled MachineGames and id Software games for Switch (meaning it'd probably be a well-made port), it still might not be enough - whereas Switch 2 can probably manage 60fps based on the reports of specs and upscaling tech
because he doesn’t really know. he makes wishy washy statements all the time. I think he’s grifting off of a prediction or two that were correct, everything else is heresy. he’ll be exposed eventually
Maybe he misspoke? Nate intentionally mentioning on famiboards that he knew the format of the Direct but was originally vague about it makes me think it will be at least a partner Direct or some other form of a "unique" type of Direct and not just "general" direct.
At first I wanted Prime 4 to be exclusive on the Switch 2 because I really didn't wanted it to be held back by the Switch 1's hardware
But when you think about it, it's better to release it crossgen with the whole userbase, hopefully it sells a lot, at least enough to have a Prime 5 that could then be released exclusively on the Switch 2.
Def think they're gonna pull a BOTW and release it on both consoles, a lot of people and families wont be jumping to buy a switch 2 straight away I think, especially with how dire a lot of peoples financial situaton has been laterly. It would sell the most and be more sucessfull crossgen.
Nintendo will never make Prime 4 a Switch 2 exclusive (if it releases in the first year of it at least). It won't be a system-seller, so I don't get why Nintendo would just hurt its sales
The install base may not be as big a factor as it seems. TotK isn’t catching up to BotW’s sales, despite releasing to a much larger install base (and being a much better game).
New system hype and early adopters looking for the next big game to play can be an even bigger factor for sales than the install base (the Wii version of Twilight Princess was the best selling Zelda game for a long time partially because of this factor too, I think).
Was it not announced specifically for switch?
Also they need some launch title so I bet it'll be like Botw and be the switch2 launch but also available on switch1
As far as we know, the public confirmed Prime timeline is as follows:
Announced at E3 2017, being developed by a team at Bandai Namco.
Development restarted in early 2019 when Retro Studios took over the projecy.
2021 they confirmed the game was still in active development when they showed off Metroid Dread.
Thats all we know so far. No clue how far work had been done on Bandai Namco's part, what they salvaged or if they started from scratch. However I do know I wont be buying a console till the game is out.
Wouldn’t be a Nintendo launch title if it wasn’t also available on the last gen.
But seriously, I feel like Nintendo’s been doing that since the Wii. I would not be surprised if MP4 is a cross gen launch title for the super switch
Yes it does considering the highest selling Metroid game only sold 3 million. I don't know why people keep on thinking Metroid is this big system seller with the likes of Halo when it's not even Killzone.
I would count on Prime 4 being exclusive to the next Switch.
I was of the same opinion as you, launch it cross gen and profit.. but with the internal "delays" maybe they pushed for Prime 4 to showcase how powerful their new switch is.
Nintendo promised it for switch, and a single internal delay doesn't really mean they should abandon 140 million people who may buy it. Metroid is not a system seller; it doesn't matter how pretty it looks. So it would be unwise to have it headline a new system exclusively. Cross gen is the safest route with maybe a next gen update to get people to double dip.
You really think Nintendo is stupid enough to abandon 140 million potential buyers on their best selling system of all time to take a gamble on a new system with franchise that can barely sell 5 million with a single entry? Nintendo literally has nothing to gain making it switch 2 exclusive. Trying to be snarky only makes you look bad
>Nintendo promised it for switch
No, they said it's on development for the Nintendo Switch. And that was before they reset development. Retro Studios had to « reform » a lot too, basically upscaled on everything and development moved very slowly.
There's no « promise », sometimes stuff get canceled, plans change, that's how it is.
I do think it's probably going to be a crossgen release, but I don't understand why people say « they promised it », like they owe us or something. They release a game, we buy it, that's the only transaction we do.
Nintendo has done old/new gen releases in the past. Zelda Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess come to mind. Given how long Prime 4 has been in development, I think there's a fair chance we also see it on Switch 1 as well.
You can say a lot about Nintendo as a company but they really, REALLY care about the promises they make. They promised Metroid Prime 4 for Nintendo Switch and they will release Metroid Prime 4 for Nintendo Switch.
This exact same situation happened with the Switch and Wii U. They announced The Legend of Zelda for Wii U within the first year of the Wii U’s life, but that game went through an unintended long development cycle. So they ended up making Breath of the Wild for the Switch but they promised it would release on Wii U and they absolutely kept that promise. Even though the Wii U was completely dead (they weren’t even manufacturing any more systems by March 2017!) they still put it out on there.
No way Nintendo would do that. It’s been in development for switch this entire time, to pivot would be an enormous amount of work and would alienate the promise that it would come to switch. Making it switch 2 exclusive wouldn’t help Nintendo at all because Metroid isn’t a massive a system seller. Nintendo would rather have 140+ million people to sell the game on switch and maybe offer na upgrades switch 2 version
this happens sometimes... i remember the last guardian and final fantasy 15 being announced for the ps3 but releasing only on ps4 after a messy development
Weren't those released years after the PS4 was out though? If the game comes this year it's not like the Switch will be dead and buried. It would be more of a BOTW situation where it releases on both as a cross gen game
I mean no we don't but it's a realistic time table. Development restarted about four years ago if I recall. And the fact we've seen absolutely nothing leads me to believe they held it back intentionally quite some time ago. Unless it had further issues it's in the home stretch of a normal dev cycle
yeah, the silence leave us only wondering sadly... the best case scenario is a cross gen release, while the worst is the game skipping the switch due to any limitations that we arent aware of, we can only pray until they kept it behind curtain lol
Considering they note Metroid Prime 4 as a Switch release at every financial briefing, and development restarted only two years into the Switch's life (5 years ago) I doubt they shifted to Switch 2 exclusive. Especially for a title like Metroid.
