Nintendo 2021 Predictions

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

With 2021 hours away from beginning, I thought I'd go ahead and give my somewhat realistic hopes for Nintendo's 2021. 2020 has been a pretty mediocre year for Nintnedo, probably the worst in the Switch's lifecycle. We have had a pandemic going on that has delayed some games which will likely be released in 2021, though I'm hoping 2021 can make up for it. Here are some of my thoughts on what could happen.

January: What I think absolutely NEEDS to happen in this month is a Nintendo Direct. Not another Partner Showcase. An actual, major 30 to 40 minute Nintendo Direct to give us a look ahead at major 1st party titles, as well as 3rd party games. They can't keep relying on shadow dropping new games on Twitter. That was one of their biggest mistakes in 2020 and I SERIOUSLY hope they do not continue this Direct-less trend in 2021. I can't think of any major games I can see happening, but we do know that Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be getting an update for the next in-game event: Festivale.

February: We do know of two games coming out this month, and those include the Wii U port, Super Mario 3D World Deluxe, and Bravely Default 2. I think its highly likely that at the end of the month, we will have a Pokemon Direct to reveal remakes of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl...Or whatever they have planned for this year. We know its highly likely they have something to go along with their 25th anniversary.

March: For March, we do know that we are gonna see Monster Hunter Rise. I think we might get another Animal Crossing update, this time detailing new furniture dedicated to Nintendo franchises. We do know they will have Mario related items. Hoping some Pokemon items make it in, like the giant Eevee plush that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp had.

April: We do know that Shin Megami Tensei V is coming out in early 2021 so I'm gonna guess April. Other than that, I don't think there will be much else.

May: I don't think May is gonna be a huge month, though I am kinda hoping to see Mario have some new title in 2021, which I'd say could be a Mario sports spinoff, if we are gonna get any NEW Mario game, though if not, I can see this being a quiet month. I do think we might get the 9th Smash Bros Ultimate DLC fighter though.

June: With three vaccines rolling out and hopefully reaching the general public by June, I'm hoping E3 can happen this year, so this would be Nintendo's big E3 Direct to give us a look at the 2nd half of 2021 and maybe tease stuff for 2022. I'd say also this month could include No More Heroes 3 potentially.

July: For July, I'd put in New Pokemon Snap, as well as something possibly something like a 3D Legend of Zelda collection to celebrate their 35th anniversary, including titles like Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword. I'd hope for a new Animal Crossing update that gives us new features like a new island owned by Kapp'n where you can play minigames with friends online.

August: I don't think it would be a huge month, though if I had to put anything, I'd probably put a new Metroid 2D game or a Metroid Fusion remaster. I do remember hearing prominent Nintendo leaker Emily Rogers thinks we could see a new 2D Metroid.

September: This is another month I think might be a little slow, though I think we'd get the 10th Smash Bros Ultimate DLC fighter here. Maybe for fun, I'll say in a best case scenario, we'd get something like SEGA's next big Sonic game. Maybe another Animal Crossing update?

October: For October, I'm going to say this month would be best if it had the last major Nintendo Direct for 2021. If we don't get a Mario sports title in May, I'd hope for some new Mario game in this month, whether its a Mario Party or a new Mario sports spinoff.

November: I'm gonna say if we're lucky, this is gonna be their biggest month. This is going to be when Pokemon's next big game releases, as well as Nintendo's biggest game of the year, Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild 2, which Emily Rogers has said has a 85 to 90% chance of being a Holiday 2021 title.

December: To close out the year, I think we could finally see Bayonetta 3, though who knows when Platinum Games keeps saying "Development is going great!" without having anything to show 3 years later. I think this month will also have the final Smash Bros Ultimate DLC fighter.

Edit

So the Nintendo Direct THANKFULLY happened. Seems I was off about some things, though right about others. As of now, we are indeed getting Sinnoh remakes, though New Pokemon Snap is coming out sooner than I thought, though No More Heroes is coming out later. Seems we aren't getting a 3D Zelda collection, though we are getting Skyward Sword HD IS happening in July. Just as I thought also, we are getting a Mario sports spin off this year, with Mario Golf Super Rush coming out in June.

