Nintendo 2018 Prediction

[SkyPikachu]

So I watched this video and thought it would be cool to have a 2018 Nintendo Prediction thread.



I agree with Arlo with 2018 being a quiet year and 2019 being another monster year like 2017.

I don't think Fire Emblem will be the Holiday system seller for 2018 though there will be another game announced in Jan. What that will be I'm unsure. Mario DLC wont cut it.

I don't think we'll see VC anytime soon and I think we'll see a Sunshine HD or Galaxy 1+2 HD

We'll hear from Retro during E3

Pokemon and Metroid will be teased in E3 but little to nothing will be shown.

With how well Mario Rabbids did I wouldn't be surprised to see another spin off / cross over type thing.

Kingdom Hearts III will be on Switch.

I also think a huge overhaul of the UI will be announced as well or at least will happen during 2018 (Might not be announcement worthy)

I'm much more excited for 2019 personally.

Also I agree with the 3ds pretty much being done and I don't think they'll release another handheld console unless it's a gameboy mini.

[The Shoemaker]

I found Arlo's video to funny, just because it's such baseless speculation haha.

I'd be surprised if the online is pushed to summer 2018 when it was planned for fall 2017. I'm expecting it in January when they talk about it. Will likely be a multiplayer NES game to kick off the service. No idea what to expect with virtual console, but this is a feature people really want to see.

I would hope they have more than Kirby for the first half of the year. At this point, January will likely have nothing much beyond eshop stuff. February has the bayonetta collection so I'm not sure if we can expect a first party game. Kirby for March sounds fine. Maybe a port for April, animal crossing for may/June?

I can't think too far beyond that. I don't think we'll be getting Pokemon, but Nintendo's 30 million estimate for 2018 makes me think otherwise.

I don't think the year will be as stacked as 2017, but I hope at the very least the game releases are as consistent. I'm not expecting a year with two 97/100 meta critic games, but I am hoping for a major title every month/month and a half like 2017.

[SkyPikachu]

I found Arlo's video to funny, just because it's such baseless speculation haha.

He was announcing stuff like it was confirmed which was really weird.

[Jordan]

I don't agree with Arlo based on your description of his opinion. I don't have time to watch the actual video atm. I think 2018 will be another "monster year" for Nintendo. I think they're keeping a lid on their plans for 2018. Because they are unveiling an online service, I predict they will rush to get out at least one to three big online games in 2018. Pokemon doesn't seem likely (not including Pokken DLC), but I wouldn't put it off the table.

Third party support will also grow by leaps and bounds in 2018 now that third parties are aware that the risk takers of 2017 profited handsomely. The indie scene will continue but might be somewhat edged out by bigger names. You probably won't be seeing something like Stardew Valley in the top sellers list, but you might be seeing Tales of ____, My Hero Academia: One's Justice, Mega Man, and big name surprise titles. Valkyria Chronicles 4 will sell well. Many people have commented that in portable mode the Switch seems like a successor to the PS Vita. I personally agree with that assessment and think that a lot of the Vita audience (scarce in the West but big in Japan) will be "moving" to the Switch.

Nintendo has been mum about their plans for 2018 but it was exactly like this last December around the same time. Some of Nintendo's big sellers came out toward the end of the year: Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade 2 for example along with a spate of third party and indie titles. I predict that the successful games will receive sequels. I actually expect a Super Mario Odyssey 2 (2019) and more dlc for their other titles coming.

This might sound overly optimistic but I don't think they blew their load just yet. I genuinely expect that they're going to be buoyed by their current momentum and will try to keep up the pace. They may even release some arguably incomplete games and patch them up or add DLC to them later just to ensure a steady stream. Nintendo has a bad track record with certain things such as online, but given they are putting out an online service I really do feel like they're going to try to unveil something which makes use of it to get consumers on board.

Nintendo's experiments with farming out their franchises to third party developers have been continually successful (e.g. FE Warriors, Mario vs. Rabbids). It takes some work off of Nintendo's first party teams and seems lucrative for all parties involved. I'm expecting a continuation of that practice both with sequels and new projects. We'll see at least one or two games of this sort in 2018 imo (and 2018 dlc for existing games of this sort is pretty much confirmed).

[SkyPikachu]

I don't agree with Arlo based on your description of his opinion. I don't have time to watch the actual video atm. I think 2018 will be another "monster year" for Nintendo. I think they're keeping a lid on their plans for 2018. Because they are unveiling an online service, I predict they will rush to get out at least one to three big online games in 2018. Pokemon doesn't seem likely (not including Pokken DLC), but I wouldn't put it off the table.

What are the 3 big multiplayer games?

Smash, Mario Kart and Pokemon?

We already have MK, a Smash 4 port could happen but I'm doubtful about Smash 5 in 2018 and Pokemon (I don't really see it as an online game) but I'd be very very surprised to see that come out in 2018.

Third party support will also grow by leaps and bounds in 2018 now that third parties are aware that the risk takers of 2017 profited handsomely. The indie scene will continue but might be somewhat edged out by bigger names. You probably won't be seeing something like Stardew Valley in the top sellers list, but you might be seeing Tales of ____, My Hero Academia: One's Justice, Mega Man, and big name surprise titles. Valkyria Chronicles 4 will sell well. Many people have commented that in portable mode the Switch seems like a successor to the PS Vita. I personally agree with that assessment and think that a lot of the Vita audience (scarce in the West but big in Japan) will be "moving" to the Switch.