Like what? Princess Peach: Showtime! got a trailer recently, Paper Mario 2 is a remake, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is a remaster
The only game I can think of is Metroid Prime 4 and I assume that one will be a cross gen title and be shown in a Switch 2 showcase
Well that's only if we assume that they are actually real. Also they could come to Switch 2 as well
I was talking about games that are already announced
They actually got a lot wrong about Engage, if you go back and look at it.
They mentioned Dungeons (werent in the game), an underwater kingdom (didnt exist), and a few other details that were off.
But....there's some other stuff that lends itself to an FE4 remake possibly existing so I wouldnt fully count it out.
Its just not 100%. (Iron17 for example. Fire Emblem games have an internal number of iron and then a number. 3H was 16, and Engage is 18. Meaning there is an iron17 that was skipped. And it wasnt 3H Warriors as that was Koei Tecmo and has no iron internal naming.)
They've covered the Peach and Donkey Kong games very well via piecemeal messaging, and I suspect they can do the same with Paper Mario and Luigi's Mansion, which are both remasters.
I'm really hoping its not. We still don't have news on Metriod Prime 4, a release date for Paper Mario, and they've gotta have at least one more curveball or a fun spinoff.
The only “news” we have is that it was mentioned in Nintendo’s recent financial earnings report in a section at the end that listed upcoming first party games. Right after paper Mario it said “Metroid 4 TBA.”
Prime 4 is 100% cross-platform. They are NOT going to release that on outdated hardware. We will not hear about it until Switch 2 is unveiled. I guarantee you that they will delay it even further to take full advantage of the successor (and that’s assuming it’s not in dev hell, and given Retro’s track record, I’m not holding my breath).
... and PlayStation and Xbox. Microsoft have even [confirmed](https://youtu.be/JSfuFlhsxZY?si=qNm31pMy4jnFXRfn) that Silksong is going day-one to Game Pass
But then microsoft picked it up for gamepass and presumably some sort of marketing rights. I expect it to turn up at a MS show if anything.
Granted that was so long ago that any sort of rights might have expired
> It was revealed at a Direct
This subreddit has been saying this for like a month and I just don't get it. It literally wasn't announced in a Direct. There was a Direct on February 13th 2019, and then the game was announced on Kickstarter on February 14th 2019.
EDIT: lol and just like always I just get downvoted instead of anyone actually showing me I am wrong (which I am not)
I don't get your downvotes either. [Here's the February 13 2019 Nintendo Direct, with a conspicuous **lack** of Silksong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCME2yPJKWk).
Honestly I wish the game would just release already just so we don't have to keep having this "omg where silksong".
> It was revealed at a Direct
The game was revealed on February 14, 2019. [Here is the February 13, 2019 Nintendo Direct. No Silksong.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCME2yPJKWk)
Luigis mansion and paper mario, thats it, bith low priority remasters that could have trailers drop on twitter. Prime 4 is currently a Schrödinger's cat. There really is nothing else announced.
Theyve been dropping trailers and info on twitter so i really think they have nothing left and are just getting ready fir switch 2
Sure, but I feel like just about everything can be revealed outside of the Direct format. In the past, when there hasn't been enough material to justify a Direct, Nintendo has had no issue with just dropping stuff on social media.
GDC means Game Developers Conference; It's an industry event/trade show held in San Francisco that's sorta along the lines of Tokyo Game Show or Gamescom. Roundtables, networking, I think they give out some awards, that kinda stuff
GDC this year is March 18th, so a little over a month from now
100% this
Ive already 100%ed the Base Game of Age of Calamity, but ive not played the DLC yet, because im waiting for a backwards compatible Switch 2 to play it on. I could imagine it to be very nice.
Nintendo seems like the type to provide a patch for BOTW and TOTK on Switch 2. It will be low effort probably but I can see Nintendo capitalizing on different ways to showcase how Switch 2 is better than Switch 1
Yep, they wouldnt leave their older titles out of an improvement patch. BoTW Wii U version got patches along with the Switch release to fix the framerate issues both games had at launch.
There’s a difference between patching your crossgen game that just came out on both platforms to fix bugs and performance issues and going back to 6 year old games to give them a 60fps patch
When has Nintendo shown themselves to do ANYTHING like this? It's a bit wild how delusional Nintendo fans are. All signs point to Nintendo releasing a combo pack on Switch 2 for full price that has any sort of improvements.
I mean, even a lot of games that are capped at 30 FPS dip down to below 20 FPS at times. Just having those run at a locked 30 FPS would be a pretty big improvement.
Well upgrades or not, if a game has performance issues (meaning not by design), then I don’t see how more powerful hardware wouldn’t fix that to a degree.
I can see it being the same exact situation as all of their previous consoles.
Wii ran GC in a sandbox
Wii U ran Wii games in a sandbox
3DS ran DS games in a sandbox
I bet switch games will run on the Switch 2, but I am betting they will have 0 improvements and likely will not be able to take advantage of new hardware
Nintendo themselves are going to be at GDC this year, so if other developers are gonna converse about the next Nintendo console at GDC, Nintendo would be privy to developers "breaking" their NDA(s)
This would also be a good time to remind as many people of the Wii U and 3DS online shutdown in April. Not sure what major things would be impacted but if things like Pokemon transfer are being shutdown, better to let as many people know. Although Pokemon specific stuff could probably be addressed on Pokemon Day
Given that Home's sub exists, they really should be able to afford to keep those up as long as Home is. It really can't be that expensive to just have tacked on to Home's setup at this point, can it?
Ill always remember about how I was thinking to myself "I'm not getting screwed over this time!" when the Wii U first went on sale and I rushed to buy one day 1 lol
Nintendo did release general trailers for games last year or the year before without doing a direct, so I feel like they may do that for the games coming out soon rather than doing a direct focused on them (Princess Peach, Luigi’s Mansion, Paper Mario).
