UPDATE: 

Welp, Persona Fans will be happy I suppose.  Twenty Five minutes of 3rd party stuff; I don't expect anything game-wise here from Nintendo.  Best surprise we can hang on to from Nintendo itself at this event is the Switch Pro rumor I guess.

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According to some individuals, Nintendo is still planning a Nintendo Direct next week, specifically June 29th.  Most of us expected something from Nintendo this month (more than just the Xenoblade 3 presentation) and this date would make sense since Nintendo's shareholder meeting takes place on that day.  If indeed real, it is likely that we won't hear official confirmation from Nintendo until next week (probably Monday).

So to tide us over until then, here are a couple of drops from two rumor-mongers that many of us have heard of before - Markomaro and Zippo - one with some not-so-great news and one with, hopefully, a bombshell.  Remember, grain of salt and all of that, but let the speculation commence.

First, the (somewhat) disappointing news.  Yesterday, Markomaro tweeted that the already delayed Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp "has a new internal release date and many people will be angry about when and how it's gonna release".  Honestly, I wouldn't expect this game any sooner than December and now, of course, digital only.  It doesn't surprise me that a game of this size (in both hype and MBs) wouldn't get a physical release but it's still a bit disheartening for people wanting a cartridge of these remakes.  Do I believe this?  Yeah, sounds likely.

Second, the rumor I've championed for a while now... DK!  Blogger Zippo is at it again with that supposed new Donkey Kong title and here is his latest info:

"I've gotten word that Donkey Kong's next adventure from the crew at EPD Tokyo has gone gold. They are currently sitting on the game, though I'm not sure for how long it's been finished.  Nintendo has a big direct next week, will they announce it there? I genuinely don't know, Nintendo can and has sat on many games for quite a while. All we can do now, is hope, and wait".

Do I believe it?  Why yes, yes I do.  Why?  Because I want it to happen, that's why.  But yeah, this could be me, even if there is a Direct next week:

I'm really excited to see what this new DK platformer is like (first time from an in-house Nintendo studio) and it would be a fantastic addition to the list of releases this year.  Here's hoping that Charlie kicks a field goal this time.

Feel free to discuss any pre-Direct wishes and expectations.

I don't believe anything Zippo says.
But I do believe there will be a direct.

I just want a Bayonetta 3 release date. IDGAF about the rest.

I literally just watched the only Nintendo Direct I need this summer. Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

It would be insanely bizarre for Nintendo to not have a traditional direct very soon. 2020 was understandable but in 2021, Nintendo went back to the traditional Direct schedule of February/March, June, and September. There's really no reason why Nintendo wouldn't have a Direct this month or July at the latest. Especially considering how many games need release dates as well as any new announcements for the remainder of the year.

Nintendo can and has sat on many games for quite a while. 

This is repeated so much but does anybody really know for sure? The only game that comes to my mind is BotW, and even that isn't even 100% sure as there had been rumors about a delay post march 3rd 17. I think somebody claimed the voiceovers and translationen demanded a push, it was obviously false. The quintessence is: You can never believe anything from these attention whores. So, I am asking, which games had really been finished but halted back? I'd really like to know.

Sure, only Mario. But also Xenoblade. And Splatoon. And Fire Emblem. And Pokémon. And Kirby. And Nintendo Switch Sports.

Possible explanations: They have no idea about the game's direction. Retro studios just doesn't want to do another DK game. No other team inside Nintendo wants to do a DK game. They believe DKCTF is good enough as the Switch representative of the franchise. The teams are rather focussing on games they have closer to their hearts. DK became fat from too many bananas.

In game development, you need to have a vision first, then create the concept around that, then assemble the manpower around that. My best take is that nobody came up with a vision for a new DK game. If you forced a new game without a focused direction you'd end up with a haf-assed product that fails to meet expectations and damages the franchise. I'd rather not want to have half-assed games and instead accept no game at all, but that's just my fries threwn across the table.

NSMBUDX. The title screen even says 2018.

And Xenoblade Chronicles 3 obviously. They wanted to release it in September, many months after it's done.

Two examples already. Why wouldn't there be more?

All they have to do is give me Rhythm Heaven and I'll go to heaven