 

[Enzap]

The topic of Nintendo Directs is a weird one. It's been so long since we've had one, I wonder if they've just stopped doing big ones outside of E3 as a strategic move. When fans say they "have to have more Directs," I always wonder... why? They are spectacles for the fans, but do they really help Nintendo? They can sometimes put a lot of resources into those showcases, and I wonder if sometimes the big announcements overshadow the smaller ones and make then seem less impactful. I know I would often tune out during the Indie or 3rd party portions and wait for the big announcement at the end of the video.

They could have just stopped since development slowed down so much this year, so they had less to show for. I think sometimes fans inadvertently reach the conclusion that because we're not getting big news drops, we're getting fewer games. In reality it's more likely the opposite. Directs don't magically bring games into existence, if there aren't enough games to warrant a Direct then we're not getting a Direct.


It's possible that once the development teams are able to come back together and work at full capacity we'll see a return to the old news format. But I think it's just as likely that they're just moving away from Directs in favor of smaller, project-focused announcements.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

The topic of Nintendo Directs is a weird one. It's been so long since we've had one, I wonder if they've just stopped doing big ones outside of E3 as a strategic move. When fans say they "have to have more Directs," I always wonder... why? They are spectacles for the fans, but do they really help Nintendo? They can sometimes put a lot of resources into those showcases, and I wonder if sometimes the big announcements overshadow the smaller ones and make then seem less impactful. I know I would often tune out during the Indie or 3rd party portions and wait for the big announcement at the end of the video.

They could have just stopped since development slowed down so much this year, so they had less to show for. I think sometimes fans inadvertently reach the conclusion that because we're not getting big news drops, we're getting fewer games. In reality it's more likely the opposite. Directs don't magically bring games into existence, if there aren't enough games to warrant a Direct then we're not getting a Direct.

It's possible that once the development teams are able to come back together and work at full capacity we'll see a return to the old news format. But I think it's just as likely that they're just moving away from Directs in favor of smaller, project-focused announcements.

The thing about Directs and why fans want them is the fans just want a look ahead at the current year rather than being kept in the dark for most of the year. It was something Nintendo has never done in the last decade, and many weren't pleased with the lack of a major Direct while simply shadow dropping their major titles. It gives the fans something to be excited about and it even brings fans together when they have these big 30 to 40 minute Directs. They want stuff to look forward to for the year, and they want to know what's coming out so they can save up the money for these games ahead of time.

Inevitably, some games are gonna get overshadowed if you have a Direct that has a big Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon game. its gonna happen. I don't see any reason why the Nintendo Directs can't exist alongside the Partner Showcase though so those games that are revealed in the quick 3rd party reel can get the focus they deserve. That isn't always the case though since they do give the "bigger" 3rd party titles like Monster Hunter or No More Heroes focus during Directs. When it comes to Indies though, these games have been getting their own dedicated Directs in recent years so they don't generally get overshadowed.

I am honestly hoping that the lack of a Direct in 2020 is that development just slowed down so much they didn't have enough games they knew would be releasing in a 6 to 10 month timeframe, which they generally prefer to do during Directs. There are rare exceptions though, such as Metroid Prime 4's reveal. At the same time, I think they should have taken a similar approach, while revealing stuff such as Monster Hunter Rise, Age of Calamity, the 3D Mario collection, Origami King, and Pikmin 3 Deluxe in a major Direct.

 

[Soryu]

I hope all of this will happen!

 

[Soryu]

That are pretty cool predictions from you, I hope everything will happen of course. But mostly I am interested in releases dates. I am keened on waiting upcoming games more than playing them haha. 2021 will be very interesting, there will be new pokemon snap, subnautica, new zelda, mario golf and many other cool games. Also I know the release dates almost to all the games for 2021. There is a list on https://www.gamenewsaus.com.au which contains all the games and their release dates not only for nintendo but for other consoles as well.