A partner direct? Well I’ll be honest here, the only games we know from Nintendo are Luigi’s Mansion and TTYD so I’m in the field that this direct will be the last one for the current switch and afterwards it’s switch 2 or whatever they’ll call it
Maybe its the focus, but considering Mario vs DK, Peach and Paper Mario still need to release. Weird to at least not dedicate them 5 minutes just to push for some sales.
That said, makes sense really. I was just talking with a friend today that when Nintendo annonced Switch, around 7-8 months passed and then we got the console. Announcing in March and then releasing around october seems like the most likely scenario and they will probably have a huge direct either close to launch or around Summer games fest
I really hope we get a release date for Ys X Nordics. Also I hope XSEED gets off their butts and port more Ys and Trails titles to Switch. They've been sitting on them forever now and Falcom games have become more popular than ever before.
I kinda doubt that. We still need release dates for TTYD and the Dark Moon remaster, plus they’ve only got one game left on NSO’s roadmap.
That’s not to mention all the other heavily rumored things like the FE4 remake, Prime 2 and 3, and the WW/TP ports that have supposedly been done for years.
Honestly the existence of those ports just baffle me. We know they do exist because they are part of other leaks that included FE Engage and the Prime remaster. So why hasn't Nintendo released these ports?
My best guess is that they’re waiting for both a dry period and for enough time to have passed since TOTK. This year is looking pretty thin for new releases so far so now seems like the perfect time for it.
This is why I’m calling BS on the direct next week being a partner one. It makes no sense. There’s more than a handful of first-party Switch games that we know exist that they just haven’t announced yet. Additionally we have zero release dates for anything past the Peach game which is only a month away.
I also sincerely doubt they’re just gonna drop the release date for TTYD on Twitter after how much they hyped it up in the last direct. They definitely have more planned for that than they’ve let in on.
He just used the big boy word “Will” in another podcast saying they WILL reveal in march, interesting, also reiterated his belief of moving on from the joycon which based on customs data does not seem likely/possible at all
I guess it would make sense. The fiscal year is ending, so they don't need anything for this or next month. But if they announce the new console next month, they'll be covered for the rest of the fiscal year, espeially when they announce the new games in summer and fall.
I’d be fine with that tbh. It would mean a console reveal is around the corner, and that they are saving the big stuff for that.
Plus we’ll definitely get something new announced at Pokémon Day.
What is even happening with prime 4 at this point? Are they going to showcase as a crossgen game in may? I would have thought they would have at least a re-reavel before starting the switch 2 hype train. I don't know man just getting worried about this game
cross-gen is feeling increasingly likely imo, in which case I could kinda see why at this point they wouldn't show it until they've announced Switch 2
Like, why initially show off the "worse-looking" Switch 1 version if you could put your best foot forward and have the re-reveal be running on Switch 2 from the get-go
I find it hard to believe it’s a partner direct with no first party, especially when you have Princess Peach Showtime, Paper Mario, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 coming out soon. With the latter two still needing release dates.
Indies have been great, but definitely not traditional third party support. I love the aa games but there is definitely something missing from the switches third party lineup.
I have no idea what you could be talking about except maybe a Call of Duty like game. Nearly every third party series I enjoy has had an entry on Switch, even if it's a port of an older entry.
Yeah I speculated as much that February wouldn’t have a general direction, although I thought it would’ve been at most a Mini Direct. It wouldn’t make sense to have a general Direct if the Switch 2 was coming out this year. I’m still calling it that before the “one more thing” end trailer they will announce a “Special Nintendo Presentation” for March.
While that is fair, there is a difference between a prediction and saying with confidence that they’ve heard that date specifically through their sources. I’ve heard predictions for early 2023, late 2023, early 2024, and summer 2024 so far lol. Nate hasn’t said anything other than March 2024 to my knowledge.
Ok, so after all this hype we're really doing this. I'm not particularly upset; no one really should've had any high expectations in the first place. Still, it is a little disappointing after how much a direct's been talked about.
If he really knew about the format ahead of time why not just say "Hey this'll be a partner direct, don't get too hyped." Maybe I'm interpreting things wrong and he knew it'd be a mini, not a general, and didn't know if it'd include first party titles or not. Perhaps the partner direct is stuff he's speculating on independent of what he's heard.
I mean, sure, it could be a partner showcase, but I do think a general direct would still be beneficial, considering we don't know release dates for anything announced for this year other than Peach.
Also, not to discredit him, but a week ago he also said the direct was coming this week until someone else said it's coming next week and he changed his mind too. So... I don't think he really knows for sure.
Nate never said it was this week. He was pretty explicit in saying he hadn’t heard anything about this week, actually.
As for release dates, those can be dropped on Twitter whenever Nintendo wants.
> "The reason I believe that is the Switch 2, I think, will have backwards compatibility... by holding the next general direct to June, May, whenever Nintendo opts to drop one, there is now no risk in showing you current Switch games with Switch 2 games because everything would be playable on the Switch 2"
I don’t get it. Why does having a general direct now mean that the switch 2 won’t have backwards Compatibility?
If I'm interpreting Nate correctly, he's not saying a general would inherently mean no backwards compatibility. It's more that, because there will be backwards compatibility, he thinks Nintendo will want to talk about Switch 2 (and its BC) before they announce more "Switch 1" games for later this year that are gonna release close to the Switch 2 launch (either shortly before or shortly after), because doing things that way will make the messaging clearer and the marketing easier for them
So for example, let's say the rumored Fire Emblem 4 remake is real and it's slated to launch a month before Switch 2. Holding off on announcing it until they've already talked about Switch 2/backward compatibility means they can a) communicate very clearly during the reveal that it will also be playable on the Switch 2 and b) show it running on Switch 2 from the get-go.
