Nintendo Direct : 23.09.21 (11pm UK time)

[Jonnas]

The Direct lands on my mother's birthday? So much for family-friendly...

Just now, Ronnie said:

Is it actual Winter, ie Dec 21 - Mar 21

Very likely yes, videogame companies tend to consider it as such (and Nintendo has certainly done so before). I would imagine that the few non-Winter games they'll show will be quick snippets of games coming out soon, and maaaybe a teaser for a game with a far off release date.

And as for my predictions:

• Advance Wars 1+2: Re-boot Camp will certainly be there. I expect them to give info on how the remake is structured (considering it's adapting two games that are half the same, half different to begin with);
• Fire Emblem Tellius remaster, because FE fans are looking for a bone here, and I don't expect it to be anything big. Something along the lines of that FE1 release is most likely, so a re-release of Radiance&Radiant it is;
• A Kirby game will be announced, because I always predict this.

And what they likely aren't going to have:

• Very little Metroid Dread, if any. I figure, they've been releasing frequent videos on that game precisely because they weren't counting on having much room in the September Direct;
• Not the last SSBU DLC, not yet. For starters, SSBU is not a game coming out in the next Winter Second, when they do announce a Smash character in a Direct, they let us know in advance.

And that's pretty much it. Wanna go into this with as few expectations as I can muster.

[ArtMediocre]

Haven't touched my Switch in a year, maybe this'll make me find something to be excited for. A new Direct is always welcome though. Going in with no hopes or expectations.

[Julius]

I don't know if it's just me not following games as closely the last few weeks, but this kind of felt out of the blue, even if we have had September Directs before.

Still, I'm not complaining 

That being said, my expectations - especially for new reveals - are really low. If we take "this winter" to mean "until the end of 2021", we already know a lot of what is coming anyways, and have done for a while; on the other hand, if we take it to mean "until the actual end of winter in March" maybe there's room for a surprise or two, but I don't expect any big updates on games that seem far off. 

We're two months away from the next Pokémon games in the Sinnoh remakes, and yet their marketing hasn't really kicked into gear, not helped by the fact that there a) doesn't seem to be much new to actually share, and b) is a much bigger and more important game on the horizon, at least from an investment perspective, which seems to unsurprisingly be getting the spotlight ahead of these games, in Legends: Arceus. If there's anything else new and exciting to confirm about the remakes (which doesn't seem to be the case), then it needs to be confirmed here. Especially, you'd hope, when it comes to nuances like what the deal is with the (lack of a) Battle Frontier and how the Dex is going to turn out. 

Metroid Dread will probably show more here than fans want to actually see, and its presence probably means we're still going to be left waiting for a Prime Trilogy port, which is a shame as they're very different games visually and mechanically, and if there was a time to push Metroid hard it would be right now. This totally isn't me tempting fate so that I'm wrong and we do see it. 

Advance Wars seems like a safe bet, and I'd expect a better look at the new Mario Party too, as it's not too far off. Throw in the other first-party titles like Brain Training too and you've probably got some 15-20 minutes of the show right there. Maybe a remaster/port or two that no-one is really asking for but would probably take, like Donkey Kong Country Returns. Heck, it's been a year since 3D All-Stars released now, let's see Galaxy 2 on Switch already. 

Beyond that, it's anyone's guess to be honest. I don't expect BOTW2 news here seeing as E3 was so light on it, and Bayonetta 3 and Prime 4 seem to get further and further away every time someone mentions them by name. And we already know not to hold out for further Zelda remasters. 

Throw the FE fans a bone and give them the Holy War remake already. And maybe whatever MonolithSoft have going on, with the team only getting bigger I feel like they might throw out a remaster of Chronicles X to buy some more time for their bigger project (Chronicles 3 or a new IP) and to assist with work on BOTW2. 

Overall, though, my expectations are low, even if I want to wish some things into existence for others here. Don't think I've played my Switch for more than a handful of hours in the last six months or so, probably spent more time going through the eShop than playing games on there to be honest, and there's just a lot going on elsewhere in gaming these days, to the point I honestly feel more attracted to the idea of going back to my 3DS than my Switch these days. 

