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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Will Nintendo Still Release a New Donkey Kong This Year?

 

Will Nintendo release a new DK this holiday?

Yes 5 12.20%
 
No, but they should 27 65.85%
 
Game's not real anyway... 9 21.95%
 
Total:41

Initially, I was going to write an article on this subject shortly after E3 but then Zippo, the person who claimed that a new Donkey Kong was being made for Switch, revealed even more info including the DK theme park expansion (which is happening, it seems) along with other news that forced me to rewrite what I had.  Since some of the article's narrative addressed the fact that we hadn't heard anything yet about a new Switch model, I thought I'd continue... and then... yeah.  So I just said screw it.

Now with Zippo talking up a new Nintendo Direct for this month, there's certainly a chance that we could see something on this new 2D Donkey Kong title.  But even if it's real and they do show it, would it release this year?  Nintendo already has a strong holiday quarter planned (October in particular) not to mention Pokémon Legends Arceus in January, but December is very weak in comparison, with only Advance Wars (a remake) scheduled for the month.  Furthermore, the only game releasing this entire holiday quarter that's made by an in-house Nintendo studio is Mario Party.  Technically, EPD (the studio rumored to be making the new DK) helped on Dread (and they made Wario Ware too) but no magnum-opus since Super Mario Odyssey and supposedly this new DK has been worked on for three years now. 

Also worth noting is that Tropical Freeze didn't sell well on Switch compared to other WiiU ports of Nintendo games.  However, although this new game is rumored to be 2D, it is dropping the "Donkey Kong Country" moniker of the past installments all together - perhaps giving the series a fresh start and redefining two dimensional Donkey Kong.  If true, that's a pretty big deal - especially considering that the "Country" series is widely regarded as very good.

While it's true that it may be wise to hold on to a game like this for a dry spell later next year, this is Donkey Kong's ruby jubilee and Nintendo should celebrate its very first character of nomenclature.  Add to that the fact that last year's holiday quarter was severely lacking and we should all get a party for DK's 40th birthday this year.  Keeping in mind that Paper Mario and 3D All Stars were announced just before they released last year, do you think that we will see something on this new DK title at the upcoming Direct, and if so, will we receive the game this year?

Bonus Question: Assuming that Nintendo does surprise us with the game this holiday, what would that mean for Switch sales for the quarter?  Last year the Switch moved 11.57m for the quarter; would sales meet or even exceed that this holiday with a new DK?

Last edited by archbrix - on 02 September 2021

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Yes, yes, no.

I have no idea at all about DK showing up and being released this year. Just guessing.

On Switch sales.....A 2D Donkey Kong game won't make any difference. I expect Switch sales will be about the same as last year if XB and PS remain supply constrained and Switch is widely available. Switch sales may fall slightly if XB and PS5 are widely available. Obviously, Switch can only sell units that exist, so supply constraints could come into play there as well.

Last edited by VAMatt - on 02 September 2021

They just announced Big Brain Academy for this year. I would be very surprised if they would anmounce another game for this year.



CaptainExplosion said:

Doubt they'll ever give us another Donkey Kong game, considering their recent attitude displayed towards the franchise.

Why would they kill DK? A new game would have the potential of selling up to 10M copies. It'll come eventually.



I don't think so. We're already in the first week of September. The new Big Brain Academy was probably the final new Switch first-party title for 2021. There's a small chance we could get one more 2021 game, but it would probably be more like Big Brain Academy or Game Builder Garage and not like Donkey Kong.



Lifetime Sales Predictions 

Switch: 151 million (was 73, then 96, then 113 million, then 125 million, then 144 million)

PS5: 115 million (was 105 million) Xbox Series S/X: 57 million (was 60 million, then 67 million)

PS4: 120 mil (was 100 then 130 million, then 122 million) Xbox One: 51 mil (was 50 then 55 mil)

3DS: 75.5 mil (was 73, then 77 million)

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Probably not. I wouldn’t put much faith in the earlier rumour either.



archbrix said:

Also worth noting is that Tropical Freeze didn't sell well on Switch compared to other WiiU ports of Nintendo games.  However, although this new game is rumored to be 2D, it is dropping the "Donkey Kong Country" moniker of the past installments all together - perhaps giving the series a fresh start and redefining two dimensional Donkey Kong.  If true, that's a pretty big deal - especially considering that the "Country" series is widely regarded as very good.