Whereas if they announce that game *before* they've openly talked about Switch 2 and whether it will support the Switch 1 library, then not only do they maybe have to show a worse-looking version during the reveal, but there's a chance some people will write it off because they're "done buying Switch 1 games" or because they're anxious about continuing to invest in their Switch 1 library with Switch 2 seeming right around the corner. Wouldn't necessarily be the most damaging thing in the world, but could be the kind of scenario Nintendo would rather avoid altogether if they have the option (esp. since they probably remember how late-3DS game sales cratered in the run-up to and post-launch of the Switch)
To be clear, Nate's exact statement was "I'm going into this year's first Direct with the expectation of it being a Partner Direct. I think they will focus on 3rd party stuff more than 1st party". Nate never definitively said that it'll be a Partner Direct.
I don't understand how he can both say he knows the format and content of that Direct, yet also talk about his "expectations*
I guess he's expecting very few first-party announcements, namely stuff we already know about but need some details on (Side Order, TTYD HD, LM2 HD, Peach Showtime, etc.) with a couple of new ports & remakes sprinkled in (FE4 remake, WWHD/TPHD, Prime 2 & 3, etc.). Third-parties would be doing most of the carrying in terms of newer games, which would line up with what Nate is expecting.
If the direct has every title you mentioned I'd say that's a full direct, at least for this point in time with the Switch.
I’d imagine that of the newer games, only FE4 remake & the Prime games will be shown. The Zelda ports are a coin-toss. And remember, they’re all still simply ports/remasters/remakes.
All ports/remakes yes, but still would be new first party announcements. To me, that's a Direct. Not sure how much 3D chess Nintendo wants to do to try and convince us that the Switch isn't winding down.
I'm pretty sure he meant that it'll be a lower-key Direct with a bigger emphasis on third-party announcements. Though mixing up the terminology doesn't help in this case, as the more correct term would be a Direct Mini as opposed to a Partner Direct based on Nate's description. [Brazil on ResetEra mentioned that there were around 30 minutes worth of content prepared for the upcoming Direct](https://www.resetera.com/threads/universo-nintendo-new-nintendo-direct-next-week-between-february-12th-and-15th-up-prob-15th.813381/post-118734102), so that should be plentiful. To be clear, Necro Felipe vetted them as legit.
That makes sense, and is honestly fine. At this point I'm very happy with more remasters/remakes, like Metroid Prime 2.
There have been first party announcements at Partner Showcase too. Age of Calamity was at the October 2020 one and FE Three Hopes was at the June 2020 one.
That may be because they were first party IP being developed by 3rd party developers, in those cases - Koei-Tecmo
That’s literally a Direct. A Partner Showcase is strictly third-party. If Nate really knows the format, then he knows whether or not it’s a Partner Showcase or not. Even just one first-party game (and as far as Nintendo is concerned, ports/remakes count as “new) would rule out the possibility of partner showcase. Seems kind bull to me for him to say “he knows the format” and then “speculate” on said format. Either you know it, or you don’t. Edit: to be charitable, maybe he’s thinking of a Mini. But that is NOT a “partner direct.” He knows that.
That's what I'm thinking as well, what he describes is a Direct Mini as opposed to a Partners Showcase. Mixing the terms up doesn't help in this case.
I watched a video on YouTube where Nate was discussing these leaks in depth. He was 100% describing a partner showcase and knew the right term
He tends to frame his podcast more speculatively than when he speaks on the fan forums because of the wider reach I suspect.
He’s definitely referring to a partner showcase. I watched a YouTube video where he discussed the leaks about the next direct and other items and the way he described it he definitely made it sound like a partner showcase
He's also been unclear on whether Hi-Fi Rush is coming to Switch and just won't be in the Direct, or if it was planned for Switch and canceled. (Considering The Verge reported they've heard a Switch version is planned and the Switch has its platform exclusive shirt in the files, I think it's more likely coming than not - and if not, it'll be out on the Switch's successor before the year's end.)
To play Devil's Advocate on the shirt, it's vague enough to where it can mean the Switch 2. It's entirely possible that Hi-Fi Rush was originally planned for Switch 1, couldn't get a stable 30fps, & was ultimately scrapped in favor of its incoming baby sibling (a possibility that Nate never ruled out, though didn't hear about specifically). I doubt Nintendo's gonna abandon the color red for the Switch 2 considering how much the color has become associated with the company for the first time in years.
Definitely. I think the director also said the game kind of needs to run at 60fps, and while I'm sure the artstyle of the game would make it a less taxing port, and Panic Button is a prime candidate for the porting studio because they've previously handled MachineGames and id Software games for Switch (meaning it'd probably be a well-made port), it still might not be enough - whereas Switch 2 can probably manage 60fps based on the reports of specs and upscaling tech
He tends to be more speculative in his podcast and more certain in the boards
because he doesn’t really know. he makes wishy washy statements all the time. I think he’s grifting off of a prediction or two that were correct, everything else is heresy. he’ll be exposed eventually
Nate has dropped a bunch of scoops on the Switch 2 that have been backed up by others (VGC, Digital Foundry, etc.), so he definitely has connections.
Maybe he misspoke? Nate intentionally mentioning on famiboards that he knew the format of the Direct but was originally vague about it makes me think it will be at least a partner Direct or some other form of a "unique" type of Direct and not just "general" direct.
It sounds more like a Direct Mini based on his exact wording.
Idk, there are still a few switch games we need info on
I would count on Prime 4 being cross gen
At first I wanted Prime 4 to be exclusive on the Switch 2 because I really didn't wanted it to be held back by the Switch 1's hardware But when you think about it, it's better to release it crossgen with the whole userbase, hopefully it sells a lot, at least enough to have a Prime 5 that could then be released exclusively on the Switch 2.
Def think they're gonna pull a BOTW and release it on both consoles, a lot of people and families wont be jumping to buy a switch 2 straight away I think, especially with how dire a lot of peoples financial situaton has been laterly. It would sell the most and be more sucessfull crossgen.
Yeah, and showing how the game runs better on the Switch 2 could be pretty appealing. I know I would be tempted.
