People have longed for a new Nintendo Direct. The wait has been quite long. And the longer the wait, the greater the expectations. This is my take on what we might expect at tomorrow's Nintendo Direct...
Many people seem to expect something of a miracle tomorrow. Some are convinced Nintendo will actually reveal new games to be released between March an May. But showing off new content to be released between Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Mario Kart 8 sounds a bit too optimistic to me. Why on earth would Nintendo wait till the last minute to announce those games? Also I wouldn't expect any additional third party releases to be revealed for the second quarter. However I'm quite certain we will see new announcements for first- and second party games to be released this summer at the earliest.
Nintendo's strategy for the first half of 2014 is to keep the momentum they have had in January, until the release of Mario Kart 8. They will do this by a series of strategic releases so that sales won' drop too much. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Feeze is such a strategic release. It's not primarily meant to boost hardware sales, but to keep a steady interest in Wii U through the spring drought. There are some third party releases meant to do the same.
The release of Mario Kart 8 is meant to be the revival of Wii U. The game is clearly meant to boost hardware sales. But what catches my interest is Iwata's promise to investors (and loyal Nintendo fans) that Mario Kart 8 will not be followed by another software drought. In other words Nintendo must follow up Mario Kart 8 with a few other high profile releases by the end of Q2 or beginning of Q3. Apart from Super Smash Bros, such high profile games have not been revealed... yet. It's highly unlikely we will see Super Smash Bros. released that early. It'll most likely be Nintendo's holiday blockbuster. So what else could it be? And most importantly, could it be revealed at tomorrow's Nintendo Direct?
Below is a list of things I expect from tomorrow's Nintendo Direct;
Wii Sports U
I'm expecting a new installment in the Wii Sports franchise to be released this year. A Wii Sports game was promoting the Wii U at E3 2011, but we haven't seen the game since. Nintendo's strategi for Wii U in 2014 must be to reach out to those who owns a Wii. A wel marketed Wii Sports U is the best way to get their attantion. If Nintendo does have a Wii Sports U in the pipeline for Wii U, I think we'll definately see it at E3 2014. But it could be shown as early as tomorrow, with a potential world wide release in late Q2 or early Q3 at the earliest (perhaps even tied with a new Wii U SKU). Also I wouldn't rule out a possible link between Wii Sports U and the Fit Meter, as an early adaptation of Wii U's health improving strategy which is expected to go into full effect in the fiscal year 2015/16.
"Pokemon Stadium U"
I also think a new Pokemon game for Wii U might be revealed tomorrow in the form of "Pokemon Stadium U". Last year this game was rumored to be in development, because of some strange game footage shown in a promotion video for Pokemon X/Y. I wouldn't rule out "Pokemon Stadium U" to use the built in NFC functions of Wii U. Iwata hinted a couple of weeks ago that Nintendo had their very own answer to Skylanders and Disney Infinity. Pokemon would be ideal for that.
Additional HD remakes
The success of Wind Waker HD might also suggest Nintendo will release new HD ports of GameCube and Wii games. Such ports are quite cheap to make, and therefore turns a profit quite fast. Ports of GameCube games would have most market potential, since their GameCube counterparts didn't reach a huge audience because of a small installed hardware base. One such HD port could be revealed tomorrow, with a potential release in Q3.
Improved indie scene on Wii U
With third party developers jumping ship, and Nintendo's first and second party developers struggling to adjust to HD development. Nintendo's only alternative to increased content on Wii U in the short term is to improve the indie scene and strengthen the eShop channel. We have already seen some signs of this, as some indie developers have gone public defending the Wii U. I think we will see some new indie games at tomorrow's Nintendo Direct, as well as an offical strong commitment to the indie scene from Nintendo. I wouldn't rule out Nintendo revealing a grand licensing plan, including letting indiedevelopers use certain Nintendo characters.
Virtual Console strengthen
Virtual Console will also be strengthened in 2014, and new content might be revealed tomorrow.
Fine tuned release schedule for Wii U
Apart from all the above, we will most likely get a fine tuned release schedule for Super Smash Bros Wii U, Hyrule Warriors, "X" and Bayonetta 2. And Nintendo might also show off parts of their marketing strategy for 2014.
Is all of this enough though? Hard to say....
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