We’ve done this for three years in a row, and for that time, we’ve either got something expertly guessed or horribly wrong. Trying to guess what Nintendo does is foolhardy at the best of times, so trying to pick what they’re going to do for the next 12 months is stupid. Let’s do it anyway.
Before we look forward, let’s take a quick look back at our predictions for 2022 and what we got right and wrong.
❌ A new 3D Mario Game (horribly wrong, no new game)
✅ Nintendo continues to ignore DK (aside from in the movie, correct)
✅ New Xenoblade game (correct, it even released earlier than expected)
❌ Wind Waker and Twilight Princess ports (wrong, but we were right about the then-unnamed Tears of the Kingdom)
✅ No Wii U ports, instead Wii Sports (Nintendo Switch Sports announced and released)
❌ Just one Pokemon game (there were two, but perhaps one should have been delayed just a little)
❌ Anything Metroid Prime or Trilogy (nothing)
A 50% hit rate right there. Maybe need to get even bolder this year?
A New 3D Mario Game
Well, for this first one, we’re not going too bold but starting with a safe bet. We thought it was a safe bet last year too, but then The Super Mario Bros movie got delayed, and a new game might not tie into that but releasing a game at the same time seems right.
We’ve gone with 3D again because it seems strange not to follow up on Odyssey either now, six years later. Then again, it’s been over a decade since the original 2D game, and maybe we’ll get that.
Why it will happen: Because we can’t be wrong two years in a row.
Why it won’t happen: Because it’ll be 2D just to throw us off.
The dreams of more realistic looking and ultra-high definition Mario games will have to wait. Yes, that’s a creepy realistic human like Toad by Miguel Vasquez. While now John from Digital Foundry has already taken the wind out of the sails of this prediction, it’s safe now to think that there’s no more Switch Pro on the way. Instead thanks to COVID and the whole global chip shortage the window is now closed on a mid-life upgrade of the system and we’ll have another year of “discourse”. Then maybe a follow up in 2024 – but hope for sooner.
Why we won’t get the Pro: It’s far too late, let’s move on – the Switch will be six years old in March.
Why we will: COVID crippled Nintendo’s plans for the system, so it’s still coming and uh they’re really far behind.
You know you write these things, and then someone comes along and says the exact same thing you were going to say. Then again saying Metroid Prime Trilogy or Metroid Prime getting remastered for the Switch isn’t anything new – but safely chalk this one up for 2023.
Seriously though there’s only so much 2000s Metroid Prime artwork out there, I can’t keep making new images each year.
Why we’ll get Metroid Prime: It’s about time.
Why we won’t get Metroid Prime: We’ll get Metroid Prime: Federation Force HD instead
Everyone’s doing it! You have to be cool and do it too – thankfully this is one trend we don’t think Nintendo are going to follow. Well not yet anyway.
While we’ve noticed last year that third party games are coming in slightly more expensive, Nintendo’s been keeping them firmly at $79.95. They’re not going to move them now so late into the generation.
However the time the non-Pro Switch comes around, we think things might change.
Why Switch games will stay the same price: As the system ages, Switch games are starting to look a little old
Why Switch games will get price rises: Pointless steel books
If you loved all of the games that were released in 2022. Well, good for you! Because you’ll be playing them a lot more in 2023. That sounds kind of negative, but it’s not really meant to be – but if you didn’t like all the games that came out in 2022 then it might be.
You see this year is going to a padded cell of season passes and DLC – it’s going to spack crackle the gaps in the launch line up. Alright that’s enough metaphors. While this year is still going to see some great games, DLC is is going to be the saviour for Nintendo in plugging the gaps under the sink – alright I’ll stop. You get it.
Oh and the Sword and Shield artwork is just there because they haven’t announced the one for Scarlet and Violet yet.
Why we’re all getting DLC: COVID
Why we’re not getting new stuff: COVID
More (more) Kirby!
While Nintendo likes to keep certain franchises on ice for a long time, Kirby gets trotted out all the time up there with Mario and Zelda. We already know there’s one Kirby game coming in 2023. That’s Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe – a port of a Wii Game – but why not more?
Last year we got the fantastic Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and then we also got Kirby Dream Buffet. Why use any other franchise and use Kirby?
What’s that, Kirby is actually popular, and people actually remember him instead of….
Quiet you!
Why Kirby will happen: Come on, its inevitable
Why Kirby won’t happen: See below
Look at this chart below. Who owns the most Nintendo Switch consoles right now? That’s right, twenty-something to thirty-somethings, and what did they all play growing up? PlayStation 2 GameCubes. What is there no way to play right now without forking out big retro bucks for an old console – Gamecube.
The NES, SNES and even my own Nintendo 64 crowd are pretty well catered (officially or unofficially) but the GameCube outside Super Mario Sunshine remains elusive. That’s why this year, with the Switch successor seemingly some time away, we’re going to see Nintendo dip into the nostalgia box and, this time, finally pull on that GameCube cord.
Come on I put Captain Falcon in the header image and everything – don’t make me a liar.
Why we’ll finally get GameCube games: Nintendo 64 games are already drying up
Monkey Paw Bonus round: We get GameCube games in HD at $80AUD.
