In a rather unusual move for Nintendo, company president Shuntaro Furukawa himself took to Twitter as the firm's end-of-year financials went live in May to confirm two things: a new hardware announcement would be made before the end of the current fiscal year (so, by April 2025 at the latest), and that such an announcement wouldn't be part of a planned Nintendo Direct in June 2024.
This was an attempt to calm speculation concerning the 'Switch 2', which has been the subject of rumours for years at this stage, and the fact that Nintendo had a Direct presentation planned for June was hardly a surprise — looking back at past dates, it's had a big summer presentation most years for the last decade. Still, a heads-up a month early was unexpected.
So, we know it's coming sometime in the next 20 days, and with the excitement of Summer Game Fest and both Sony and Microsoft's big shows out of the way, it's time to turn our attention to Le Grand N (as they say in Marseille). The announcement could well drop the moment this article goes live, but regardless of when it's coming, it's time to throw around some ideas, hopes, and dreams for what we'd like to see in Nintendo's June Direct...
Rhythm Heaven, Spin-offs, and Surprises (Gavin Lane, editor)
I say it every round, but now's the time for Rhythm Heaven to make a comeback. We've had two WarioWares on Switch now, and I'd love to see feel some subtle HD rumble enhancement brought to the series. A straight port of Megamix would suffice if all the big guns are aimed at new hardware, just give Rhythm Heaven some love, Nintendo.
Beyond that, I'd be pretty easy to please at this stage. Given the point in Switch's lifecycle that we're at, my expectations are very low for new mainline entries in big series. I'm happy to wait until 'Switch 2' for a new Wave Race. Some new Kirby spin-off, perhaps. A Wario Land? We haven't heard from Yoshi in a while. That's where my head is at. They could be great games, but nothing to set my pulse truly racing.
BUT, Nintendo does have form when it comes to fantastic late-cycle releases for its systems (keep an eye out for an article on that topic in the near future), so I'm still hoping to be surprised, low expectations and all.
Ports and Remasters Galore (Ollie Reynolds, staff writer)
Since Nintendo has acknowledged the Switch successor, I'd be very surprised to see anything major announced beyond a handful of ports and remasters. I suspect the firm has been sitting on a bunch of completed projects for moments such as this, so I reckon we'll finally see the likes of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (maybe Corruption, too), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, and of course, the one everybody has been clamouring for, Donkey Konga (jokes... it'll be a Donkey Konga Trilogy).
Looking at third parties, it really wouldn't be a Nintendo Direct if we didn't at least mention Silksong, would it? The timing of the recent Hollow Knight promotion on Nintendo Switch Online is certainly sus, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Aside from that, I'd just like a few nice surprises. A new Mega Man would be lovely, and I wouldn't say no to a Viewtiful Joe remaster, either. Oh, and let's get Symphony of the Night on Switch, for goodness' sake.
All in all, I'm expecting it to be pretty light on megaton announcements, but there will be enough here to keep us satiated until the new console reveal.
Ol' Faithfuls and Indie Gems (Jim Normal, staff writer)
I have to agree with Ollie here, I can't see Nintendo dropping anything too massive this month. But that's not to say that the announcements won't bring me to my feet in applause. It seems like a good time to roll out some ol' faithfuls. Give us a way to play Super Mario Galaxy 2 on Switch. Drop the announcement of a 2D Zelda remake — the Oracle games in the Link's Awakening style would be my bet — or port A Link Between Worlds. Pepper in a handful of new NSO announcements and you're onto a winner.
Also, are we all forgetting that it's an Olympic year? An appearance from Mario and Sonic feels like the lowest-hanging fruit out there.
But with so many safe bets, let's share some indie love, too. I'm not brave enough to mention Team Cherry's game-which-must-not-be-named, so show me some more Mina The Hollower. Give me a Plucky Squire release date or news about the Sea of Stars DLC. There's surely some new Dave The Diver and/or Vampire Survivors DLC in the pipeline. Just steer away from 'puzzle game but it has a cat in it' and I'll be happy.
... (Alana Hagues, deputy editor)
*too busy playing games with Zion and Geoff and LA folks at Summer Game Fest*
