Topic: What will Nintendo release in 2020?

[Khushrenada]

Yeah, with the talk of Zelda 35 next year and likely release of BotW2, it's possible Nintendo does a port of WWHD and TPHD again as well although rumor has been focusing more on a possible Skyward Sword port instead. I guess I was wrong. There's no stopping this port train after all. Too many possibilities.

(I also don't think XCX gets ported until Switch 2 for that console.)

[broodwars]

Well, the port train continues full steam ahead but it's gotta start slowing down now... right? How much more can still be ported/remastered at this point?

Wind Waker HD, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Wind Waker HD, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wind Waker HD, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD, Skyward Sword (today’s Mario announcements make me want to revisit the other thread).

Also: Yoshi's Woolly World & Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water.

Also Also: The Wii & Wii U Virtual Consoles.

[Luigi Dude]

OP updated to reflect today's fludd flood of Mario announcements.

I'm guessing either Odyssey 2 will be ready for November and then 3D World Deluxe is pushed back to early 2021, or Odyssey 2 is delayed to March 2021 and 3D World Deluxe is given its spot this year.

Looks like you weren't far off. 3D World is indeed taking the early 2021 slot, but with an expansion of some sorts. No Odyssey 2 announcement, but the 64/Sunshine/Galaxy compilation is dropping this month for Nintendo's September slot.
They have something announced for every month this year, except for December. A few good candidates still need to receive release dates however.

The 3D All-Stars taking September and 3D World going to early next year, it really makes me wonder what will be their big holiday game this year then.  If it was Odyssey 2, it would have been announced today with the rest of the Mario announcements.  Maybe they might get Breath of the Wild 2 out this year after all.  There was reports just a few weeks ago that Breath of the Wild 2 Collector's Edition showing up on online retailers.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/08/zelda_breath_of_the_wild_2_collectors_edition_listing_appears_on_retailer_website

If they feel they can release 3D World in February of next year, then they got to be pretty confident in what is planned for November/December and I can't think of anything that's been in development that would be bigger then a Mario platformer then Zelda.  Now that would be funny if we get Breath of the Wild 2 during the middle of Mario's 35th Anniversary and then next year they release Odyssey 2 during Zelda's 35th Anniversary celebration as well. 

[Stratos]

Its also possible that the Covid delays impacted Nintendo badly and this IS their holiday lineup. Nintendo is a very traditional company and reports I am hearing state they have struggled to adapt to remote work life due to their protectiveness of content.

I was about to go into a breakdown of these challenges they created for themselves, but this isn't the thread for that. My point is BOTW2 and Odyssey 2 could have been planned and pushed back, so the ports could be forced to hold up the holiday lineup. I hope I'm wrong, but it is a possibility.

Remember the previous times they had major technical hurdles (jump to 3D, jump to HD) and how that impacted their release schedule and content output. At least there is much better 3rd party support to round things out compared to the N64 and Wii U.

[Order.RSS]

Its also possible that the Covid delays impacted Nintendo badly and this IS their holiday lineup. Nintendo is a very traditional company and reports I am hearing state they have struggled to adapt to remote work life due to their protectiveness of content.

I was about to go into a breakdown of these challenges they created for themselves, but this isn't the thread for that. My point is BOTW2 and Odyssey 2 could have been planned and pushed back, so the ports could be forced to hold up the holiday lineup. I hope I'm wrong, but it is a possibility.

Agree with your points, although they have surprised me with the 3D Mario All-Stars collection coming out so soon. The fact they're unwilling to put dates on any games until they're certain they can hit those targets also makes the 3D World + Expansion a curiosity. Maybe it's almost entirely done already, like how they didn't announce Pikmin 3DX and Origami King until they were basically done and already pre-loaded on the eShop?

But yes, I'll continue being bearish until reality contradicts such sentiments.
And for the record, I don't think Pikmin, Mario Collection, expansions for Pokémon and Animal Crossing, and possibly No More Heroes 3 is a bad holiday. Especially with 3rd party releases like Digimon Survive, Doom Eternal, Boyfriend Dungeon (this'll be a hit I think), Hades, and of course Bakugan lined up too. There's enough momentum and back catalogue to push the Switch past 20 million units this year. Frankly insane numbers given the circumstances.