While it's true that it may be wise to hold on to a game like this for a dry spell later next year, this is Donkey Kong's ruby jubilee and Nintendo should celebrate its very first character of nomenclature.  Add to that the fact that last year's holiday quarter was severely lacking and we should all get a party for DK's 40th birthday this year.  Keeping in mind that Paper Mario and 3D All Stars were announced just before they released last year, do you think that we will see something on this new DK title at the upcoming Direct, and if so, will we receive the game this year?

Bonus Question: Assuming that Nintendo does surprise us with the game this holiday, what would that mean for Switch sales for the quarter?  Last year the Switch moved 11.57m for the quarter; would sales meet or even exceed that this holiday with a new DK?

Tropical Freeze, according to the database, has moved 2,010,000 units on Wii U and 2,650,000 units on Switch, or 131% of the Wii U sales. That isn't bad, that's pretty good. Compared to other Wii U Ports?

Pikmin 3 Wii U - 1.27 mil, Switch - 2.04 mil (161% of Wii U).

Mario Kart 8 Wii U - 8.45 mil, Switch - 37.08 mil (439% of Wii U).

Mario 3D World Wii U - 5.87 mil, Switch - 6.68 mil (114% of Wii U).

New Super Mario Bros. Wii U - 5.81 mil, Switch - 10.44 mil (179% of Wii U).

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Wii U - 1.36 mil, Switch - 1.44 mil (106% of Wii U).

DKTF actually did quite well % wise if you don't include MarioKart. Zelda doesn't count because it released simultanously on two platforms, and the Wii U version released on a lame-duck console in its final breath of life, sabatoging sales potential.

That being said, I thought the rumor was for more of a 2.5d game rather than a 2d one? I'm far more interested in a blending of DK64 and TF than I am a third 2-d Donkey Kong Returns game (or whatever they'd call it). The only way I'd want another 2-d DK game is if they made it story focused like the Trine games, otherwise I'd prefer something more of a 3d platform like Super Mario Odyssey.



CaptainExplosion said:
Kakadu18 said:

Why would they kill DK? A new game would have the potential of selling up to 10M copies. It'll come eventually.

I don't know. Probably because these days they only seem to care about Mario, Pokemon and Animal Crossing these days. Metroid Dread, WarioWare: Get It Together! and Advance Wars 1+2: Rebootcamp are rare exceptions.

Your hyperbole is highly unwaranted.

ACNH support is weak.

Here's Nintendo's line up for this year:

1. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

2. New Pokémon Snap

3. Miitopia

4. Famicom Detective Club

5. DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power

6. Game Builder Garage

7. Mario Golf: Super Rush

8. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

9. WarioWare: Get It Together!

10. Metroid Dread

11. Mario Party Superstars

12. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

13. Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain

The bolded are games from franchises or sub-franchises that previously weren't represented on the Switch. Several have quite literally been brought back from the dead. They clearly care about a lot of franchises.

The 2.65M number for DKCTF is as of December 31st 2019. As of mid 2020 it was at 2.93M. So it's clearly over 3M by now.

Last edited by Kakadu18 - on 02 September 2021

Kakadu18 said:

They just announced Big Brain Academy for this year. I would be very surprised if they would anmounce another game for this year.

Now that's good news, Big Brain Academy!



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CaptainExplosion said:
Kakadu18 said:

Your hyperbole is highly unwaranted.

ACNH support is weak.

Here's Nintendo's line up for this year:

1. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

2. New Pokémon Snap

3. Miitopia

4. Famicom Detective Club

5. DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power

6. Game Builder Garage

7. Mario Golf: Super Rush

8. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

9. WarioWare: Get It Together!

10. Metroid Dread

11. Mario Party Superstars

12. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

13. Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain

The bolded are games from franchises or sub-franchises that previously weren't represented on the Switch. Several have quite literally been brought back from the dead. They clearly care about a lot of franchises.

The 2.65M number for DKTF is as of December 31st 2019. As of mid 2020 it was at 2.93M. So it's clearly over 3M by now.

You had me at every game in your list except DC Superhero Girls, since it's just another substandard modern DC Comics cartoon turned into a game that nobody really cares about.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that other Nintendo franchises are being brought back this year for Switch, but Donkey Kong's absence this year still hurts because this year was his 40th anniversary. THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GAME THAT MADE NINTENDO BIG IN ARCADES BACK IN THE EARLY 1980S!!!!!

And where did you see that as of mid 2020 Tropical Freeze was 2.93M?

40th birthday and no celebration.... DK became Nintendo's version of Capcom's megaman? :P