In a rather unusual move for Nintendo, company chairman Shuntaro Furukawa himself took to Twitter when the company’s year-end earnings went live in May to confirm two things: a new hardware announcement would be made before the end of the current fiscal year (so no later than in April 2025), And that such an announcement would not be part of a planned Nintendo Direct in June 2024.
This was an attempt to calm speculation about the ‘Switch 2’, which has been rumored for years at this stage, and the fact that Nintendo had a Direct presentation planned for June was hardly a surprise – looking back at previous dates. it has had a major summer presentation most years over the past decade. Still, a heads-up a month earlier was unexpected.
So, we know it will happen sometime in the next 20 daysand now that the excitement of Summer Game Fest and the big shows from Sony and Microsoft are behind us, it’s time to turn our attention to Le Grand N (as they say in Marseille). The announcement could come as soon as this article goes live, but regardless of when it comes out, it’s time to throw around some ideas, hopes, and dreams about 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 it’s time for Rhythm Heaven to make a comeback. We have had two WarioWares now on Switch, and I’d like that to see feel a subtle HD rumble improvement in the series. A direct port from Megamix would do the trick if all the big guns are aimed at new hardware, just give Rhythm Heaven some love, Nintendo.
Furthermore, I would be quite easy to please at this stage. Given where we are at in the Switch lifecycle, my expectations are very low for new mainstream entries in major series. I’m happy to wait until ‘Switch 2’ for a new Wave Race. A new Kirby spin-off perhaps. A Wario country? We haven’t heard from Yoshi in a while. That’s where my head is. They could be great games, but nothing that really gets my heart rate 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 would be very surprised if anything major is announced besides a handful of ports and remasters. I suspect the company has been working on a number of completed projects for moments like this, so I think we’ll finally see Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (perhaps Corruption too) and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. HD, and of course what everyone has been clamoring for, Donkey Konga (jokes…it’s going to be a Donkey Konga trilogy).
Looking at third parties, it wouldn’t be a Nintendo Direct if we didn’t at least mention Silksong, right? The timing of the recent Hollow Knight promotion on Nintendo Switch Online is certainly exciting, but I’m not going to hold my breath. I would also like some nice surprises. A new Mega man would be wonderful, 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 expect it to be pretty light on megaton announcements, but there will be enough here to keep us sated until the new console is revealed.
Ol’ Faithfuls and Indie Gems (Jim Normal, staff writer)
I agree with Ollie here, I don’t see Nintendo dropping anything at huge this month. But that doesn’t mean the announcements won’t make me stand up in applause. Seems like a good time to bring out some old faithfuls. Give us a way to play Super Mario Galaxy 2 on Switch. Leave out the announcement of a 2D Zelda remake – the Oracle games in the Link’s Awakening style would be my guess – or port A Link Between Worlds. Add in a handful of new NSO announcements and you’ve found a winner.
And do we all forget that it is an Olympic year? An appearance of Mario and Sonic feels like the low hanging fruit out there.
But with so many safe bets, let’s share some indie love too. I’m not brave enough to call Team Cherry’s game-that-must-not-have-a-name, so let me see some more Mina The Hollower. Give me a Plucky Squire release date or news about the Sea of Stars DLC. There is definitely a new Dave The Diver and/or Vampire Survivors DLC in the pipeline. Just stay away from ‘puzzle game, but there is a cat in it‘ and I will be happy.
… (Alana Haags, deputy editor-in-chief)
*too busy playing games with Zion and Geoff and LA people at Summer Game Fest*