[nickmitch]

I think the short turn around from announcement to release is a result of Nintendo not feeling comfortable about discussing a full lineup of games when most release dates are uncertain.  If they can only talk about/release so many games in a year, it makes sense to me for them to schedule the Directs right before release.  No sense it having a game featured on multiple Directs if it's gonna be the only thing you really talk about.  So, if there is a "big holiday release", it could be one part "not sure if it'll be done on time" and one part waiting to talk about it at length instead of talking about it at multiple Directs.

edit:

Also going to predict that Rhythm Heaven comes to Switch this year.  Switch launched with a party game (1, 2, Switch) then had another the following year (Super Mario Party), then followed up with Mario & Sonic this past year.  So, for the 2020 Switch party game, I'm thinking they bring that back.

With how many rhythm games were at the partner Direct, I wonder if I was right about Rhythm Heaven for Switch being on the way.

[Khushrenada]

We have our Nintendo November game, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

So, I'd say it is now official that we won't be seeing a Direct this year unless something happens late December for next year releases. Nintendo is just shadow-dropping new games and sudden release dates individually instead. Not sure a new Hyrule Warriors game trying to ride the BotW coattails is really something that could compete against new consoles possibly dropping at that time over 3D World but that's what Nintendo is going with.

[Luigi Dude]

If they feel they can release 3D World in February of next year, then they got to be pretty confident in what is planned for November/December and I can't think of anything that's been in development that would be bigger then a Mario platformer then Zelda.  Now that would be funny if we get Breath of the Wild 2 during the middle of Mario's 35th Anniversary and then next year they release Odyssey 2 during Zelda's 35th Anniversary celebration as well. 

Well I got the Zelda part right. 

You know, this is a canon prequel to Breath of the Wild so it would be the 2nd Breath of the Wild game released.  So a Breath of the Wild 2 was their big holiday game for 2020 after all.

[Khushrenada]

Curse you and your monkey's paw, Luigi Dude!!!

[Shaymin]

It wouldn't be the first time Nintendo dropped a questionable Zelda game on the same day as a new PlayStation console.

[Khushrenada]

Majora's Mask?

[Shaymin]

That's the one.

[Order.RSS]

Restructured the OP to separate hardware, software, DLC, and NSO updates. I don't know if anyone really uses this list, but if so, let me know whether you prefer this, or the previous chronological list. Personally I thought it looked too cluttered and unwieldy before.

[Kairon]

Restructured the OP to separate hardware, software, DLC, and NSO updates. I don't know if anyone really uses this list, but if so, let me know whether you prefer this, or the previous chronological list. Personally I thought it looked too cluttered and unwieldy before.

It looks great! Thanks for doing that!

[nickmitch]

Three out of the six fighters from the new pass will drop this year.  They will be Travis Touchdown, Dante, and a Pokemon.

Well, I was almost right.

[Order.RSS]

Three out of the six fighters from the new pass will drop this year.  They will be Travis Touchdown, Dante, and a Pokemon.

Well, I was almost right.

If I remember I'll tally everyone's predictions at the end of the year, and yeah that one warrants at least half a point!

OP has been updated to reflect the latest Fire Emblem shenanigans.
Also there's a Fortnite themed Switch releasing??? But only in the UK/Australia/NZ??? Very odd.

EDIT: These are available in North America as of Cyber Monday. I like the joy-con colours.

[Order.RSS]

All right dweebs, as if 2020 wasn’t bad enough, it turns out we all made some guesses throughout the year. I’ll just zoom past everyone and give 1 point for correct predictions, and let’s say ½ point for kinda-sorta-maybe if you squint correct ones? BOLD means I’m giving you points!
Who’s first up?

