To me this whole ordeal will depend on the release date of the new system because I will make my prediction with the thought that the Switch sucessor will release in between March/April nest year.
- The launch day, aside from 3rd party offerings day one, will have two first party games available. First is Metroid Prime 4 Beyond. It'll be a locked 60FPS in both docked/undocked modes (4K DLSS? docked/1080P undocked) experience with some better texture details and shadow resolutions, etc ...
- Another launch day game will utilize the Switch sucessor new capabilities in interesting ways. Don't expect it to be 1,2, Switch branded with how the well has been poisoned with that IP.
- Mario Kart 9 or 10 or whatever will be slated for a May/June release date. As usual, it's strength is not how much it can pull off day one( despite the fact I think it would be the biggest launch of the franchise anyway) but how it can do in the long run.
People will crap their pants when they see how much content the MK team has in the game that isn't just courses (32 courses at launch, expansion pass for additional courses later), but mission mode will be back ! Also instead of Retro Cups, they will be replaced by Legacy Cups which will feature half the tracks as returning tracks while the other half is of new tracks thematically from other Nintendo franchise like Kirby, Metroid, Zelda, etc ...
- The fabled new 3D Mario game is slated for an October release. Could be a sequel to Odyssey or a brand new adventure about a new setting specific for the adventure. Game will aim for a solid 4K DLSS(or an upscaling technique in house)/60fps there too. People will however be disappointed that the graphics themselves aren't that much of a leap from Odyssey because I suspect it won't be a priority for Nintendo with the game. It'll still look great however and plenty stylized.
- Platinum Games is alive !! And in partnership with Nintendo, unveils the sequel to Astral Chain. Game obviously looks like a banger day one and in 60FPS too this time. They will also announce a Switch 2 remaster of the first game to coincide with the announcement. Remaster is coming in August of the first year while the sequel will be slated for early 2026.
They might also do the same with Bayonetta 3, or even better a Trilogy collection with updates for the new console.
- New surprise IP from one of their new internal teams. It's not a fighting game this time like Arms, but a 3D platformer/puzzler. Slated for June/July
- Monolith Soft finally reveals its new project which was in work since 2020's. It won't be on the same scale as a Xenoblade game to justify the shorter years of active production. It'll be an RPG either set hard sci-fi or fantasy in a smaller but packed world to explore than the usual. Story might be lighter in counter part though. (Think of Soma Bringer for some)
Game is the biggest showcase of the new hardware prowess in graphics rendering. It releases in November/1st week December.
- Also, Nintendo gets to announce enhanced ports of BOTW and TOTK for the sucessor and release them at some point during the launch window.
If you already own the game previously, they'll ask for 5-10 bucks for the updated versions, otherwise you buy them both at their current regular pricing.
Also an obvious change in their pricing methods, their biggest games will now be priced at 70$(3D Zelda, 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Monolith Soft games, etc ...) while their AA efforts will likely remain at 60$(Kirby ?, 2D Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Super Mario Party, WarioWare, etc ...)
Switch Friend Code : 3905-6122-2909
