Can people calm down now about Nintendo having a slow year? Nintendo still averages one new first-party release every month (Mario vs DK, Another Code, Princess Peach Showtime, Endless Ocean, TTYD, Luigi’s Mansion 2), and we also get tons of great third-party games. Nintendo wouldn’t be moving all this into the first half of the year unless they still have something big up their sleeves for the second half.
It’s still a better year than 2018, where Nintendo’s only games were the mediocre Kirby, the unfinished Mario Tennis, the divisive Mario Party with minuscule board counts, and direct ports of Tropical Freeze and Captain Toad without any significant new content. That was a whole year. The only saving grace was Smash Ultimate, which came so late in the year that it was practically the game of 2019.
Nintendo always likes to play its cards close to its chest, so even if we don’t get a Switch 2 this year, I’m not at all worried about the rest of the year. The last game we know of is coming out in June, and we’ll probably get a Direct that month to show us what else is in store. Now is the time for simple ports/remakes and bringing back specialized titles.
I think this year we might get a new Rythm Heaven, Wind Waker + Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 2 & 3, a remaster of Chibi-Robo 1 & 2, a rumored Kid Icarus Uprising remaster, and maybe even a new Wario Land game (although Good Feel apparently wouldn’t be the one developing it; maybe WayForward, since Nintendo trusted them enough to do Advance Wars). We’ll also probably get some Kirby, and for that I predict a free Battle Royale exclusive to the NSO City Trial.
