Today is a day that many have waited months for. Because today is the day that the newest Nintendo Direct arrives. After many rumors in recent weeks about when the Direct would show up, Nintendo dropped the confirmation yesterday. It’ll arrive at 4 PM CST and will be about 40 minutes long. In the announcement tweet, they also said it’d “mostly cover” the titles that’ll release in the first half of 2023. So make of that what you will. But as is tradition at this point, many fans have poured onto the internet and social media to make it known what they feel will come via the Direct.
Even insiders on Twitter have been making predictions and asking fans what they feel will happen. So what has been the consensus? What are their true hopes? There are quite a few.
The biggest consensus is that we’ll get a multi-minute trailer for Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. The game is Nintendo’s biggest title of the year that we know about, and it’s coming out in May. That means it aligns with the “focus” of the Direct. In addition, many feel the trailer will flesh out the story, gameplay elements, and the new version of Hyrule that we’ll be playing in.
There is also the hope that we’ll get the Advance Wars 1 + 2 Re-Boot Camp release date. The title was delayed indefinitely because of the war in Ukraine, and many want it to see the light of day soon. Gamers also agree that we’ll likely get trailers for upcoming February titles like Kirby and Octopath Traveler II.
Once you get past that, you get into the “fan hopes.” For example, some are hoping that Kid Icarus Uprising finally gets the Switch port many have asked for. Others are saying we might see more 3rd-party titles than 1st-party ones. For example, outside of its upcoming RPG, Square Enix is expected to make another announcement for the Switch, possibly another Switch exclusive like they’ve done in the past.
Some have even called out remakes/reboots of franchises like the Mario & Luigi Series, Golden Sun, F-Zero, and more.
While some of this may seem like “wishful thinking,” especially given the rumors about what Nintendo may be doing in 2023, it’s important to note that this is “par for the course” with Nintendo Directs.
That’s why it might be best not to predict anything and simply go in with an open mind and a fan-like heart.
