Prediction: 2027 will be a massive year for Nintendo software

[Wman1996]

IcaroRibeiro said:

It can definitly be, but so far there is no particular evidence other than "it was way too long since the last release of the game"

Pokemon and Xenoblade are the only confirmed titles

I think 3D Mario is happening, but games are taking forever to get make these days I'm not counting any game as a sure release anymore

Fair enough. I'm just hoping we're not in a Wii U situation for most of the generation where the tech demands of the system lead to much longer development times than we're used to in previous generations. 

For generations of gaming, a lot of Nintendo titles took 2 years or under. Some took around a year to year and a half only. Wii U stretched several titles out to 3 or more years and decreased notable titles that took under 2 years. HD gaming was a big challenge for Nintendo developers, for one. Full active development of Breath of the Wild took about 4 years after over a year of initial planning. That was a long time for a 3D Zelda and any Nintendo game in general. Pikmin 3 took about 5 years, but only because it was rebooted after about 3 years. 

Admittedly, we might already be well into the problem of protracted development cycles given how long some games are taking. On the other hand, perhaps Nintendo has protracted plenty of games intentionally to save for Switch 2. We already know Mario Kart and DK started as Switch exclusive titles way back when their development started in 2017. As they evolved it became clear they needed to be Switch 2 exclusives and were saved for later. 

Nintendo's initial concepts of a 3D Mario past both Odyssey and the side course of Bowser's Fury may have been once intended as a 2022-2023 Switch exclusive (Wii got 2 3D Mario games, even if it was a duology) but shifted to a late 2020s Switch 2 exclusive after concepts and experimentation were well underway.