E3 - Nintendo's conference predictions and wishlists

[Nautilus]

Its that time of the year again! We are a few days away from E3. All the antecipation for gaming news, having games announced years ago being shown again, or seeing brand new games is just so enticing for me and many. So what better way to start this than predict what will be shown in the conferences?

I wanted to focus this thread on the Nintendo's E3 presentation because its the one I am most looking foward to. So without further ado, here is what I expect to see there:

- Monolith

We are BOUND to see something from them. We know that the development for a brand new game started in January of 2018, alongside the development for the remake of the first Xenoblade, so it has been 3 and a half years that the main team at Monolith has been hard at work.

Considering how fast they have developed XC 2, it would seem only fair to speculate that XC 3(or whatever their new project is) must be close to completion and it is certainly possible that it could launch this year. I'm really looking foward to this one.

- Zelda

While this is Zelda's 35th year anniversary, I am honestly not expecting them to announce the rumored Twillight Princess and Wind Waker (re)releases. Skyward Sword is soon comming out, so announcing two more games that serve the same purpose and that are more beloved will just get in the way of the marketing for Skyward Sword.

Having said that, I fully expect BOTW 2 to be there, in some shape or form. I am hopeful for a full blown reveal, but it is time, given that the game is probably already in development for 4 years, to have a proper reveal. It will be glorious, and the world will shed tears of Joy.

- Mario

Honestly, I don't expect a lot of Mario related games to be shown here, outside of the ones already announced, like Mario Golf: Super Rush. Last year was the celebration of Mario's 35th anniversary, we had a shit ton of mario games, and just earlier this year Nintendo release Mario 3D World. So I think Nintendo feels like they are good on that front for this year.

- Fire Emblem

We are due to some new FE game, but I feel like nintendo wont announce anything about it now, but rather will wait for the Setember/October direct to show the next FE game.

- Kirby

So yeah, this is another franchise that is due to get a new game. Hal has said that, after Star Allies has released, that Kirby has entered a new age, and it has been more than 3 years that the last mainline game was birthed into this world. So I feel like Kirby will show up in this E3, and the game will be in 3D...

But not "full" 3D. But rather, it will take the approach that Mario 3D World took. There will still be levels, and the levels themselves will be somewhat linear, but they will allow for Kirby and the player walk around in a 3D dimension, albeit a limited one. Like the devs of 3D World and 3D Land once said, they will try to use leverage their 2D expertise with the freedom that 3D gives. It wont be the jump that fans want the Kirby franchise to take, but it will enough to keep it fresh and interesting.

- Donkey Kong

Yes, I think its about time that DK gets some love again. DK is one of the most well recognized Nintendo franchises, and it still has a wide mass market appeal(gaming and outside of it) that Nintendo wants to nurture. Plus, given the recent signs of Nintendo wanting to branch out to other types of medium, and that DK might be the next IP that gets the Theme Park treatment, it makes sense for Nintendo to push a new game to "revitilize" the franchise.

Now, wether it will be 2D or 3D, I simply dont know. I loved Tropical Freeze, but I would also be really interesting to see how a 3D Donkey Kong game would play out today, with Nintendo putting everything they learned through the decades in it. So I guess we will see.

- Splatoon

We wont see Splatton 3 here, nor anything related to the franchise. The game is still a ways off, and given that we know nothing about Nintendo's lineup for the rest of the year outside of Skyward Sword, I feel like talking about Splatoon 3 now instead of in a direct in october or even early next year will just be a waste of time to market the games that need it now. So yeah, no Splatoon for now.

- Metroid

So, this one is a bit hard to predict. I feel like that its possible for Nintendo dhow footage of MP 4. Its been 2,5 years since it was rebooted, and I am one of those people that dont think they have thrown everything the previous developer has done, so I firmly believe that retro has reused enough assets/stuff from them that probably saved anywhere from 6 months to 1 year of development. So yeah, if nothing more has gone astray with the game, they should be at a point where they can show something.

Having said that, I honestly wouldnt put too much faith in it. Rather, it makes more sense to me that Nintendo will simply do one of the things that I am about to mention: 1) They will port Samus Return to the Switch, and add a few things to it. 2) They will announce a new 2D Metroid, be it a remake or a new entry.

I feel like the 2D Metroid will happen either way, and that there is a decent, but somewhat unlikely chance that MP 4 will appear there.

- Pikmin

Nothing Pikmin related will show up here. They were blindsided by Pikmin 3 Deluxe success, and while I do think Pikmin 4 is in development, it must be a project that must be of such low priority to Nintendo that they honestly didnt care about it until Pikmin 3 did well. So yeah, no Pikmin.

- Bayonetta 3

Honestly, what the fuck is going on with this game? Its about time Nintendo kicked Platinum in its balls and make them show us something, even if they dont even give the game a release windom. Honestly, this is beyond ridiculous at this point.

If they are still not ready to show anything Bayonetta related, the only other game I can see them showcasing is if that GG Project(their first big self-published game) is ready to be shown. Other than that, they probably only have Babylon Fall ready to go, and thats not a Switch game the last time I checked.

- Third Party

My biggest prediction here is that we will see MEGAMAN X9 FREAKING FINALLY!!! Not only the X Collection was sucessful ( I think that between both collections, they are almost at 2 million units sold), and MM 11 is at 1.3 million units, which makes it the third best selling megaman of all time. And its still selling!

So we are bound to get new megaman games from Capcom, and a new X game is the next mist logical step. It has been almost 3 years since MM 11 released, so we are bound to get more news.

I feel like we will also get a new RE Engine games. Given that Capcom has finally got the RE Engine running with MH Rise, and that they arent with cold feet anymore now that the Switch was proven a massive success, I feel like they will want to port anything and everything that the Switch can run.RE 7 and RE 2 Remake, DMC 5 and so on. Assuming it is possible to make them run on an acceptable level, of course.

Square should also have a game or two to show. I personally dont think Triangle Strategy will be mentioned here, though it is certainly possible, but I feel like the DQ 3 Remake will be brought up. Other than that, I believe they will have at least one new game to announce. What that is, I have no idea.

From Atlus we will finally see more of SMT V, and we will finally have a full blown coverage of that game, given that the game release date leaked and that it is slated to release this year. We will maybe get a few more things from them. I feel like 13 Sentinel is a no brainer, but given how Atlus is weird about the Switch with them not releasing one single bloody persona game on it, I would be skeptical.

We should get some Sgea love here too. If I had to guess, the primary console Sega is aiming for for their new Sonic game is the Switch, so the new Sonic showing up here wouldn't surprise me. 

And thats it for me! How about you guys? What do you think will happen?