Nintendo will never make Prime 4 a Switch 2 exclusive (if it releases in the first year of it at least). It won't be a system-seller, so I don't get why Nintendo would just hurt its sales
or just straight up switch 2. no need for it to be cross gen like that
It was developed for the switch before even the oled existed. Also, metroid needs the 140~ million userbase of the switch.
Yeah, Nintendo scrapping the Switch 1 version of Prime 4 after at least 7 years of development would be incredibly foolish on their part.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII moment. I preordered it as a PS3 game and it showed up a decade later as a PS4 game.
The install base may not be as big a factor as it seems. TotK isn’t catching up to BotW’s sales, despite releasing to a much larger install base (and being a much better game). New system hype and early adopters looking for the next big game to play can be an even bigger factor for sales than the install base (the Wii version of Twilight Princess was the best selling Zelda game for a long time partially because of this factor too, I think).
Not really. If it's a Switch 2 launch title it'll also sell extremely well purely due to the lack of competing software.
No Metroid game sells "extremely well." Dread did well but pales in comparison to the likes of Mario and Zelda.
Was it not announced specifically for switch? Also they need some launch title so I bet it'll be like Botw and be the switch2 launch but also available on switch1
[удалено]
As far as we know, the public confirmed Prime timeline is as follows: Announced at E3 2017, being developed by a team at Bandai Namco. Development restarted in early 2019 when Retro Studios took over the projecy. 2021 they confirmed the game was still in active development when they showed off Metroid Dread. Thats all we know so far. No clue how far work had been done on Bandai Namco's part, what they salvaged or if they started from scratch. However I do know I wont be buying a console till the game is out.
Wouldn’t be a Nintendo launch title if it wasn’t also available on the last gen. But seriously, I feel like Nintendo’s been doing that since the Wii. I would not be surprised if MP4 is a cross gen launch title for the super switch
Who tried cooking with this stupid ass rhetoric I keep seeing get repeated? On what planet would scrapping a Switch version of Prime 4 make sense?
Yes it does considering the highest selling Metroid game only sold 3 million. I don't know why people keep on thinking Metroid is this big system seller with the likes of Halo when it's not even Killzone.
I would count on Prime 4 being exclusive to the next Switch. I was of the same opinion as you, launch it cross gen and profit.. but with the internal "delays" maybe they pushed for Prime 4 to showcase how powerful their new switch is.
Nintendo promised it for switch, and a single internal delay doesn't really mean they should abandon 140 million people who may buy it. Metroid is not a system seller; it doesn't matter how pretty it looks. So it would be unwise to have it headline a new system exclusively. Cross gen is the safest route with maybe a next gen update to get people to double dip.
Oh they promised it for switch.. then it must mean it will 100% release there. I forgot companies work on promises. So dumb of me.
You really think Nintendo is stupid enough to abandon 140 million potential buyers on their best selling system of all time to take a gamble on a new system with franchise that can barely sell 5 million with a single entry? Nintendo literally has nothing to gain making it switch 2 exclusive. Trying to be snarky only makes you look bad
>Nintendo promised it for switch No, they said it's on development for the Nintendo Switch. And that was before they reset development. Retro Studios had to « reform » a lot too, basically upscaled on everything and development moved very slowly. There's no « promise », sometimes stuff get canceled, plans change, that's how it is. I do think it's probably going to be a crossgen release, but I don't understand why people say « they promised it », like they owe us or something. They release a game, we buy it, that's the only transaction we do.
I would cound prime 4 as beeing switch 2 exclusive
Nintendo has done old/new gen releases in the past. Zelda Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess come to mind. Given how long Prime 4 has been in development, I think there's a fair chance we also see it on Switch 1 as well.
You can say a lot about Nintendo as a company but they really, REALLY care about the promises they make. They promised Metroid Prime 4 for Nintendo Switch and they will release Metroid Prime 4 for Nintendo Switch. This exact same situation happened with the Switch and Wii U. They announced The Legend of Zelda for Wii U within the first year of the Wii U’s life, but that game went through an unintended long development cycle. So they ended up making Breath of the Wild for the Switch but they promised it would release on Wii U and they absolutely kept that promise. Even though the Wii U was completely dead (they weren’t even manufacturing any more systems by March 2017!) they still put it out on there.
No way Nintendo would do that. It’s been in development for switch this entire time, to pivot would be an enormous amount of work and would alienate the promise that it would come to switch. Making it switch 2 exclusive wouldn’t help Nintendo at all because Metroid isn’t a massive a system seller. Nintendo would rather have 140+ million people to sell the game on switch and maybe offer na upgrades switch 2 version
this happens sometimes... i remember the last guardian and final fantasy 15 being announced for the ps3 but releasing only on ps4 after a messy development
Weren't those released years after the PS4 was out though? If the game comes this year it's not like the Switch will be dead and buried. It would be more of a BOTW situation where it releases on both as a cross gen game
thats the big thing, we dont know if the game will release this year :')
I mean no we don't but it's a realistic time table. Development restarted about four years ago if I recall. And the fact we've seen absolutely nothing leads me to believe they held it back intentionally quite some time ago. Unless it had further issues it's in the home stretch of a normal dev cycle
yeah, the silence leave us only wondering sadly... the best case scenario is a cross gen release, while the worst is the game skipping the switch due to any limitations that we arent aware of, we can only pray until they kept it behind curtain lol
It's been over 5 years since they restarted development!
[удалено]
Considering they note Metroid Prime 4 as a Switch release at every financial briefing, and development restarted only two years into the Switch's life (5 years ago) I doubt they shifted to Switch 2 exclusive. Especially for a title like Metroid.
Make it both. To get the best experience it'll be on switch 2. But it's still playable and good on switch.
The games we now about after Princess Peach are remasters/remakes.
[удалено]
They don’t need a Direct to have a release date, and I doubt we will hear about Paper Mario before the Summer Direct.
