The last of the console makers to lay out the remainder of their 2015 plans
As has become the tradition, Nintendo is eschewing the live press conference format and supplying a pre-recorded program. What will they be talking about?
We can expect The Legend of Zelda to make some appearance, in as much as a leaked trailer has already confirmed that Hyrule Warriors will be coming to the Nintendo 3DS. We probably won’t get to see anything significant about the upcoming Wii U title, however, as Nintendo has said they will be placing their focus on games releasing in 2015.
On the plus side, this would suggest that if there’s something to get excited about in this event, the wait won’t be too long. The reverse of that is we may have to lower our expectations in regards to announcements for the less active franchises in Nintendo’s stable. A Metroid or Star Fox announcement would be welcomed, but don’t hold your breath.
With that timeline in mind, we probably have some Yoshi’s Wooly World action ahead of us and Mario Maker ought to be a lock. The new Fatal Frame is expected to land stateside by the end of the year as well, giving it at least a shot. A closer look at Chibi-Robo!: Zip-Lash for 3DS seems probable too.
I don’t think there can be any doubt that the success of Amiibo will guarantee some announcement relating to new toys or new functions in any or all of the Wii U games shown in this year’s briefing. Hopefully, more focus will be placed on software than these collectibles, but their presence should be inescapable.
The first product of the collaboration with DeNA to bring Nintendo games to mobile devices is also scheduled for a 2015 release. It’s a pretty big change in position for the publisher, something people will be expecting some discussion of. That said, it may make more sense for them to wait until Tokyo Game Show where mobile gaming is truly hot.
Expectations that significant information about Nintendo’s next console should be pretty low. While it’s hard to say how far along they are, the much better bet is on an appearance at next year’s show.
What would you like to see Nintendo do in this year’s Direct? Let us know and then come back at 9am Eastern on Tuesday, June 16, to watch the broadcast.