INSANOLORD

There have been some rumors about a new 2D Metroid game from MercurySteam, either another remake or something original. That seems pretty reasonable. I also think we'll see either the Breath of the Wild followup or a new 3D Mario this year. It's been three years since BotW and Odyssey, and that's more time than it's usually taken EAD Tokyo between Mario games. Also, please, please let this finally be time for Pikmin 4.

[...]

I'm not sure it would be a direct sequel to Odyssey, but that's certainly plausible. Hell, it might not even be a Mario game, EAD Tokyo may have ended up doing something else altogether this time, but I expect to see whatever they're working on this year.

[...]
The Switch is by all accounts very easy to develop for, and MercurySteam made those Castlevania games for 360 and PS3, so it's not like they don't have experience making games for more powerful hardware than the 3DS.

Insanolord made three posts which I've collapsed into one:
- A new 3D Mario was indeed released, in the form of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, but it wasn't a new-new game. ½ point
- Ditto for Pikmin. No sequel, but an expanded re-release here too. ½ point
- We did indeed see what EAD Tokyo were up to, as the expansion to 3D World is due out early next year. 1 point
Total: 2 points! Insanolord turns out to have fairly sane, lordly ideas.
Soothsayer ranking: B tier.

NICKMITCH

I buy the 2D Metroid from Mercury Steam rumor.  Wasn't their original pitch to Nintendo an original 2D Metroid game?  I vaguely remember Nintendo turning that down and having them do the remake.  Since that was a success, it makes sense they would go back and do an original title.  Now, whether or not it comes out this year is the iffy part. I was thinking Nintendo might do a "year of Metroid" with the Prime Trilogy, Metroid V, and Prime 4 all with a year, but with Prime 4 pushed back, I don't think that will pan out. However, because Prime 4 got delayed, they may not want to sit on the other two for too long.

I think we'll see a new Kirby game.  It'll have been two years since Star Allies, and Super Kirby Clash is more like a side-game.

No Prime 4 news this year.

I'll go bold and say Breath of the Wild 2: Smell My Hand releases this year.  It'll have been about 3 years, not counting DLC development.  They're using the same engine and ideas from the original development.  I'm thinking the development time won't take as long as normal for those reasons.

Three out of the six fighters from the new pass will drop this year.  They will be Travis Touchdown, Dante, and a Pokemon.

Splatoon sequel/spin-off is announced/teased for 2021.

Switch Pro releases alongside BotW2, has more battery power than current model, and less framerate drops when docked.

Star Fox game announced for 2021.

[…]

Also going to predict that Rhythm Heaven comes to Switch this year.  Switch launched with a party game (1, 2, Switch) then had another the following year (Super Mario Party), then followed up with Mario & Sonic this past year.  So, for the 2020 Switch party game, I'm thinking they bring that back.

Nickmitch came in hot!
- We don't really know if a year of Metroid was planned, but it certainly didn't occur! ½ point
- Depending on your definition of "news", we also didn't get Prime 4 news this year. Sure some job listings were posted by Retro Studios, but I'll give Nick full marks here. 1 point
- A new Kirby game was indeed released, Kirby Fighters 2 came out in September. A spin-off, sure, but not a free-to-play one. 1 point
- Another technicality: four new Smash Bros. fighters were released instead of three, BUT three of them were indeed from the new season pass. 1 point
- Travis Touchdown is playable in Smash Bros., but only through a Mii costume. ½ point
- There was a 2020 party game, but not Rhythm Heaven. ½ point
Total: 4½ points! Nickmitch is a venerable Casssandra, read my tea leaves!
Soothsayer ranking: A tier

LUIGI DUDE

Seems more like tradition at this point.  We got Galaxy then Galaxy 2 which expanded on it.  Then we got 3D Land with a sequel 3D World after that.  Odyssey felt a lot like Galaxy 1 and 3D Land where the game was overall easier and the devs intentionally holding back as to not overwhelm the players with what they were trying to do with this type of Mario game.

So I'd be very surprised if we didn't get an Odyssey 2 that expands the gameplay the way Galaxy 2 and 3D World did. I doubt Toyko EAD used up all their good idea's, especially when so much of the game hardly even uses the game mechanics to their fullest.

