I'm assuming you didn't watch the trailer? This is clearly a huge gameplay departure from the previous games, with seemingly the only similarities being similar art style to Color Splash and returning features from the original games that the last three lacked. It has an entirely new battle system, plot, and overworld mechanics from what we're being shown here. I wouldn't exactly say it's a "bold new direction" as it does seem to keep a familiar overall feeling, but this is definitely not them continuing what they did with Color Splash.

I'm really wondering, based on the timing of it's release, if Nintendo was planning to announce this game at E3 and shock everyone by saying it's out TODAY but then their massive plan got ruined by coronavirus. I mean, could you imagine the reaction? Lol.

As for me, being the biggest Paper Mario fan I know (my favorite series of all time) I'm still too shook by the announcement and how close the release is to have a proper response. I'm on cloud 9 lol.

They wouldn't release a big title on the same day of announcing it a smaller indie like title maybe but not any mid to high tier title July was likely always the release date with what ever else was planned to be shown to be released after hence why it got announced.

I feel like a lot of folks are immediately dismissing this game out of hand. Surely we should wait until we know more about its gameplay and design before passing judgement? So much is still unknown.

They should throw in a port of Color Splash with the new game. Color Splash did not sell very well as a late Wii U game. Nintendo should try to extract more value from that project.

Why does Nintendo let these small developers die like this? They let Cing die. They let Alpha Dream die. Why not invest in them? They don't own IS, so what happens if they went bankrupt? Would Nintendo just sit idle? These are pretty small studios. They could help them stay afloat or outright buy a couple of them. Next level pledged their Loyalty to Nintendo but I bet Nintendo would let them die as well when they could use more western studios. Not trying to shit on Nintendo but honestly curious why they do this?

Random question but the answers are not hard to figure out.  In the case of Cing, their games never sold all that well.  Their games were niche, at most times very niche, and didn't match with the amount of money they were spending on development.  It wouldn't be advisable to bail them out of bankruptcy if they are losing money on a consistent basis.  Especially after several releases.

AlphaDream we know much less about.  But from what we can gather, there seems to have been some pretty serious financial mismanagement.  That's another thing you don't want to throw money at.  You could buy the company, but if they are no longer producing the quality releases that made them worth partnering with, what's the point?  You can just as easily hire people from the company after it disbands rather than shouldering the burden of actually owning the company.  

As for IS and Next Level, they might let them close if they went the way of Cing and AlphaDream.  Nintendo's not responsible to prop up a floundering company for old times' sake.  But that's not a likely thing to happen.  IS is far more integrated with Nintendo's operations for one, so they have a lot of money coming in from work done with Nintendo beyond just their own releases.  And Next Level just produced by far their biggest success yet.  

In short, Nintendo doesn't run a charity any more than any other platform holder or publisher.  It is not their obligation to prop up a company that is collapsing due to lack of sales and mismanagement brought on by their own actions and releases.  Nintendo as a publisher funds these projects, they shoulder financial risks of their own to give these devs a shot.  If they blow it repeatedly or squander their gains with mismanagement it is not then Nintendo's job to spend more money to keep their lights on.  And that goes for any publisher.

And worth noting most of these devs have no interest in being owned by Nintendo or any publisher during their peak.  Studios like Next Level, Cing, AlphaDream, and IS are independent on purpose.  The only reason they would maybe be interested in selling to Nintendo or anyone else is because they are desperate for the cash.  Which is to say, they are only interested in selling typically well after they were worth buying.  

Edit:  Also what Rol said.  Nintendo typically buys companies that are fully on board and at times even prefer the studio approach them about such a relationship rather than the other way round.  Nintendo's culture and structure is unique, you have to be down with becoming very deeply integrated with Nintendo's development operations.

Massive Tearaway fan here Glad that the art style will live on in Paper Mario form

It looks good and seems to be a step in the right direction. The latest screenshots seem to indicate that partners are back, at least in some capacity. The question is: How much of a step in the right direction is it, a baby step or a big one? Of course it's nice that there are normal attacks and no stickers this time. But for the battles to be fun for me the game needs to have some sort of experience points system, otherwise fights will still just be a nuisance. Maybe we can buy new attacks or weapons with coins? That would be a start, at least. Baby steps or big steps? That's the question.

Looks awesome. Can't wait for it.