What We Want To See From Nintendo During Not-E3

Nintendo hasn’t announced its summer announcement plans, but we’d be very surprised if it didn’t soon. The publisher was among the first to switch from live stage shows to all-digital showcases with its Nintendo Direct presentations. In the past few years that has become even more the norm in light of the pandemic and restrictions on in-person events. So Nintendo seems likely to stick to its usual schedule of a summer reveal presentation that outlines all of its game plans for the rest of 2022 and teasers for beyond that.

We may not hear about the Nintendo Direct until it’s almost upon us, though, as Nintendo has gotten into the habit of announcing new presentations just days ahead of time. We already know of a few Not-E3 presentations, but Nintendo isn’t on the schedule yet. Whenever it does happen, though, we have high hopes for what we want to see out of the Nintendo Switch developer.

Star Fox

Like Neo in the famous bullet-dodging scene from The Matrix, Nintendo has a notorious knack for dodging every good Star Fox game idea and instead giving players something they didn’t want. This has led to multiple hiatuses over the years, presumably as Nintendo has struggled to figure out what to do with Fox, Slippy, and the rest of their anthropomorphic friends. But it’s been there the whole time, and Nintendo seems like it’s actively avoiding it: Just give us a normal Star Fox game.

No dual-screen gimmick. No unnecessary on-foot segments. No sexy saxophone solo as Fox McCloud creepily stares at a comatose blue Fox girl. All that Star Fox really has to be–or should be–is a series of on-rails levels that sometimes branch and always feature a ton of explosions and firepower. It’s admirable that Nintendo wants to make each game feel completely different from the previous ones, but that has led to some really not great Star Fox games and the erosion of a legacy that includes one of the greatest games of all time: Star Fox 64. Just make that but with new levels! I will not mind! — Gabe Gurwin

Mario Kart 9

Mario Kart 8 Ultimate is one of the most successful games in history, selling more than 45 million copies, so a sequel is definitely on the way. While Nintendo continues to support Mario Kart 8 Ultimate with new DLC tracks, we’ve already heard whispers of Mario Kart 9, and I’m hoping a Nintendo Direct summer showcase is where we finally get to see the game properly.

I’m hoping to see colorful and imaginative courses that look like something out of a fever dream, an assortment of unique power-ups (and of course, returning ones), updates to the Battle mode, and features and elements that we can’t even conceive of right now. The rumor is that Mario Kart 9 will have a new “twist,” and history has shown that Nintendo has an unmatched ability to give us what we don’t even know we want. Nintendo has an excellent track record with Mario Kart for quality, so my expectations are very high. — Eddie Makuch

Surprise me!

While I’m always up for more details on games like Breath of the Wild 2 or Metroid Prime 4, the thing I look forward to the most in any Nintendo presentation is some kind of delightful surprise that I never saw coming. The company has capitalized on that feeling throughout its various streaming showcases, but it saves the biggest moments for the summer. Whether it’s a sequel to a long-dormant franchise, a completely new game concept, or just a quirky and imaginative new way to play, I always tune into Nintendo presentations hoping to be taken off-guard. — Steve Watts

Pokemon TCG Live launch plans

While not a traditional game, Nintendo should take some time out of a possible summer presentation to talk about the digital version of one of the most popular card games in the world. The Pokemon TCG has been an incredible success for The Pokemon Company, but its digital version, currently called Pokemon TCG Online, is starting to show its age. The company has promised a new app called Pokemon TCG Live, but that version has already suffered delays. It seems due to come out soon, and Nintendo should acknowledge it, at the very least to show some level of continuing commitment to mobile games for the properties closely associated with its brand. Even better, make a version on Switch as well, so PC, mobile, and Switch players can all compete seamlessly to be the very best. — Steve Watts

Sports Story

At the end of 2019, all GameSpot editors published stories on their most anticipated games of 2020. What did I write about? Sports Story, of course. Sidebar Games’ top-down sports RPG was pushed out of its 2020 release window, and we haven’t heard much at all since then. It’s unclear if it will even launch this year. My excitement for it ties back to Golf Story, which remains one of the best Switch games nearly five years after its release.

Golf Story paid homage to the Mario sports RPGs of the Game Boy era, including Mario Golf and Mario Tennis. It featured charming characters, hilarious writing, and a wide assortment of activities in addition to old-school three-click-swing golfing. And Sports Story aims to build off of Golf Story’s wonderful foundation by offering far more variety. As the name suggests, Sports Story will feature more than just golf. We know that tennis will have a full campaign of its own (related to the delay) and other sports such as baseball, soccer, volleyball, cricket, and fishing will join the fray (golf will return, don’t worry). Sports Story sounds like a sports role-playing game that has a bit of everything, which makes it incredibly enticing to someone who adores classic role-playing sports games. And Sports Story is undoubtedly a big enough indie to be shown during a main Nintendo Direct. — Steven Petite

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 update

Can you believe that the sequel to 2017’s Breath of the Wild was originally supposed to hit shelves this year? Yeah, me neither. But bearing that in mind, it feels safe to assume Nintendo must have a lot more of this game to show than what we’ve seen so far, even if we do have to wait just a bit longer to play it.

While what I’m hoping for first and foremost is a release date, everything we’ve seen from Breath of the Wild 2 has me dying for just abitmore information on what’s to come. Allusions to Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess? Dark, Majora’s Mask-esque vibes? Princess Zelda playing a more active role? The chance to explore a sympathetic backstory for Ganon? Sign me the heck up, Nintendo. — Jessica Howard