Staring into the abyss of a world where Nintendo has no games scheduled for release. Edit: The Time of Darkness Has Arrived

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Heh, the Switch has no lack of games being released.  What Switch lacks is game announcements.  The crazy thing is that we have gotten to the point where the announcement seems more important than the games themselves.  I mean I can relate to wanting a Nintendo Direct.  I've been thinking about it for weeks just like everyone else.  I guess, unlike the OP, I am not filled with anger and/or despair over it yet.  I am still full of anticipation.

Sony's strategy for the past generation has mostly been to announce big games several years in advance, and that is also what AAA third parties do too.  So if they announce a game 3 times before releasing it, then it feels like 3 times as many games are being released.  Meanwhile Nintendo keeps their cards very close to the chest, and most of the Switch games they announce are released less than a year later.  They can both have an E3 presentation where they show off about the same number of games, but Switch actually has more significant releases per year.

Here's an example based on games about to be released.  Animal Crossing: New Horizons was first announced all the way back during E3, 2019.  It's been a long wait hasn't it?  When was Final Fantasy 7 Remake first announced?  All the way back during E3, 2015.  But Sony can keep teasing this game over and over again, so it seems like they have a lot of games coming, even if they are spread out over the course of 3-5 years.  The PS4 was less than 2 years old when FF7R was first announced.  The PS4 was younger when FF7R was first announced than the Switch was when Animal Crossing: New Horizons was first announced.  We actually have to wait a really, really long time to get the big games on the PS4, because Sony and AAA third parties announce them so far ahead of time.

Personally I prefer the way Nintendo does it.  I find long waits to be frustrating.  Yeah, we've all waited a long time for this next Direct, but waiting for a Direct is not nearly as bad as waiting for a game I really want.  I very much prefer all the announced games to come out a year or less after they are announced.  I feel like most of the game industry is trying to mess with me and make it seem like they have more than they really do.  Nintendo doesn't have to announce games 5 years ahead of time, because they have plenty of games coming out this year.

So, I don't know why Nintendo is waiting so long to release a Direct, whether it is due to COVID-19 or they just want to wait til after Animal Crossing is released or whatever other reason.  All I know is that I like how Nintendo announces things, and I don't want them to change their format.  I am confident they have games coming, because the alternative is purely contrary to everything they've done so far.  In fact what they've been doing for the last few months is give a mini direct whenever games are almost about to be released.  We are in no way lacking in games.  What we are really lacking is merely announcements.