Games Inbox: Was the summer Nintendo Direct a disappointment?

The Wednesday letters page wishes more had been shown of the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake, as a reader thinks there’s too many Xenoblade games.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The B-Team
That was a pretty strange Nintendo Direct. There was plenty in there and yet so little that seemed new or shocking. It wasn’t even the leaks that did it either, because Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake was the only thing that got leaked and they only showed that for 30 seconds. Xenoblade Genesis didn’t get leaked at all but… is that franchise really that popular? It seems so generic and un-Nintendo.

The third party support was encouraging but it was all Japanese. I don’t know that there was a single Western game in that whole 55 minutes. Maybe some of the indie games and I guess Minecraft?

Nintendo has already admitted they’ve been pandering too much to their Japanese audience, but it was really obvious here. Don’t get me wrong, I prefer Japanese developers nine times out of 10, but at the same time Xenoblade Chronicles, Splatoon, and Fire Emblem is nowhere near the top of my list when it comes to Nintendo games.

It’s been obvious since the start, but for some reason Nintendo is concentrating on its B-list franchises and while I kind of get, in that there’s nowhere to go for a lot of the big ones, it seems mad to me that we could enter year three of the Switch 2 and have not even a hint about a new Mario, Smash Bros., or Animal Crossing. Even Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is over three years old at this point, so throw us a bone Nintendo.
Cranston

Nintendo-ish Direct
I thought that was a very good Direct with a particularly strong third party showing and a few nice surprises (Pikuniku 2!).

I was a little surprised that there was so little Nintendo in the Direct. I am happy the rumours of the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake were real, but I would have liked some gameplay. No doubt it’ll turn up on Nintendo Today one random afternoon.

I felt like we probably didn’t need quite so long on thumb wars and Splatoon Raiders is getting a Direct and was in Treehouse, so maybe didn’t need as long.

Less reliance on indie titles to pad it out though, just a lot of big name third party ports. The extra power of the Switch is clearly working for Nintendo getting other devs involved.

I think besides actual Zelda gameplay, the only thing I really missed from that Direct was a teaser for a new Mario or something. Otherwise a solid 9/10.
Euclidian Boxes

Japan friendly
Really not good enough for the first Nintendo Direct in nine months. Unacceptable, even, considering this should’ve been the big one, their console is only a year old and we’ve now gone almost that whole time with no new announcements for big first party games. Y’know the very thing that people come to the Nintendo table for. If you don’t care about all the Japanese role-playing sequels, the biggest thing to look forward to is a remake they refuse to show.

How Nintendo can expect to fuel Western interest in the Switch 2 is a mystery when almost the entirety of the biggest news event of their gaming year consists of lower effort entries in legacy handheld series clearly targeting the Japanese market, yet more Japanese role-players, ports of old games, and so little else.

People talk about Nintendo fans unconditionally lapping up whatever is dished out. Well, I’m a Nintendo fan and I’m starting to think it’s the Japanese market that’s to blame, as this felt like little more than contempt for any other market. I remember speculating a few months ago, when seeing the divide in Switch 2 performance per region, that there was a risk that Nintendo would just double down on servicing Japan. It’s hard to see this as anything other than that right now, which is worrying for their direction.

Maybe that’s unfair but the alternative is that this was some sort of conscious crisis management Direct. No Mario Kart DLC, negligible new Donkey Kong-tent, no DuskBloods release date (or gameplay), yet another Xenoblade game next year when the last one isn’t even that old.

None of this is what the Switch 2 needs right now and it seems realistic to expect little more than a proper reveal of the Zelda remake in terms of big news from them until well into 2027 (if Ocarina Of Time even makes it out before then).

The best excuse I can come up with is they must be sitting on stuff like Ocarina Of Time footage and bigger news for 2027 until the Switch 2 price increases kick in, at which time rolling out better news might negate the impact. But I don’t feel like making that excuse for them right now. This should’ve been a bone thrown to patient existing Switch 2 owners and it genuinely feels like it would’ve been better if it hadn’t happened at all.
Panda

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Wrong side of bed
RE: Nintendo Direct I only skimmed most of it but wow that was bad! Games known about already that aren’t really system sellers, ports of old games from the PlayStation 5 (PlayStation 4 with Devil May Cry 5), a really poor looking Wii Sports, and unbelievably only a one minute cut scene of the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake…

Part of me is happy that Nintendo are doing so bad with the Switch 2 at the moment, so I don’t feel the need to max out my credit card and get one. Maybe towards the end of next year when a few more games have come out.
Simon

GC: Nintendo is not doing badly with the Switch 2.

Don’t ask us
What can I say, new Gears Of War going Xbox only, very disappointed but in a way, a minor win for me.

