Nintendo: Rest of 2024
Now that, thanks to the MAR10 Day Direct, we know the release dates for the few announced games for 2024.
Princess Peach: Showtime, released a few days ago in March.
Endless Ocean: Luminous releases May 2nd
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door releases May 23rd
Luigis Mansion 2 HD releases June 27
So what happens afterwards, and why is April empty?
Nintendo Direct in April?
There are rumors for a Nintendo Direct in April. I believe that’s a given, because it would give them the chance to showcase, which games will release after June. Usually, there is a Nintendo Direct in June, however, there is no more E3 and also, I think it would be too late to showcase in June, what happens after June. April seems perfect to me.
Additionally, a Direct in April gives Nintendo the chance to remind everyone about the upcoming three games mentioned above. Paper Mario even has new gameplay features, which they can showcase here.
Another reason, could be a shadow drop that day of a Remaster or Port of an older game, like they did with Pikmin 1+2 or Metroid Prime. Maybe it is just wishful thinking from my side. April is currently empty, after all.
However, against that theory would be the release of Endless Ocean, which releases at the beginning of May. It could be considered a delayed April game. May already has Paper Mario after all.
2nd half of 2024
If the Switch successor releases in 2025, which I also predict now, then the second half of 2024 must be full of filler games, such as remasters and ports. By that, I mean no new AAA game, except for Metroid Prime 4, probably. Which is fine.
So out of 6 months, at least 4-6 games have to be released in order to keep the „around 1 game per month“ streak of Nintendo going. It is usually around 4-6 weeks for a new game release.
So what could Nintendo release in these months? Here are some ideas:
Mario Sports / Olympia game or Mario Party
We could get a Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 game. The Olympic Games are in July this year, so it might actually be the perfect time to release a fitting game.
If it’s not an Olympia game, it might be a Mario Sports game:
We had Tennis, Golf and Football (or Soccer depending on where you come from, though it is called Football, my friend. I guess, that’s why Nintendo calls it Strikers) on the Switch.
We are missing a Baseball or Basketball game, though Baseball is not so huge in the whole world, more of a US Sports, but I would like to play it. Same for American Football.
If it’s not a Mario Sports game, it could be a Party game.
The last Mario Party game released 3 years ago, and the previous Mario Party game was 3 years before that. So it might be possible that we’ll see another Mario Party game this year.
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD and/or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD
It is perceived as facts that these two games are basically ready and just waiting to be released for the Switch. This rumor has been out for years now and now might be the perfect time to release the games.
However, I’m not sure if Nintendo would like to release these fan-favorite games before the Switch successor comes out. It might make more sense to release these awesome games as filler games in the launch line-up of the next console. These are great Zelda games and would not be seen as just some small ports. Imagine having these two games next to a new Super Mario 3D game, new Mario Kart game, new Pokemon game, Smash Ultimate Deluxe and so on. It sounds too good to be true.
Additionally, another question would be if Nintendo releases both games together as a bundle or separately. Probably, $60 each. Many would pay that price. As I said, these are fan-favorites and many consider them to be their personal best Zelda games. Mine for instance is Ocarina of Time, and I would gladly pay $60 for a HD Remaster / Remake of that game.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages Remaster
This has been rumored as well, though, not so heavily as Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. It would be great to see the games remade, since the original games were released on Game Boy Color. I’ve never played them, so I would gladly get them both. Hopefully as a bundle and not $60 each. Please.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds HD
A Link Between Worlds was released over 10 years ago in November 2013. It is a great game and I would love to play it again in HD on my Switch.
New Yoshi game or Yoshi’s Woolly World Remaster
We haven’t had a Yoshi game since Yoshi's Crafted World in 2019. It would be great to see a new game, though, Yoshi’s Woolly World Remaster would be great, too. It was ported to 3DS at some point and since many 3DS games arrive on Switch, this might have a good chance actually.
New smaller Kirby game
There is always a Kirby game. Like literally every year Nintendo releases one or more Kirby games, and they’re all good.
Pikmin 4 DLC
This game was amazing. I will have a review about this game, because it was one of the best games I played in 2023. I would love to play it more, but unfortunately, there is nothing left to do in the game. Pikmin 4 needs DLC. Some additional content or even Online Play, so I can pick it up for an hour once or twice per week.
Luigis Mansion 1 HD
Now that we will have Luigis Mansion 2 and 3 on the Switch, it would make sense to get Luigis Mansion 1 HD, as well. I don’t think it will be a shadow drop at the next Nintendo Direct, because it would then release before Luigis Mansion 2 HD, which was announced months before release, for some reason… Actually, it would make perfect sense to shadow drop Luigis Mansion 1 HD right before 2, so we could play that first, but Nintendo doesn’t always do stuff that makes perfect sense.
Pokémon
We know that the next big Pokémon game is Pokémon Legends: Z-A and it will release in 2025. We don’t know when in 2025, it could be January or Holiday. However, it is a bit weird to not get any Pokémon game in 2024, that’s why I think it is even very likely that they’ll release a Remaster or a new Let’s Go game, or the very least, some very old Pokémon games on NSO. We are still missing the original Red, Blue and Yellow games on NSO, which are super fan-favorite games. These games could fill a whole month for Nintendo.
Metroid Prime 2: Remastered (if it’s not releasing in April as a shadow drop)
As mentioned above, Metroid Prime 2: Remastered could be released as a surprise game during the next Nintendo Direct, just like it happened with Metroid Prime 1: Remastered. There are some rumors regarding a heavy Metroid related marketing campaign, but we’ll see what that is about.
Metroid: Samus Returns HD
Another Metroid title that could be released as a filler game could be the 3DS game Metroid: Samus Returns. That game actually came out after the release of the Nintendo Switch. Back then, Nintendo didn’t know if the Switch will be successful and it made perfect sense to release great games on the 3DS.
As a HD remaster and the same graphics as Metroid: Dread, it would sell really well now. I can see that game releasing this year, unless of course…
Metroid Prime 4
This game has been in development for so many years, and we still don’t know anything about it. It is possible that Nintendo finally shows us a trailer and releases the game as their holiday title of 2024. Many believe it will be a cross-gen title, releasing both on the current Switch console and the successor, however, it would also make sense to end the Switch lifecycle with this huge game. It was promised for the current Switch after all.
My predictions
Obviously, it is very unlikely Nintendo releases 3-4 Zelda games or 2-3 Metroid games within the seconds half of 2024.
Therefore, here are my predictions:
July
August
September
October
November
December
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (or Mario Party or Sports game)
Kirby game
Zelda Remaster (A Link Between Worlds HD, or Wind Waker HD)
Yoshi game or Luigis Mansion 1 HD
Pokémon Remaster
Metroid Prime 4 or Metroid: Samus Returns HD (in case Prime 4 isn’t ready)
Since I predict the Switch successor releases early next year, maybe around February - April, Nintendo might want to show the new console in January 2025, like they did back in 2017 and release it between the end of February and the beginning of April. Actually, it would be a great discussion, if Nintendo should release the Switch before or after MAR10 Day 2025.
I don’t think it makes sense to release games during that period. Everyone will be just hyped to get the new console and I would wait and release all new games after the console launches as cross-gen games or new console exclusives.