[...]

Covid really messed up Nintendo's release schedule.  The fact they're giving a port of a rather niche franchise a pretty important end of year slot, doesn't bode well for the holiday season.  I wouldn't be surprised if the rumored Mario 3D World Deluxe is going to be their big November game this year, along with the remasters of the other 3D Mario games.

[…]

If they feel they can release 3D World in February of next year, then they got to be pretty confident in what is planned for November/December and I can't think of anything that's been in development that would be bigger then a Mario platformer then Zelda.

Luigi Dude was close but not quite there:
- we did indeed hear of a Mario expansion, but it was for 3D World, rather than Odyssey. ½ point
- Mario 3D All-Stars came out in September, rather than November, and 3D World is next year. ½ point
- The big holiday release turned out to be Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which is basically a Zelda game. ½ point
Total: 1½ point
Soothsayer ranking: Madame Clairvoya.

BROODWARS

Well, the port train continues full steam ahead but it's gotta start slowing down now... right? How much more can still be ported/remastered at this point?

Wind Waker HD, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Wind Waker HD, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wind Waker HD, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD, Skyward Sword (today’s Mario announcements make me want to revisit the other thread).

Also: Yoshi's Woolly World & Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water.

Also Also: The Wii & Wii U Virtual Consoles.

Broodwars jinxed it and now Nintendo are releasing Fire Emblem 1 separately from their NES app for 6 dollars instead of zero. ½ point
Soothsayer ranking: Doug Bowser.

MR BUNGLE

Here are my predictions for Nintendo's first party line up in 2020

• Either BOTW 2 or Bayonetta 3 (but not both)
• A mini-game collection (Super Mario Party 2, Wario Ware, etc.
• A Mario RPG (Paper Mario or Mario and Luigi)
• A Mario Platformer (2D or 3D)
• A sports game (probably Mario)
• A Wii U port (could be one of the above, my guess is Super Mario 3D World)
• A 3DS port (could be one of the above, my guess is Kid Icarus: Uprising
• Something from a new IP
• Something from an IP we have not seen in a while
• A Kirby game
• A Donkey Kong game of some sort

-I'm counting Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics as a mini-game collection. 1 point
- Paper Mario: The Origami King came out 1 point
- Not one, but two Mario platformers: Super Mario Bros. 35 and 3D All-Stars Collection. 1 point
- Fitness Boxing 2 and Jump Rope Challenge are both new sports games. 1 point
- Multiple Wii U ports happened, 3D World is coming next year. 1 point
- No 3DS ports unless you convince me Xenoblade Chronicles is a port of the New 3DS version.
- Kirby Fighters 2 is your new Kirby game 1 point
- Jump Rope Challenge is technically a new I.P. 1 point
- Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics was a dormant I.P. since the DS days. I'm not counting Brain Training, since that had a 3DS game in Japan and PAL regions. 1 point
Total: 8 points!!!
Soothsayer ranking: S tier! Mr. Bungle, what's gonna be the winning lottery ticket?

KHUSHRENADA

It seems no one called "unannounced shadow drop Mini Directs". No one in this thread knows anything!   

[…]

With the way the Paper Mario trailer seemed to end on the odd note of Mario with the Samus helmet, it makes me wonder if this was meant for their E3 Direct and would then lead into a Metroid game announcement. Highly doubt it would be anything Prime 4 but people talked about a possible 2D Metroid game from Mercury Steam. Maybe that is what it could have been leading to.

[…]

So, I'd say it is now official that we won't be seeing a Direct this year unless something happens late December for next year releases. Nintendo is just shadow-dropping new games and sudden release dates individually instead. Not sure a new Hyrule Warriors game trying to ride the BotW coattails is really something that could compete against new consoles possibly dropping at that time over 3D World but that's what Nintendo is going with.

Khush was right about how we wouldn't see a general Direct this year. 1 point
He was also correct about none of us knowing anything, but we already knew that fact so it’s not really a prediction.
Soothsayer ranking: Captain Obvious.

