Goodbye Switch, Hello Switch 2!

[Kaido]

Good point to some extent. But unlike with the WiiU, we know that a Metroid, 3D Mario, and Pokemon games are all deep into development. The question simply becomes how far apart does Nintendo want to space releasing them in order to maximize purchases of the hardware. If Nintendo follows previous precedent, the 3D Mario game will release in September/October/November timeframe for the Holiday sales season (almost every mainline Mario game released has done this, Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario All Stars, Super Mario World 2, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros U, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros Wonder..... Pretty much the only exceptions being Super Mario 2: Lost Levels, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy 2).

I just can't believe it has been over a year since Wonder released... I have not even played it (I have had it since release).

super mario galaxy 3 plz

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Good point to some extent. But unlike with the WiiU, we know that a Metroid, 3D Mario, and Pokemon games are all deep into development. The question simply becomes how far apart does Nintendo want to space releasing them in order to maximize purchases of the hardware. If Nintendo follows previous precedent, the 3D Mario game will release in September/October/November timeframe for the Holiday sales season (almost every mainline Mario game released has done this, Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario All Stars, Super Mario World 2, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros U, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros Wonder..... Pretty much the only exceptions being Super Mario 2: Lost Levels, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy 2).

I just can't believe it has been over a year since Wonder released... I have not even played it (I have had it since release).

We don't know if the Mario game will be mindblowing or just good. Mario Odyssey was an amazing game that motivated me to buy a Switch at $275 (bought it from a pawn shop). Super Mario 3D World is a kind of fun game that wouldn't motivate me to buy a $250 system much less a $450 one, and the only reason I beat it was because we had 50% on / 50% off power for a week in February 2021 when it got into the 20s (Fahrenheit) and the Texas power grid failed, so it was either play the Switch or look at the dark wall until the power came on a couple hours later.

I'm not too into FPS so Metroid Prime 4 doesn't move the needle for me and given how recent the Tears release was I'm not expecting another must play 3D Zelda for a long time. I also bought the Switch thinking there would be a second 3D Mario that gen since Odyssey was released so early in it. Not that I consider it a bad buy in retrospect, as TOTK alone was enough to justify the console purchase. But I also found myself just not playing Switch exclusives and waiting for them to come to PC/PS5 because the hardware struggled so much. Dragon Quest XI S was one. Shin Megami Tensei V another. Which is really nuts since SMT Nocturne is my favorite turn based RPG ever made (even over Chrono Trigger) and I bought a New 3DS XL in 2017 specifically to play SMT IV, SMT IV Final, and SMT Strange Journey. It's gonna take another Odyssey quality Mario to make me even start to think about buying it. $450 is a lot for an underpowered system I will avoid 3rd party games on, so the first party games have to be ridiculously good. And for every TOTK, Ocarina of Time, or A Link to the Past that captivated me there is a Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, or Majora's Mask that didn't do much for me.

BTW, Wonder is great. Best 2D Mario since at least New Super Mario on the DS, but I'd probably say best since Super Mario World on the SNES. If I could be assured of another 2D Mario as good as Wonder, another 3D Mario as good as Odyssey, and another 3D Zelda as good as Tears I would have pre-ordered last night. Sadly no truly epic 2D Zelda Switch gen though, last amazing one was A Link Between Worlds on 3DS.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I guess it is "underpowered" if you mainly connect it to the TV and use it like that comparing to a PS5 or Xbox X. But for a portable system you can take in the car, or on a plane, it is far from underpowered, especially at this price. Sure you can get a laptop, but that will be about 2x the price at a minimum for something with similar gameplay capabilities. There are also the "steam deck" and alternatives, that would fit in similar field as the switch 2, but they are also all mostly $600+, with some being upwards of $1400, so again, not really the same ballpark cost wise (however they might have the advantage of better performance).

I'm hoping for some good things with Metroid Prime 4. I absolutely loved the Wii version of the Prime games where-in they used the Wii-mote for aiming. It was really to me the first FPS game that I have wanted to play on a console (well 007 Goldeneye on N64, but that was more for the 4 player multiplayer aspect than anything else). I can't stand aiming with thumbsticks and can't stand most FPS game implementations of a mouse connected to consoles as they rate limit the aiming with the mouse to the same max rate that the thumbstick can move, and it is just abysmal to be stuck like that.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

I guess it is "underpowered" if you mainly connect it to the TV and use it like that comparing to a PS5 or Xbox X. But for a portable system you can take in the car, or on a plane, it is far from underpowered, especially at this price. Sure you can get a laptop, but that will be about 2x the price at a minimum for something with similar gameplay capabilities. There are also the "steam deck" and alternatives, that would fit in similar field as the switch 2, but they are also all mostly $600+, with some being upwards of $1400, so again, not really the same ballpark cost wise (however they might have the advantage of better performance).

I'm hoping for some good things with Metroid Prime 4. I absolutely loved the Wii version of the Prime games where-in they used the Wii-mote for aiming. It was really to me the first FPS game that I have wanted to play on a console (well 007 Goldeneye on N64, but that was more for the 4 player multiplayer aspect than anything else). I can't stand aiming with thumbsticks and can't stand most FPS game implementations of a mouse connected to consoles as they rate limit the aiming with the mouse to the same max rate that the thumbstick can move, and it is just abysmal to be stuck like that.

