Nintendo at E3 2021, the return - The Lakitu Packet

Nintendo at E3 2021

Had we written in early 2020 that Nintendo would return to E3, many would have thought about the revival of an old-fashioned conference, with stage, guests and audience; an event held for the last time - if we remember correctly - in 2012, when the Wii U line-up was unveiled, when the show was presented by Reginald Fils-Aimé (Reggie, the former president by Nintendo of America). Written now, in spring 2021, still - unfortunately - in full pandemic emergency, it means "only" that a Nintendo Direct will return at E3 (between 12 and 15 June): with the difference that, this time, each participating company it will be limited to a digital event.

After waiting for months for the announcement of a Nintendo Direct, we have the feeling (potentially wrong, God forbid), that this news has been slightly underestimated by the fans of the Kyotese company; or rather, that the importance of the manifestation is not fully realized. Not that there is an identical temporal relationship with respect to the release, but in many ways this E3, for Nintendo Switch, will be very similar to what, for Wii U, E3 2015 represented: and that is an event that reveals, or at least anticipates the consistency of the last years of the platform's life.

Nintendo Switch Pro: a questionable mockup. As you will remember, and as expected, E3 2015 was a half disaster: not only for the absence of Iwata, which soon after would prove to be a dramatic sign, but also for the games presented. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was not shown; no title developed in the Edochian offices peeped out. Next Level Games didn't bring a Wii U exclusive to the show, as was desirable, but the reviled Metroid Prime: Federation Force for Nintendo 3DS. In short, it was a demonstration that, despite the smiles and good intentions of the facade, represented an anticipated funeral for the consul.

Having said that, we do not want to arouse any unfounded concern; the two situations are similar only for the watershed nature of the event. The context in which the Switch lives and thrives is substantially opposite to that in which the poor Wii U was swamping. This E3 2021 from Nintendo will not mark the end of the platform; on the contrary, it will decree - hoping not to bring bad luck - the beginning of its second youth.

Switch Pro and Zelda

Nintendo Switch Pro: another mockup. Needless to go around it: if Nintendo Switch Pro does not turn out to be a digital chimera, and given the number and authority of the rumors it is difficult to believe it, there would not be a better time than this to present it to the world. Not only to grab the proverbial limelight (which is a part of the stage, if you ever wondered), but also for a matter of timing: that it comes out at Christmas (more likely) or by March 2022, or before the closing of the 'current fiscal year, it would make no sense to postpone the announcement.

To sum it up: Whatever (New?) Nintendo Switch Pro is, it is highly likely to be unveiled in June. And, should this eventuality occur, it is impossible that the "line-up", if we want to call it that, of the new platform is also revealed: we will see the games that will accompany its release and, with a veil of optimism, those that they will sweeten its future existence.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, a possible protagonist of E3 2021. Nintendo Switch launched with Breath of the Wild; Nintendo Switch Lite with the remake of Link's Awakening. If the timing allows, Nintendo Switch Pro will come with the sequel to Breath of the Wild. We hope by Christmas, so as to worthily celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the saga. In the latest Nintendo Direct, Aonuma hasn't given any certainty about the game, or about its release; however, he assured us that he would talk about it later, before the end of 2021. And, as much as he likes to joke and mislead, we doubt he lied to us about it.

Now, however pessimistic one may be, it's hard to imagine an E3 2021 without Nintendo Switch Pro and Breath of the Wild 2. Amid the growing rumors surrounding the console, and Aonuma's promise to show The Legend of Zelda within the year, it's hard to speculate that their fate, the platform and the game, is not closely linked.

Other games

We don't want to inject too much hope or foment you in an inordinate way, but various internal Nintendo teams have been silent for some time, and the most likely circumstance - unlike in the Wii U era - is that each of them, sooner or later, he comes back on Nintendo Switch before moving on to the next platform (and we are not referring to the hypothetical Pro edition, but to the heir of the Switch).

We already know the next moves of some teams Interior: EPD 3 takes care of The Legend of Zelda, while team number 5, which released Animal Crossing: New Horizons in March 2020, will return in 2022 with the already announced Splatoon 3. EPD 2 will be featured with Camelot's Mario Golf: Super Rush (out June 25), EPD 1 with Pokémon Shining Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, developed by ILCA. The two just mentioned are supervision and support teams and, excluding these certainties, they could reveal themselves with something from HAL (stopped from 2018, minor projects aside) and with Pokémon Legends: Arceus by Game Freak.

Pokémon Legends : Arceus, coming in 2022. Monolith Soft and Next Level Games are not internal teams, but are wholly owned by Nintendo; it seems right, therefore, to include them in this list. As for Canadians, they usually publish a title every three years, so we may have to wait a little longer for them: the last work dates back to 2019 (Luigi's Mansion 3). The dynamics of Monolith Soft are more uncertain and smoky, but now the time seems ripe to find out what they have done in recent years, support operations aside: if it does not happen this year, at the latest we will see them again in 2022.

One certainty should be represented by the Mario Kart team, namely EPD 9: on consoles they have been stopped since 2017, or by Arms. Let's say on consoles because this team has strongly contributed to the creation of Mario Kart Tour for mobile: no one knows how busy they have been, and how much they still engage them. They usually release a game every three years, so I'm already "late". As we wrote here, there are many good reasons to expect Mario Kart 9 ... and just as many to expect a new project.

Splatoon 3: it will be 2022 for him too. Since Nintendo Switch came out, every year Nintendo has tried a casual gamble. Some were successful, others less so. In 2017 1-2-Switch arrived, in 2018 Nintendo Labo, in 2019 the lucky Ring Fit Adventure, in 2020 Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. EPD number 4 has been involved in each of these productions, which could accompany the launch of Nintendo Switch Pro with some project of this type (who knows, maybe a Switch Sports?).

Two other teams in the process of publication they should be the ones dealing with Mario. We refer to EPD 10, responsible for the 2D saga, stopped from 2019 (excluding remakes). The two teams could collaborate in the development of a two-dimensional episode of the saga: it has already happened with Super Mario Maker 2, and EPD 8 (the one in Tokyo) is hiring staff for a 2D action. At the same time, the latter team is also looking for new employees for a 3D action: it's the Super Mario Odyssey team, and has never had more than four years elapse between games. Their absence at E3 is unlikely, but for once it shouldn't be taken for granted that they are working on a new Super Mario.

Super Mario Odyssey, a 2017 classic. Well, that's it. The expectations could not be higher: a new version of Nintendo Switch, Breath of the Wild 2, and many teams ready to reveal their cards. Among these, in particular, Monolith Soft and EPD 8. We are very curious to find out if this "second wave" of titles for Switch will mainly consist of sequels (as Splatoon 3 would suggest), unreleased projects (a new Donkey Kong, maybe from EPD 8?) or, more likely, from a mix of the two hypotheses.

We haven't talked about Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4, announced for years and never presented: it is difficult to make sensible predictions in this regard. Retro Studios has been back to work with Samus Aran since early 2019, and - sadly - we doubt the release is imminent. Paradoxically, a new two-dimensional episode could come first from EPD 7, a team that has yet to debut on Nintendo Switch. To conclude, we are expecting some announcements from the Milanese studio of Ubisoft, which in 2017 gave life to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

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