OEDO

This reveal lends more credence to the 3D Mario collection rumour, since this was also part of it, and Venture Beat also casually dropped "Pikmin 3 Deluxe" as something that's supposed to be part of Nintendo's 2020 plans today as well. If those two rumours pan out, then their second half of the year lineup is starting to take shape.

Granted Oedo's were based on someone else's rumors, but hey, Lindsay Lohan built a music career on Rumors. 2 points!
Soothsayer ranking: Herbie Fully Loaded.

STRATOS

I wonder if this was the case, but it was being made for the 3DS since allegedly there were several 3DS projects that got tabled when Bowser's Inside Story bombed. So presumable it would be ported to Switch, but that change could delay the game, especially if MercurySteam has little-to-no experience working with Switch.

[...]

Also, this doesn't rule out a base SKU upgrade like the one last year that gave the Switch extra battery power.

[...]

I've seen some theories that with Zelda's 35th coming up in the Spring we may see a similar blowout for that franchise once the Mario anniversary winds down in March.

Things we could see in a Zelda anniversary:

• Wind Waker HD / Twilight Princess HD
• Re-release of 4-Swords Anniversary title (the GBA remake on DS that was released for previous anniversaries)
• Zelda 3D collection (OOT, MM, Master Quest) or a rerelease of the Gamecube Zelda collection bonus disc (though most of those are released on S/NES Online)
• 2D Zelda online battle royale (4-Swords like title?)
• Zelda Dungeon Maker announcement
• 3DS Zelda Collection (OOT, MM, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks)

I think the first three are more likely than not, the others are just me throwing ideas at the wall.

[...]

I was about to go into a breakdown of these challenges they created for themselves, but this isn't the thread for that. My point is BOTW2 and Odyssey 2 could have been planned and pushed back, so the ports could be forced to hold up the holiday lineup. I hope I'm wrong, but it is a possibility.

Stratos didn't make a lot of 2020 predictions, so the best I can do is give ½ point for the Zelda Dungeon Maker. But maybe that was already announced for Link's Awakening by that time?
Soothsayer ranking: Madame Fanadi

SURE I'LL GRADE MY OWN TEST

- Nintendo finally launches their sleep sensor for Pokémon Sleep. It's a Bluetooth device that counts snores.
- Ring Fit Adventure will get a big expansion pass. Maybe it's a sequel with a different exercise device.
- Super Mario Party 2 comes out. The last one sold close to EIGHT MILLION copies.
- Super Mario Maker 2 gets another big content update centered around a Nintendo character. (DK? Wario? WALUIGI AT LAST?)
- A new Nintendo project by Ubisoft Milan & Paris is announced, but won't release until 2021.
- Splatoon: Paint Bucket (spin-off). It's a drawing tool made by the Art Academy studio, to tap into Splatoon's artsy fanbase.
- Captain Toad 2 comes out. They've had a team porting this game twice in 2018, and added DLC to it in February last year. I think those people have been building levels ever since and a sequel releases this year.[/list]

[…]

I was pretty close with my June/July release window for the Xenoblade Chronicles remake. Will this be the year I play my virtual console copy? Will pigs fly at last?

- Ring Fit indeed got a big update (endless jogging mode, a rhythm game, and new languages support). However, it was a free update rather than a paid one, and no new accessories were produced. ½ point
- Super Mario Maker 2 did indeed get a big content update, but it was not centered around a character. Rather it added the ability to create entire worlds. ½ point
- Once again, pigs did not fly this year.
Total: 1 point I could not see mist in a crystal ball.
Soothsayer ranking: stop the count I won by a lot!!! Wow what an honor I want to thank the Academy and...

FAWFUL

Hopefully the rumor of a traditional Paper Mario comes true, and it's actually a full return with the story depth and original cast of characters like the first 3, not some "it's an RPG again but still all toads and shallow story"

Well, YMMV I suppose Fawful, but the new Paper Mario has unique characters, and a new story! Hope you weren’t disappointed.1 point
Soothsayer ranking: Merlon.

