Nintendo does not have a press conference, at least not like the other platform holders do. Nintendo has been going for a while now, so they can tell at any time what their new games are and they also do, like two weeks ago with Pokémon Let’s Go . Anyway, it is E3 and they do not do that too difficult in Kyoto: they throw an extra Direct against it.
Known terrain
And that started immediately with a bang: mechgame Daemon X Machina looks good. Fast action, cool style, but otherwise few details. The game will be released in 2019 and will be made by a developer who previously made Fate / Extella. The new DLC from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 also got a trailer, and it will be released in September.
Super Mario … party?
Pokémon Let’s Go came by again with Reggie Fils-Aime, who specifically showed the Pokéball and explained what the possibilities were. Nothing new, but useful for the people who missed the first announcement.
And then the announcement that you knew it was coming. It has taken too long, because no Nintendo platform is more complete without a Mario Party game. You have to love it, it is especially fun for children, but it is part of it. Super Mario Party is one thing, and it will arrive in early October.
Fire Emblem and Fortnite
Fire Emblem Three Houses is a completely new game that will come to the Switch next year. It is still a turn-based tactical RPG, so they will not win new fans, but for Fire Emblem-adepts this is guaranteed to enjoy. The Switch is of course just as good for a game as this one as the 3DS, but soon you have the advantage of a graphical upgrade. Looks good!
Another big announcement was far from surprising but welcome: Fortnite is coming to the Switch. Of course we already knew more than a month, but it is good to know for sure. Surprisingly: the game is already released today, so you can get started right away!
Indies and others
The Switch is a grateful platform for smaller indie titles, which also emerged from the collection that was shown very briefly in a kind of montage. Overcooked 2 comes in August, Killer Queen Black comes later this year. The cool Hollow Knight is even available today!
But there are also a number of established names towards the Switch, games that you know from other platforms but which are now also available on Nintendo’s platform.
Think of Minecraft (which is June 21st), Dragonball FighterZ, the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy, Ninjala, SNK Heroines, Wolfenstein 2, The World ends with You 2, Mario Tennis Aces, Paladins, Captain Toad and – for the real lover – Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. The Switch evolves slowly to a platform where you have more than enough to do.
Smash everything and the kitchen sink
The main event was saved for the last: Super Smash Bros. There was a long discussion, with a (partial) unveiling of the characters in the game. Long story short: every character that has ever sat in any Smash game is back, including characters from outside such as Snake, Cloud, Mega Man and Ryu. In total we are talking about XX characters.
As a counterbalance, there seem to have been a very new addition, except for the Inklings from Splatoon and Ridley from Metroid (well) and it seems that balance adjustments have been made and some of the Final Smashes have been modified. It will probably be the worst of the fans: they will have a Smash Bros. where their favorite character is and they can finally leave the older versions behind. From 7 December we can get started!
And with that it was over. Few new announcements, but as always Nintendo is pulling its own plan. If they have new things to announce, they do not have to wait for a fair like this. Having said that, I hope that something will come soon in which we will learn more about a new Metroid. Really very soon.