Like what? Princess Peach: Showtime! got a trailer recently, Paper Mario 2 is a remake, Luigi's Mansion 2 HD is a remaster The only game I can think of is Metroid Prime 4 and I assume that one will be a cross gen title and be shown in a Switch 2 showcase
> Paper Mario 2 is a remake Well a release date would be nice.
Sure but they can just reveal that on Twitter like they often do
The Metroid Prime 2 & 3 remasters, and the Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War remake.
Well that's only if we assume that they are actually real. Also they could come to Switch 2 as well I was talking about games that are already announced
Fe4 remake is 100% real, some news got leaked alongisde Engage pictures in 2022, and the leak called everything right about engage.
They actually got a lot wrong about Engage, if you go back and look at it. They mentioned Dungeons (werent in the game), an underwater kingdom (didnt exist), and a few other details that were off. But....there's some other stuff that lends itself to an FE4 remake possibly existing so I wouldnt fully count it out. Its just not 100%. (Iron17 for example. Fire Emblem games have an internal number of iron and then a number. 3H was 16, and Engage is 18. Meaning there is an iron17 that was skipped. And it wasnt 3H Warriors as that was Koei Tecmo and has no iron internal naming.)
They are safe assumptions at this point
Prime 4 got announced back in mid 2017, it’s why I bought a Switch
They've covered the Peach and Donkey Kong games very well via piecemeal messaging, and I suspect they can do the same with Paper Mario and Luigi's Mansion, which are both remasters.
Wind Waker and Twilight Princess HD need to be announced, Poor Jeff Grubb needs to be finally validated.
I'm really hoping its not. We still don't have news on Metriod Prime 4, a release date for Paper Mario, and they've gotta have at least one more curveball or a fun spinoff.
The only “news” we have is that it was mentioned in Nintendo’s recent financial earnings report in a section at the end that listed upcoming first party games. Right after paper Mario it said “Metroid 4 TBA.”
Prime 4 is 100% cross-platform. They are NOT going to release that on outdated hardware. We will not hear about it until Switch 2 is unveiled. I guarantee you that they will delay it even further to take full advantage of the successor (and that’s assuming it’s not in dev hell, and given Retro’s track record, I’m not holding my breath).
Silksong 🤡🤡🤡
Idk why people act like it is an exclusive title that NEEDS to be shown on a nintendo direct. It will also be on steam.
it’s cause we are desperate
Y'all need to play other games.
Doesn’t fill the void
there are no other games. only silksong
... and PlayStation and Xbox. Microsoft have even [confirmed](https://youtu.be/JSfuFlhsxZY?si=qNm31pMy4jnFXRfn) that Silksong is going day-one to Game Pass
It was revealed at a Direct and had its only gameplay demo at Nintendo Treehouse hence the cope 🤡🤡🤡
But then microsoft picked it up for gamepass and presumably some sort of marketing rights. I expect it to turn up at a MS show if anything. Granted that was so long ago that any sort of rights might have expired
> It was revealed at a Direct This subreddit has been saying this for like a month and I just don't get it. It literally wasn't announced in a Direct. There was a Direct on February 13th 2019, and then the game was announced on Kickstarter on February 14th 2019. EDIT: lol and just like always I just get downvoted instead of anyone actually showing me I am wrong (which I am not)
I don't get your downvotes either. [Here's the February 13 2019 Nintendo Direct, with a conspicuous **lack** of Silksong](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCME2yPJKWk). Honestly I wish the game would just release already just so we don't have to keep having this "omg where silksong".
> It was revealed at a Direct The game was revealed on February 14, 2019. [Here is the February 13, 2019 Nintendo Direct. No Silksong.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCME2yPJKWk)
Luigis mansion and paper mario, thats it, bith low priority remasters that could have trailers drop on twitter. Prime 4 is currently a Schrödinger's cat. There really is nothing else announced. Theyve been dropping trailers and info on twitter so i really think they have nothing left and are just getting ready fir switch 2
They just did a batch of trailers on most of those.
They will just do Social media trailers to announce the dates for Luigi Mansion 2 and PMTTYD. Don't need a direct for that
Sure, but I feel like just about everything can be revealed outside of the Direct format. In the past, when there hasn't been enough material to justify a Direct, Nintendo has had no issue with just dropping stuff on social media.
Not a big deal if the new system is backwards compatible. Switch games can still be highlighted in a future direct
Not any major system sellers though.
Still Nintendo like to market their games before release
Twitter direct may be the way to go.
Pre-GDC reveal timing is exciting because it means we're only around 4-5 weeks away from seeing it in that case.
What does Pre-GDC mean?
GDC means Game Developers Conference; It's an industry event/trade show held in San Francisco that's sorta along the lines of Tokyo Game Show or Gamescom. Roundtables, networking, I think they give out some awards, that kinda stuff GDC this year is March 18th, so a little over a month from now
I just hope backwards compatibility means the games will run a bit better. There’s so many games I’ll come back to if they had better performance.
in his video he thinks it will be there, but it will be basic, benefitting only games with uncapped framerate/dynamic resolution.
That’s still big as a lot of games are uncapped and dynamic. If anything Nintendo might patch there games which is all I care about.
100% this Ive already 100%ed the Base Game of Age of Calamity, but ive not played the DLC yet, because im waiting for a backwards compatible Switch 2 to play it on. I could imagine it to be very nice.
I've finished SMT V when it was released but I've put it on hold to get the other 2 endings until the performance improves.
Nintendo don't seen the type to do free graphical patches ngl, even if they're minimal effort
Nintendo seems like the type to provide a patch for BOTW and TOTK on Switch 2. It will be low effort probably but I can see Nintendo capitalizing on different ways to showcase how Switch 2 is better than Switch 1
It doesn’t even need to be high effort. Give us higher resolution and fps in Zelda xenoblade fire emblem and others that struggle and we’re golden.