So go on and surprise me, Nintendo 

(also going to be one of those skipping watching this live too, a surprisingly late one for us UK folk for a change)

[Ronnie]

It's funny to be going into a Direct with a ton of games already announced for the next 6 months. Recently it's felt like we go into these with very little idea what's on the horizon. So probably not expecting too many big reveals, but always room for 1 or 2 I guess.

[Kav]

I’d love a BotW2 release date, a teaser trailer for Metroid Prime 4 and a teaser for Monolith Soft’s next game.

…I’m not expecting any of that.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Kav

[Glen-i]

6 hours ago, Jonnas said:

• Second, when they do announce a Smash character in a Direct, they let us know in advance.

Eh? Since when was this a thing? I don't remember this being the case at all.

Are you sure you're not thinking of those "Sakurai Presents" where Ninty inevitably tell people that "new fighters won't be revealed here"?

[Dcubed]

6 hours ago, Ronnie said:

It's funny to be going into a Direct with a ton of games already announced for the next 6 months. Recently it's felt like we go into these with very little idea what's on the horizon. So probably not expecting too many big reveals, but always room for 1 or 2 I guess.

40 mins is a very meaty length for a Ninty Direct; about the same as a E3 Showcase…

I would expect some pretty significant reveals here, even if they’re for games we already know about.

Anyway, surprised nobody has mentioned this one, but we’ll almost certainly be seeing our first proper look at Splatoon 3 here (a “focus” on Winter 2022 releases doesn’t mean an exclusive focus on that release window).

Edited September 23, 2021 by Dcubed

[V. Amoleo]

I reckon the last 20 minutes of this will be them justifying a Nintendo Switch Online price rise.  Maybe a new mini console too?  Might make us a bit hardware heavy the end of this year though with the Switch OLED and Zelda Game & Watch already coming out.

If there's even a sniff of Metroid Dread I'll be turning it off for a couple of mins, I want to enjoy that game properly not being shown every single thing in it before I get to experience it.

[Jonnas]

3 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Eh? Since when was this a thing? I don't remember this being the case at all.

Are you sure you're not thinking of those "Sakurai Presents" where Ninty inevitably tell people that "new fighters won't be revealed here"?

This has been a constant in 2nd Season Pass reveals. When Sephiroth was revealed at the Game Awards, they let us know beforehand. The E3 Direct (the one with Kazuya) claimed to have Smash news. The Pythra trailer was made to look like XB2 DLC, seamlessly fitting in a Ninty Direct... if only the Direct announcement hadn't confirmed Smash news.

Steve was its own video, and Min-Min was preceded by two warnings that this was an ARMS character, so they're different situations... but the forewarning was there in both cases., anyway.

Could they suddenly go back to a surprise reveal, like with Joker? Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

15 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Anyway, surprised nobody has mentioned this one, but we’ll almost certainly be seeing our first proper look at Splatoon 3 here.

Isn't Splatoon 3 coming in 2023? I don't think they'll be showing anything for next year's Winter.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Jonnas

[Glen-i]

6 minutes ago, Jonnas said:

This has been a constant in 2nd Season Pass reveals. When Sephiroth was revealed at the Game Awards, they let us know beforehand. The E3 Direct (the one with Kazuya) claimed to have Smash news. The Pythra trailer was made to look like XB2 DLC, seamlessly fitting in a Ninty Direct... if only the Direct announcement hadn't confirmed Smash news.

Steve was its own video, and Min-Min was preceded by two warnings that this was an ARMS character, so they're different situations... but the forewarning was there in both cases., anyway.

Could they suddenly go back to a surprise reveal, like with Joker? Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Guess selective memory hit me hard there.

I'd be surprised if there was nothing here though. Timing feels right for a reveal.

[Jonnas]

3 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

I'd be surprised if there was nothing here though.

"And now, some Smash news!"

*cut to Sakurai*

Sakurai: "The reveal's coming at the end of November"

*move on to the next segment*

[Julius]

I know it's long been rumoured, but surely this collection has a good chance of turning up here? Especially after the news this morning...

Spoiler

 

It's got to be at this Direct rather than at TGS...right? Potentially even a shadow drop at this point. 

[Dcubed]

3 hours ago, Jonnas said:

This has been a constant in 2nd Season Pass reveals. When Sephiroth was revealed at the Game Awards, they let us know beforehand. The E3 Direct (the one with Kazuya) claimed to have Smash news. The Pythra trailer was made to look like XB2 DLC, seamlessly fitting in a Ninty Direct... if only the Direct announcement hadn't confirmed Smash news.