I agree but these type of games to me don't equal a monster year.

Nintendo has been mum about their plans for 2018 but it was exactly like this last December around the same time. Some of Nintendo's big sellers came out toward the end of the year: Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade 2 for example along with a spate of third party and indie titles. I predict that the successful games will receive sequels. I actually expect a Super Mario Odyssey 2 (2019) and more dlc for their other titles coming.

2019 is to soon for an Odyssey 2 I really really hope they take their time with it. Also it doesn't add up with the pattern. SM64 1995, SMSunshine 2002 (7 year), SMG 2007 (5 years), SMG 2 2010 (3 years), SM3DW 2013 (3 years), SMO 2017 (4 years). So my guess is 2020, 2021.

This might sound overly optimistic but I don't think they blew their load just yet. I genuinely expect that they're going to be buoyed by their current momentum and will try to keep up the pace. They may even release some arguably incomplete games and patch them up or add DLC to them later just to ensure a steady stream.

Rushing may hurt the Nintendo Quality they have though. That being said I'm trying to keep my hopes down.

Nintendo's experiments with farming out their franchises to third party developers have been continually successful (e.g. FE Warriors, Mario vs. Rabbids). It takes some work off of Nintendo's first party teams and seems lucrative for all parties involved. I'm expecting a continuation of that practice both with sequels and new projects. We'll see at least one or two games of this sort in 2018 imo (and 2018 dlc for existing games of this sort is pretty much confirmed).

This is the thing I'm most excited about. Something could be announced that surprises everyone in Jan or E3

[Kong Wen]

If there's a brand new main-series console-based Fire Emblem game coming in 2018 that's not as trash as Fates, then it'll be a monster year based on that alone. The only thing that could make it better is if it were an HD compilation of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn instead.

[The Shoemaker]

If there's a brand new main-series console-based Fire Emblem game coming in 2018 that's not as trash as Fates, then it'll be a monster year based on that alone. The only thing that could make it better is if it were an HD compilation of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn instead.

We can only dream! I would expect another super Nintendo FE to be remade under the echoes subtitle before that though.

[Jordan]

What are the 3 big multiplayer games?

Smash, Mario Kart and Pokemon?

We already have MK, a Smash 4 port could happen but I'm doubtful about Smash 5 in 2018 and Pokemon (I don't really see it as an online game) but I'd be very very surprised to see that come out in 2018.

I'm expecting something new and maybe a Smash port with a few updates.

If there's a brand new main-series console-based Fire Emblem game coming in 2018 that's not as trash as Fates, then it'll be a monster year based on that alone. The only thing that could make it better is if it were an HD compilation of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn instead.

For me Fates was great and Echoes was terrible. I mainly look at the gameplay in Fire Emblem rather than the story though (Fates' story was garbage admittedly).

I don't expect Fire Emblem in 2018 because I am expecting something a bit different with the new FE game. If Nintendo is following their pattern of making more open ended games, I'm thinking they might do something like that to evolve the FE franchise. I could see them doing something like Dragonforce/ROTK where you select a faction and conquer the others. Alternatively, I could see them expanding upon Echoes' experiments by making a single narrative in which you can actively control a character or party in towns and an overworld. I suspect in any event that they will push for a more non-linear FE that follows their somewhat new video game design philosophy.

On the other hand, I wouldn't rule out a remake of Genealogy or FE6 somewhere down the road. That will probably be a separate project.

I could see them porting PoR and RD. That's not my thing at all personally. I already own the original games and could just play them if I really wanted to. However, they didn't sell well on Gamecube/Wii yet might have some market value on Switch. If they do port PoR and RD, imo that will be a completely separate project and we'll still get a new FE game probably in 2019.

2019 is to soon for an Odyssey 2 I really really hope they take their time with it. Also it doesn't add up with the pattern. SM64 1995, SMSunshine 2002 (7 year), SMG 2007 (5 years), SMG 2 2010 (3 years), SM3DW 2013 (3 years), SMO 2017 (4 years). So my guess is 2020, 2021.

By the way, I could also see them creating some kind of dlc expansion for Odyssey with new levels instead.

Update: Supposedly there is going to be a Bandai-Namco event tomorrow which will reveal new games for Switch.

[The Shoemaker]

Thinking over it again, I think we can expect to see possibly even more first party titles in 2018 than we saw in 2017, if Nintendo is done with the 3DS.

3DS in 2017 got Yoshi Wolly World, Fire Emblem Echoes, Mario Sports Superstar, Ever Oasis, Miitopia, Metroid Samus Returns, Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, Mario Party the top 100, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Not top tier support by any means, but certainly a good amount of first party games. 3DS also received a few choice third party offerings like Dragon Quest VIII, Etrian Odyssey V, Yokai Watch 2 and Monster Hunter Stories.

Take those resources and convert them to even just a few more Switch games. I could see 2018 being a medium to big game a month scenario.

[Jordan]

There are some crazy rumors floating around right now about Pokemon. One is that Gamefreak is looking into making a non-turn based Pokemon RPG. Another is that Gamefreak is thinking of a 2018 release. Finally, I read somewhere that they are thinking of keeping the Z moves but giving players the ability to activate them with motion controls (this is the most hilarious rumor I've heard).