Seeing as my girlfriend is currently hogging Splatoon I figured I'd hit you all with a bit of a theory of mine regarding the free updates that are coming for Splatoon.
Firstly; I don't agree with the consensus that Nintendo was desperate to get Splatoon out in time for the Summer, and wasn't able to get the feature set complete; it just doesn't feel like an incomplete game to me. No, what I think Nintendo has done is deliberately hold back maps and features in order to continually give the game little boosts to its longevity and make sure it's a game that people return to. In the same way that they return to COD games, or Mario Kart, or Smash. Essentially I think that the 2 map rotation, locking off the ranked mode and the trickle feed of new maps are how Nintendo is seeking to turn Splatoon into one of their staple franchises, like Smash or Kart. This method of holding back content to trickle into the game also makes sure that people are able to learn how to play the game at a steady pace.
So, on the back of that theory, and based on the fact that Nintendo has already said in the Direct that there will be a Summer of Splatoon releases; including 3 ranked modes (including the one clearly on disk), 9 maps and a load of weapons culminating in the big update adding set team battles at some point in August. By that rough count, there are 13 elements (plus weapons) that to be added to the game. And there are 13 weeks between now and the end of August.
I think the obvious first 'event' that will happen is the unlocking of Ranked Battles, which I thiknk will take place either next weekend, or possibly the week after. After that, the question will be how frequent the updates will be, and if it'll be one at a time, or a couple of maps at a time. As GameXplain brilliantly discuss here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGmrg0efta4 there is strong reason to believe that at least 3 of the new maps are ready and probably on disk; Camp Triggerfish has appeared on numerous videos, and 2 are actually in the singleplayer mode.
So what I think think is most likely is that next week the Ranked Battles will be unlocked, and then a fortnight later Camp Triggerfish and either Bluefin Depot or Kelp Dome will be unlocked to tie in with the first Splat Fest. After that I think we will see a pair of maps, or a map and new mode released every couple of weeks throughout the summer, until v2 is released in August. I also think that the map rotation will increase from 2 to 3 maps per set come v2.
(The other option is that new maps will be announced and made available as part of their E3 presentation)
Anyway, thanks for reading my rambling musings, thoughts?