SHAYMIN

It wouldn't be the first time Nintendo dropped a questionable Zelda game on the same day as a new PlayStation console.

Some markets didn't get PS5 until November 19th, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a questionable Zelda game which released... November 20th. ½ point for Shaymin.
Soothsayer ranking: Xatu used Foresight.

MOP IT UP

I'm still hoping for Super Mario Odyssey 2.

Also what's going on with Pikmin 4? It's been years now, are we sure it wasn't in fact Hey! Pikmin? Does it really exist? And if it does exist, why does this keep happening to Pikmin?!

Why indeed, Mop It Up, for now there's Pikmin 3 Deluxe. ½ point
Soothsayer ranking: Magic 8-Birdo.

KAIRON

God I hope Pokémon Snap releases sooner rather than later. It's not that big a scope of a game, you're basically on rails so a lot of it is level design and polish and making a world look pretty without having to account for players actually navigating it freely. Could that make Fall 2020? That'd be so much fun. Or barring that at least an early 2021 release to catch the post Xmas buyers, like in February or March.

We don't really know yet Kairon! But here's ½ point for taking part!
Soothsayer ranking: participation amiibo.

ADROCK

Well, the port train continues full steam ahead but it's gotta start slowing down now... right? How much more can still be ported/remastered at this point?

Wind Waker HD, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Wind Waker HD, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wind Waker HD, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Wind Waker HD, Twilight Princess HD, Skyward Sword (today’s Mario announcements make me want to revisit the other thread).

No real predictions here, but I'm feeling generous, ½ point for Adrock.
Soothsayer ranking: Fortune Street for Nintendo Wii.

Leaderboard:
Mr Bungle: 8 points
Nickmitch: 4½ points
Insanolord: 2 points
Oedo: 2 points
Luigi Dude: 1½ point
Discord.RSS: 1 point
Fawful: 1 point
Khushrenada: 1 point
Adrock: ½ point
Broodwars: ½ point
Kairon: ½ point
Mop It Up: ½ point
Shaymin: ½ point
Stratos: ½ point

Congrats to all the winners, please join us in the next thread which can be found here!

[Khushrenada]

Wow! That's a lot of work going through everything and making up a big review for that. One honk for the best thing to come out of NWR's Discord!

[Order.RSS]

Yeah, not going through that again next time, so for the new thread I'd prefer if folks submitted their new predictions in list/bullet point format. I'm also not gonna track all predictions throughout the year, just the first month or so. So far that's working well, hope more people send in honkable visions of the future.

[Stratos]

That was a fun read!

We could always try a "betting pool-style" format for 2021. We all start at the beginning of the year to predict what will come out this year from a list and no one can pick the same thing twice, so we have a "draft" and let people make their picks from the list until everyone has three options.

The order for picking would be determined by everyone's performance last year similar to sports team drafts.

[Order.RSS]

On the bright side, 2021 might be STACKED.

Not to be pessimistic, but I think delays will stretch well into 2021. I wonder if Nintendo will try to plug some holes in their line up, by releasing Brain Training Switch in the West, or perhaps translating the Famicom Tantei Club detective games.

If they want to keep up monthly releases, something like this could be feasible I think:
September: Pokémon Crown Tundra expansion & Cadence of Hyrule expansion 2.
October: Pikmin 3 DX, Animal Crossing update & Cadence of Hyrule expansion 3.
November: Detective Pikachu
December: No More Heroes III
January: Brain Training Switch
February: Bravely Default 2 (I'm thinking this gets delayed out of 2020).
March: ...Famicom Tantei Club??? (unlikely to ever get translated, but seems like something they could spin up now.)

Just dredging this topic back up one more time to highlight how right I was last August about the Famicom Detective Club games being a possible back-up to pad out the release schedule! Although my March suggestion was 2 months too early.

[broodwars]

*Edit: Wrong topic. Please delete*

[nickmitch]

That was a fun read looking at everyone's grades!

I should've rolled forward my Splatoon prediction.