As the shadow of next generation consoles loom ever-larger, s🎀eems to be scrambling to come up with 💟a lineup for this year... or at least that's the impression we have right now. 2020 has been a pretty dire year for the Big N's marketing team.
It is almost August, and we've only had three main titles that have been published by the Japanese console maker in 2020: Paper Mario: The Origami King, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. That's two niche titles, and one highly popular title that was originally meant to release last year. And yes, Xenoblade Chronicles is an awesome game, but it has been released on the Wii, Wii U, and the New 3DS up to this point, and its expansion Future Connected left a little bit to be desired.
History Repeats Itself
The release schedule brings a sharp reminder꧅ of the Wii U. Releases were few and far between, and there were only a few tentpole games to bring people to the platform. It doesn't show a bunch of confidence to not ༺have a mainline Nintendo Direct with new reveals, since September 2019. Nintendo must know this is a poor strategy, right? Did it put most of its AAA eggs in one basket and there's very little left?
2018 was incredible for the platform with hit, after hit, after hit, but now Nintendo seems sluggish. It has opted to show us Minis this year that have barely new information, Switch ports of decade-old titles from the PS3/360 generation, and more niche titles that fail to excite the main core audience of the Nintendo Switch, like Shin Megami Tensei V, Bravely Default II, and the rough-looking 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:WWE 2K Battlegrounds.
No, The REAL Nintendo Direct
The ultimate desperation move was when Nintendo said it had a new WayForward game to showcase alongside Paper Mario: The Origami King; it turned out to be a game based on 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Bakugan, a tired kids franchise from the 2000s. That is not the image you want when all-new tech is on the horizon with PS5 and Xbox Series X. In addition, the Treehouse staff, bless them, seemed . They had awkward p꧒auses, parts where they talked over each other, 🍌and the microphone quality was less than professional.
It also disappointed Paper Mario fans as it showed that the series has on🤪ce again ignored its RPG roots by showing a lengthy and frankly mediocre 30 minute demo of the gameplay.
COVID-19 Delays
The Coronavirus has been the elephant in the room for most major platform holders, but Nintendo has been the worst impacted out of the big three. During a briefing in May, Nintendo said that the change to at-home development could delay future Nintendo titles. Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft have been more equipped to handle at-home development. Halo Infinite slated for the Holiday season, and both 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Last of Us Part 2 and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ghost of Tsushima released this year, breaking sales records.
Nintendo President 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Shintaro Furukawa said, "Times change and so does the most effective way to promote products, so there is a chance that a new, better way to present this informatiജon comes about." Well, this ain't it.
Now that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Paper Mario: The Origami King is out, we have no idea what's coming up in 2020, and with the latest Nintendo Direct Mini, all we have to look forward to right now is the Cadence of Hyrule DLC, Bravely Default 2 (which still has no firm date), maybe No More Heroes III and possibly a new Smash character from Fighters Pass 2. We have very little to look forward to that have concrete dates. All we were given during the latest Direct is that Shin Megami Tensei V will be releasing next year. It would be great if The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 had a 2020 or Early 2021 relꦓease date right about now.
The messaging needs to improve. Investors should know what is coming up from Nintendo next year that will gain more attention than niche affair. Rather than looking sheepish, it should come out swinging rather than waiting until the last minute, like the drop in a bucket announcement of Paper Mario: The Origami King through Twitter. It should reinforce the idea that the Nintendo Switch is a competitive platform in a stacked Holiday season and that it will continue with a healthy first-party lineup, unlike the Wii or the Wii U. Confirm those Zelda and Mario dates, Nintendo!
Without a clear lineup in mind and Pokémon skipping a year by going the DLC route, it feels like Nintendo fans are walking into a fog, while Sony and Microsoft have shown what's in store for their audience this year and the next. It could be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's sequel or the heavily rumored 3D Mario remasters, but without that roadmap, it might be hard for potential buyers of the Switch to feel confide💮nt in purchasing the console. Stockholders interested in investing in Nintendo could also back out, due to the poor marketing strategy.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Spider-Man: Miles Morales and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Halo Infinite are coming this Holiday season; Nintendo needs to announce their big guns, even if they're not releasing them this year. We need that confidence from a few years ago that is s✱orely missing.
Nintendo fans have been eagerly waiting for almost a year to see the big titles, or a remake, reimagining, or remaster of their under-appreciated IPs (F-Zero, Kid Icarus, Earthbound, etc.). It'sᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ time for them to deliver. For Zelda's sake, surprise us, Nintendo!