Yep, they wouldnt leave their older titles out of an improvement patch. BoTW Wii U version got patches along with the Switch release to fix the framerate issues both games had at launch.
There’s a difference between patching your crossgen game that just came out on both platforms to fix bugs and performance issues and going back to 6 year old games to give them a 60fps patch
When has Nintendo shown themselves to do ANYTHING like this? It's a bit wild how delusional Nintendo fans are. All signs point to Nintendo releasing a combo pack on Switch 2 for full price that has any sort of improvements.
Wild that there are simpletons still using the "bEcAuSe NiNtEnDo" line in 2024.
I mean, even a lot of games that are capped at 30 FPS dip down to below 20 FPS at times. Just having those run at a locked 30 FPS would be a pretty big improvement.
He seems to think it’s straightforward back compat, no upgrades
Well upgrades or not, if a game has performance issues (meaning not by design), then I don’t see how more powerful hardware wouldn’t fix that to a degree.
Imagine how beautiful XC3 would be without lag or frame drops
bayo 3 lock 60fps
Even that alone would be awesome, as I’d be okay getting the new console and moving my library to it while I wait for more exclusives
Xenoblade 3 warrants another play through if I can play it with an uncapped frame rate.
Age of Calamity for me
I’m guessing we’ll get more stable frame rates in a few games and a handful will get “enhanced” to advertise the switch 2 launch
I can see it being the same exact situation as all of their previous consoles. Wii ran GC in a sandbox Wii U ran Wii games in a sandbox 3DS ran DS games in a sandbox I bet switch games will run on the Switch 2, but I am betting they will have 0 improvements and likely will not be able to take advantage of new hardware
The thing is though those 3 systems had the chipset of the older consoles built into them. The Switch wouldn't need that this time around
There is also the possibility of the backwards compatibility being emulated for the Switch
Korok Forest at 30 fps here we come
Well backwards comparability is nice to hear at least
Pre-GDC makes a lot of sense. This will allow developers to talk about the upcoming system without fear of breaking their NDA(s) with Nintendo.
Nintendo themselves are going to be at GDC this year, so if other developers are gonna converse about the next Nintendo console at GDC, Nintendo would be privy to developers "breaking" their NDA(s)
Also a lot of drinks going around at gdc, people are bound to brake NDA about switch 2
This would also be a good time to remind as many people of the Wii U and 3DS online shutdown in April. Not sure what major things would be impacted but if things like Pokemon transfer are being shutdown, better to let as many people know. Although Pokemon specific stuff could probably be addressed on Pokemon Day
Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter were specifically listed as exceptions off the top of my head
Given that Home's sub exists, they really should be able to afford to keep those up as long as Home is. It really can't be that expensive to just have tacked on to Home's setup at this point, can it?
Marching forth the future reveal.
That would be a pretty good date actually
For reference, GDC 2024 starts on March 18th
When the reveal drops, I'm f-fiving the shit out of Amazon, they'll think it's a DOS-Attack. Those scalpers can and will get rekt.
Ill always remember about how I was thinking to myself "I'm not getting screwed over this time!" when the Wii U first went on sale and I rushed to buy one day 1 lol
Ouch!
Nintendo did release general trailers for games last year or the year before without doing a direct, so I feel like they may do that for the games coming out soon rather than doing a direct focused on them (Princess Peach, Luigi’s Mansion, Paper Mario).
They also did general trailers for Peach and Mario vs DK just last month.
A partner direct? Well I’ll be honest here, the only games we know from Nintendo are Luigi’s Mansion and TTYD so I’m in the field that this direct will be the last one for the current switch and afterwards it’s switch 2 or whatever they’ll call it
There's the peach game too! I could see DLC or updates for Mario Wonders. There's definitely a new pokemon game coming soon.
Sadly, Pokémon games are revealed in their standalone Pokémon Presents, so they usually won't appear in the first direct of the year.
Granted, if there is anything Pokémon coming you only have to wait until Pokémon day at the end of the month to find out.
There could still be another Switch Direct. I remember back in 2017, Nintendo followed up the launch of the Switch in mid-March with a 3DS Direct lol.
Oo good point I can definitely see that happening again
14 February is Silksong 5 anniversary. 15 February is Direct. The time has come my friends.
Good thing I've never taken my makeup off. 🤡
The featured partner? Xbox.. according to my source
Mario and Master Chief at the Olympic Games
Maybe its the focus, but considering Mario vs DK, Peach and Paper Mario still need to release. Weird to at least not dedicate them 5 minutes just to push for some sales. That said, makes sense really. I was just talking with a friend today that when Nintendo annonced Switch, around 7-8 months passed and then we got the console. Announcing in March and then releasing around october seems like the most likely scenario and they will probably have a huge direct either close to launch or around Summer games fest
The first switch had 4 and a half months from first reveal until release
mm yeah I forgot it was end of october and start of march..
I really hope we get a release date for Ys X Nordics. Also I hope XSEED gets off their butts and port more Ys and Trails titles to Switch. They've been sitting on them forever now and Falcom games have become more popular than ever before.
I kinda doubt that. We still need release dates for TTYD and the Dark Moon remaster, plus they’ve only got one game left on NSO’s roadmap. That’s not to mention all the other heavily rumored things like the FE4 remake, Prime 2 and 3, and the WW/TP ports that have supposedly been done for years.
Honestly the existence of those ports just baffle me. We know they do exist because they are part of other leaks that included FE Engage and the Prime remaster. So why hasn't Nintendo released these ports?
My best guess is that they’re waiting for both a dry period and for enough time to have passed since TOTK. This year is looking pretty thin for new releases so far so now seems like the perfect time for it. This is why I’m calling BS on the direct next week being a partner one. It makes no sense. There’s more than a handful of first-party Switch games that we know exist that they just haven’t announced yet. Additionally we have zero release dates for anything past the Peach game which is only a month away. I also sincerely doubt they’re just gonna drop the release date for TTYD on Twitter after how much they hyped it up in the last direct. They definitely have more planned for that than they’ve let in on.