Steve was its own video, and Min-Min was preceded by two warnings that this was an ARMS character, so they're different situations... but the forewarning was there in both cases., anyway.

Could they suddenly go back to a surprise reveal, like with Joker? Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Isn't Splatoon 3 coming in 2023? I don't think they'll be showing anything for next year's Winter.

Nope.  Was announced for “2022” (most likely will release in Summer 2022 I reckon).

Edited September 23, 2021 by Dcubed

[Ronnie]

3 hours ago, Dcubed said:

40 mins is a very meaty length for a Ninty Direct; about the same as a E3 Showcase…

I would expect some pretty significant reveals here, even if they’re for games we already know about.

Anyway, surprised nobody has mentioned this one, but we’ll almost certainly be seeing our first proper look at Splatoon 3 here (a “focus” on Winter 2022 releases doesn’t mean an exclusive focus on that release window).

They've always been about 40 minutes in the last few years, sometimes even longer. The one in February this year was 55 minutes long.

I just think with Metroid, Mario Party, SMT5, Advance Wars, Big Brain Academy, Rabbids 2, Pokemon Arceus + remakes, Splatoon 3, BOTW2, MP4, Bayo 3 we know a lot more upcoming games than we usually do during the Switch lifecycle. Wouldn't be surprised to see fewer game reveals here than usual, but who knows.

[MindFreak]

They'll probably have a 20 minutes long interview with some developers about how to cook food for a new food game they are bringing. 

[Ashley]

4 hours ago, Dcubed said:

a very meaty length

[Dcubed]

1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

They've always been about 40 minutes in the last few years, sometimes even longer. The one in February this year was 55 minutes long.

I just think with Metroid, Mario Party, SMT5, Advance Wars, Big Brain Academy, Rabbids 2, Pokemon Arceus + remakes, Splatoon 3, BOTW2, MP4, Bayo 3 we know a lot more upcoming games than we usually do during the Switch lifecycle. Wouldn't be surprised to see fewer game reveals here than usual, but who knows.

Well we’ve had a dearth of proper NDs for the last couple of years; February 2021 was when they made a return proper, and they’ve all been pretty substantial this year (especially E3; which was the best one they’ve had since 2017!).  I don’t expect massive megatons, but I do expect some significant announcements.

Don’t forget that we will also be getting 3rd party game announcements too… We’re actually due announcements for Resident Evil Revelations 3 (Outrage) and Ace Attorney 7 right around this time, going by the Capcom Ransomware leak, so there’s two pretty likely major announcements right there already  

Also this is happening right before TGS (which Nintendo doesn’t attend), so I’d expect some major 3rd party game announcements here (The recently leaked Castlevania Advance Collection will almost certainly be one of them)

Edited September 23, 2021 by Dcubed

[BowserBasher]

Surely they have to make some mention of new Animal Crossing content, we know they mentioned that we will get new content but they need to let us know what’s happening, (and not just Halloween stuff) brand new stuff. 

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, BowserBasher said:

Surely they have to make some mention of new Animal Crossing content, we know they mentioned that we will get new content but they need to let us know what’s happening, (and not just Halloween stuff) brand new stuff. 

Remember near the end of the 3DS's life, a massive update for New Leaf was released without warning?

Yeah, just thought I'd point that out. They'll update New Horizons when they damn well feel like it.

Edited September 23, 2021 by Glen-i

[Ashley]

The game's two year anniversary is six months away. Feels more like they'd wait for that.

[BowserBasher]

Just now, Ashley said:

The game's two year anniversary is six months away. Feels more like they'd wait for that.

Nah. We’ll just get a cake for that like this year. 

[Ashley]

6 minutes ago, BowserBasher said:

Nah. We’ll just get a cake for that like this year. 

I was thinking more "here's some updates and that's your lot. No more."

[Ashley]

shame

 

[bob]

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/schedule/#switch

Japanese Nintendo schedule apparently shows

Spoiler

Bayonetta 3 and Kirby Discovery listed for a 2022 release

.

[Ike]

11 minutes ago, Ashley said:

shame

 

Thought he died in March?