...or least heavily likely. The reveal of Nintendo Labo today confirmed it's first rumours which were tied in with a full Nintendo Direct to be coming some time in February.
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A summary of what Chrom (trusted insider from ResetEra) said a couple of days ago;
-There will be a Mini Direct on Thursday. (Labo was revealed on Thursday in Japan)
- It will be shorter than last week's Direct.
-He has no idea what's actually in it, besides "games and accessories".
-Says they're planning a much bigger Direct for February.
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With Emily later weighing in saying; "I just want to offer some food for thought. What I'm about to say might not make much sense today. But hopefully this post will make more sense as the year progresses. I apologize for sounding cryptic or vague. I'm trying to point everyone's hopes and expectations for 2018 in the right direction without spoiling announcements.
First, I think we've been a bit spoiled by Nintendo Directs. Because the truth is, not every Nintendo game announcement requires a big general Direct or even a Mini-sized Direct. Sometimes uploading and dumping a short video or trailer on YouTube is more than enough to create a ton of buzz for a product. (Example: See the short Switch reveal video)
Attracting New Players
1.Kimishima has stated that he wants to attract "new players". This includes small children and consumers who have barely touched game consoles.
2. In October 2016, Kimishima told Bloomberg that Nintendo was planning for new accessories and add-on hardware. It's very likely that these new accessories will include new software.
3. Last month, Kimishima said Nintendo hopes to increase momentum by releasing games that offer "new ways to play". That's part of their plan to sell 20 million units in fiscal year 2018.
4. Nintendo is not abandoning core gamers in an attempt to attract new players. They believe they can attract "new players" while still keeping "core gamers" interested and happy.
Third Party Support
4. Nintendo is under no pressure to reveal all of their third party titles in January. Keep in mind that Doom, Wolfenstein II, LA Noire, and WWE 2K18 weren't revealed for Switch until the very last 3 months of 2017. And Mario + Rabbids (Ubisoft) and Rocket League were not revealed until E3.
5. As I said before, this is a good year for third party stuff. This is a year that already has Wolfenstein II, Dark Souls, Ys VIII, Valkyria Chronicles 4, The World Ends With You, Payday 2, Dragon Quest Builders, SNK Heroines, Octopath Traveler, Mega Man 11 and Travis Strikes Back.
6. But there are still more third party titles that will be announced later this year from Square Enix, Ubisoft, and Bandai Namco. Some of these unannounced titles may have been rumored on the internet before -- and some unannounced titles have never been rumored at all. Trust me, there's some good stuff coming from third parties. You will be pleasantly surprised in the third party department.
7. Lastly, Kimishima himself said "different sorts of genres will be covered by third-parties, which will help expand the system’s user base." So if you don't want to take my word for it, then take Kimishima's.
Final Thoughts
If there is any announcement this week, don't automatically assume that it's a Direct or a Mini-Direct. There is such a thing as a short trailer uploaded on YouTube, ya know.
If there is any announcement this week, don't automatically assume that it will appeal to core Nintendo fans and older gamers."
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Anyways what's your thoughts on what else Nintendo has in store in 2018? Do you think there is more to come for all of Nintendo's audiences? Do you think a February Direct is likely coming to detail more upcoming games and features due to the previous rumours backing Nintendo Labo's announcement.