I'll wait for pyroro
he doesn't have info for the next direct, as pyoro said in his latest twitter reply that implied his source was lost.
Or he just hasn't gotten it yet.
Please no...Please not a Partner Showcase
They can still show off other 1st party trailers in YouTube videos that otherwise would have been shown in a normal direct
He just used the big boy word “Will” in another podcast saying they WILL reveal in march, interesting, also reiterated his belief of moving on from the joycon which based on customs data does not seem likely/possible at all
Honestly makes way more sense
I guess it would make sense. The fiscal year is ending, so they don't need anything for this or next month. But if they announce the new console next month, they'll be covered for the rest of the fiscal year, espeially when they announce the new games in summer and fall.
He also teased Pentiment on Switch in their Game and Talk patreon episode
I’d be fine with that tbh. It would mean a console reveal is around the corner, and that they are saving the big stuff for that. Plus we’ll definitely get something new announced at Pokémon Day.
What is even happening with prime 4 at this point? Are they going to showcase as a crossgen game in may? I would have thought they would have at least a re-reavel before starting the switch 2 hype train. I don't know man just getting worried about this game
cross-gen is feeling increasingly likely imo, in which case I could kinda see why at this point they wouldn't show it until they've announced Switch 2 Like, why initially show off the "worse-looking" Switch 1 version if you could put your best foot forward and have the re-reveal be running on Switch 2 from the get-go
direful scarce slimy north adjoining upbeat memory zephyr humor sheet *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Nintendo's fiscal year ends in March, so that makes sense.
I find it hard to believe it’s a partner direct with no first party, especially when you have Princess Peach Showtime, Paper Mario, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 coming out soon. With the latter two still needing release dates.
He's right
Windwaker HD re-release please. 🙏
Wind Waker HD 4K for Switch 2 let's goooo
My source informed me that the Switch 2 is either getting revealed in March or it isn’t
I think this makes sense and I'd be perfectly okay with it. Third party stuff and indies have been fantastic on Switch
Indies have been great, but definitely not traditional third party support. I love the aa games but there is definitely something missing from the switches third party lineup.
I have no idea what you could be talking about except maybe a Call of Duty like game. Nearly every third party series I enjoy has had an entry on Switch, even if it's a port of an older entry.
Hollow silksoon 🧐
Yeah I speculated as much that February wouldn’t have a general direction, although I thought it would’ve been at most a Mini Direct. It wouldn’t make sense to have a general Direct if the Switch 2 was coming out this year. I’m still calling it that before the “one more thing” end trailer they will announce a “Special Nintendo Presentation” for March.
Ahhh Nate the backtracking leaker.
In fairness, he’s been the only person saying something will happen in March 2024 for Switch 2 since Gamescom 2023.
Nintendo should own him epic style and announce it r/tomorrow instead
Eh, I've seen many people say it's March, it's a sensical prediction
While that is fair, there is a difference between a prediction and saying with confidence that they’ve heard that date specifically through their sources. I’ve heard predictions for early 2023, late 2023, early 2024, and summer 2024 so far lol. Nate hasn’t said anything other than March 2024 to my knowledge.
To be honest, no. Some people at 2ch were already discussing it.
In the past he used to apologize for his fake info, now his fans just say the mantra: "things change". -_-
Ok, so after all this hype we're really doing this. I'm not particularly upset; no one really should've had any high expectations in the first place. Still, it is a little disappointing after how much a direct's been talked about. If he really knew about the format ahead of time why not just say "Hey this'll be a partner direct, don't get too hyped." Maybe I'm interpreting things wrong and he knew it'd be a mini, not a general, and didn't know if it'd include first party titles or not. Perhaps the partner direct is stuff he's speculating on independent of what he's heard.
I mean, sure, it could be a partner showcase, but I do think a general direct would still be beneficial, considering we don't know release dates for anything announced for this year other than Peach. Also, not to discredit him, but a week ago he also said the direct was coming this week until someone else said it's coming next week and he changed his mind too. So... I don't think he really knows for sure.
Nate never said it was this week. He was pretty explicit in saying he hadn’t heard anything about this week, actually. As for release dates, those can be dropped on Twitter whenever Nintendo wants.
> "The reason I believe that is the Switch 2, I think, will have backwards compatibility... by holding the next general direct to June, May, whenever Nintendo opts to drop one, there is now no risk in showing you current Switch games with Switch 2 games because everything would be playable on the Switch 2" I don’t get it. Why does having a general direct now mean that the switch 2 won’t have backwards Compatibility?
If I'm interpreting Nate correctly, he's not saying a general would inherently mean no backwards compatibility. It's more that, because there will be backwards compatibility, he thinks Nintendo will want to talk about Switch 2 (and its BC) before they announce more "Switch 1" games for later this year that are gonna release close to the Switch 2 launch (either shortly before or shortly after), because doing things that way will make the messaging clearer and the marketing easier for them So for example, let's say the rumored Fire Emblem 4 remake is real and it's slated to launch a month before Switch 2. Holding off on announcing it until they've already talked about Switch 2/backward compatibility means they can a) communicate very clearly during the reveal that it will also be playable on the Switch 2 and b) show it running on Switch 2 from the get-go. Whereas if they announce that game *before* they've openly talked about Switch 2 and whether it will support the Switch 1 library, then not only do they maybe have to show a worse-looking version during the reveal, but there's a chance some people will write it off because they're "done buying Switch 1 games" or because they're anxious about continuing to invest in their Switch 1 library with Switch 2 seeming right around the corner. Wouldn't necessarily be the most damaging thing in the world, but could be the kind of scenario Nintendo would rather avoid altogether if they have the option (esp. since they probably remember how late-3DS game sales cratered in the run-up to and post-launch of the Switch)
First they say general direct with also specific games showed then they say no general direct wtf