IDK when I bought the Switch I used it handheld more than I expected the first year or two, but after that I only played it docked other than the occasional time killer game like Mario Tennis Aces or Mario Kart 8 say when waiting in the doctor's office. I would be much more likely to buy a $350 Switch 2 that has to be connected to a display than the $450 one with a screen.

 

[purbeast0]

Good point to some extent. But unlike with the WiiU, we know that a Metroid, 3D Mario, and Pokemon games are all deep into development. The question simply becomes how far apart does Nintendo want to space releasing them in order to maximize purchases of the hardware. If Nintendo follows previous precedent, the 3D Mario game will release in September/October/November timeframe for the Holiday sales season (almost every mainline Mario game released has done this, Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario All Stars, Super Mario World 2, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros U, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Bros Wonder..... Pretty much the only exceptions being Super Mario 2: Lost Levels, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy 2).

I just can't believe it has been over a year since Wonder released... I have not even played it (I have had it since release).

They confirmed a 3D Mario game in development on Switch 2?

 

[Fallen Kell]

They confirmed a 3D Mario game in development on Switch 2?

Well it was reported last year in 2024 that EPD 8 (the development group that has been responsible for Mario Odyssey) has been working on an open world Mario game (the first of its kind) for some time already. Speculation was that it would be a launch title with Switch 2, but given we know the launch lineup, and it is not there, it will probably be a holiday surprise if it is released this year, or it might be used for next year's holiday season to boost sales, as like I said, almost all mainstream 3D mario games have been holiday sales releases.

 

[purbeast0]

Open world and Mario do not go well together for me. I really hope it's not a "fully" open world game, but with how Mario Kart World is, I can see it also being one.

But since it's the same people that made Odyssey, I will definitely give it a chance. There are very few open world games I enjoy and I can probably count them on one hand.

 

[JujuFish]

Well it was reported last year in 2024 that EPD 8 (the development group that has been responsible for Mario Odyssey) has been working on an open world Mario game (the first of its kind) for some time already. Speculation was that it would be a launch title with Switch 2, but given we know the launch lineup, and it is not there, it will probably be a holiday surprise if it is released this year, or it might be used for next year's holiday season to boost sales, as like I said, almost all mainstream 3D mario games have been holiday sales releases.

Reported where?

 

[Fallen Kell]

Reported on just about every leak site in existence for Nintendo news. One of the first was zippospeaks:

Report: 2024 Is The Year Of Nintendo EPD Tokyo.

Hello again! I've been working on this report for a good while now, getting things sourced, making sure everything lined up and all. Given...

zippospeaks.blogspot.com

Fortifying this, the official e-shop gift cards listings initially included this list:

2025 Games: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, New 3D Mario, New Mario Kart, A Legend of Zelda Remake/Remaster, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Now as said, things have possibly changed. Nintendo has been keeping a fairly tight lid on any Mario game. It could be because they are still finishing things up and it isn't really ready, or it could be they are trying to figure out the best multi-year rollout plan for the Switch 2 (as it is always a multi-year rollout, so they are trying to see what games/sales driver will exist across the first 24-36 months of release).

 

[JujuFish]

Gossip and rumor mills is not reporting.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Except for Nintendo, the leak sites are the only reporting you get aside from management/leadership information. They run a very tight ship on game and hardware development. The leaks that have happened have had very few conflicts. And the most telling leak for the e-shop gift card usage specifically listing a New 3D Mario game is the most telling. These were from both Nintendo itself and all the retailers of e-shop gift cards. All the retailers listed it when it first happened. They have since changed it, because Nintendo changed it. But Nintendo initially contained "New 3D Mario" in their verbage, which stands to reason that it would not have been included if a New 3D Mario was not heavy in development, and widely known internally at Nintendo, and they were simply holding the place for the game to be officially announced and have the name changed.

You see, unlike most development companies that announce games 3--5 years before they are released, Nintendo usually doesn't make the announcement until 6-12 months from release. Leaks thus become the only real news on games in development.

 

[JujuFish]

Again, rumormongering isn't reporting. Zippo has no sources and has been wrong time and time again. They just throw shit at the wall and hope something sticks.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Yes, but the e-shop cards are FAR from rumor and was direct from Nintendo. They admitted a New 3D Mario game was in the works and was initially planned for release this year, and then removed it. But it does mean there is a New 3D Mario game that is in the works and is close to release. And given all the history and the leaks and the rumors, EPD 8 is the most likely group working on it (they have not been working on any of the other announced games, meaning they were free to be working on something unannounced, and since they have worked on all the 3D Mario games released in the last 15+ years, it is HIGHLY likely they would be involved in any New 3D Mario game, and Nintendo themselves leaked that a new 3D Mario was initially going to release this year with the e-shop gift card list of games).

So stop saying it is rumormongering as Nintendo leaked it themselves. There has simply just not been an official announcement. Nintendo may decide to hold off on it, and as said, may hold off on it for next year due to strategic planning for the overall launch of the Switch 2 to continue generation of demand over first year+ of launch. The release date and title are pretty much the only thing we don't know. We do know there is a new 3D Mario game deep into development and close to being released which at one point as late as the release of the e-shop gift cards featuring the switch 2 games, had a release date of sometime in 2025.

 

[JujuFish]

Obviously Nintendo is going to make another 3D Mario. Guess what, they're going to make another 3D Mario after that one! Gasp!

When your source is someone who makes things up, it's not worth sharing it as reporting. Now if someone like Jason Schreier, you know, an actual Bloomberg reporter with sources, writes about something, that would be reporting.

At least use leakers with actual sources who have proven a degree of reliability.