Sure, me and the troops were getting it on PlayStation 5; looking forward to it, only to have it whipped away, it would appear at the last minute.

Plus point though, one month of Game Pass for me on my mothballed Xbox Series X then that’s it done. Nice bit of gaming on the cheap, cracking strategy there Microsoft, appreciated.
RAMBO1STBLOOD (PSN ID)

Caveats and exceptions
Gears Of War E-Day and Clockwork Revolution were probably the biggest first party games at the Xbox showcase that hadn’t already been announced for other consoles. Making Spyro an exclusive would of been a statement but Microsoft seem to be treating the Activision stuff as it’s always been, multiformat. They are legally bound for Call Of Duty to stay multiformat for 10 years, as part of the Activision Blizzard sale.

Barring the obligatory Call Of Duty look, the games also opened and closed the show with the message console exclusives are back.

The two games I would imagine are among the biggest they have ready for release in the next year or so not already announced for PlayStation 5 or Switch to make an exclusive statement with.

They won’t want to renege on the stuff already announced as multiformat, because Sony and Nintendo are now partners to them. Xbox currently can’t go back to being fully exclusive due to the money spent and assets owned in relation to their console install base and Game Pass subscription numbers.

So now they are painfully trying to find a balance between being a third party publisher and console platform that at least maintains where the majority of its last reported 35 million Game Pass customers are. I don’t think the plan is to compete with Sony and Nintendo for dominance in the console space again.

The question is how many future games will be exclusive as just the two announced won’t be enough to appease disgruntled customers or attract new ones. I’m not sure there’s a sweet spot to be found and partial console exclusivity will always feel like an unsatisfying half measure.
Simundo

GC: There’s also no clear logic to it. As you yourself say, Call Of Duty is a completely separate issue to Spyro, or any other games Activision might publish, and there seems even less reason why Senua wouldn’t be an exclusive but Gears Of War and Clockwork Revolution are.

Ganbare Bakeru
Just a quick game recommendation – I recently found a great platformer/action game called Bakeru on the Switch. It’s a real gem and I am really enjoying go through it – fun combat, enjoyable special powers and not too difficult, so is an easy play.

There is a demo on the Switch store so anyone can give it a go.
Simon

The end of not-E3 season
I am absolutely floored at what an amazing time this is for gaming. It might just be the greatest two weeks in gaming history. Because we’ve had four back-to-back gaming showcases. We’ve been treated to some amazing reveals and just some amazing news, trailers, and announcements.

Wolverine gameplay, Metro 2039, a Saw game by Bloober Team, Gears Of War: E-Day and it’s an exclusive – which is fantastic news for exclusivity for Xbox. Resident Evil Code: Veronica is being remade. Stellar Blade’s sequel has been announced. A State Of Play for Phantom Blade 0, which is very highly anticipated for me personally. State Of Decay 3. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation and as if these announcements weren’t enough, we’ve also seen Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Silent Hill Townfall, Modern Warfare 4, and Halo Campaign: Evolved is releasing in a month’s time.

God Of War Laufey is official and it features Faye. The original trilogy will be remade, presumably for the PlayStation 6. As if that wasn’t even enough. As if that wasn’t enough gaming goodness we’ve had a Nintendo Direct that’s given us Kingdom Hearts 4. The myth that was just a fragment of our imagination, is real indeed. Xenoblade Genesis, which is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, is happening and there’s finally Nintendo Switch 2 versions for the original trilogy releasing.

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is releasing in September. It looks great and it’s another addition to the most stacked month in a very long time. But the one announcement for me that stands above all of them, the one that means the most to me personally, is the reveal of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake, which was just announced as the show closer for the Direct.

As a gamer who’s admittedly never played the original, I regret that I never had the chance to as a child. This is everything to me. Not just because Zelda is my favourite franchise but because Ocarina Of Time is an example of the magic of gaming. According to me personally, it’s the single greatest game Nintendo has ever made in their history. Their greatest gaming achievement. I understand that’s a debatable topic of conversation, but to see this remake is truly real, that it’s set for this year and it will revive a legendary title that stands amongst the very best that gaming has to offer. That’s just very heartwarming for this fan.

So I’ll say it right now. This is the best two weeks of gaming I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s such a fantastic time to be a gamer and that’s not even mentioning that dummer will be arriving soon. So that means we’ll be entering the marketing phase of GTA 6 very soon. Yeah, I’m just so excited and so very happy to see this all just giving me a reason to smile and feel giddy inside. That’s not even mentioning the other blessing the gaming gods have bestowed upon us: Persona 6’s announcement. Yeah, we’re so blessed.
Shahzaib Sadiq

Inbox also-rans
It’s great to know that the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake is real but would it have hurt to actually show it? Plus, that voiceover guy was awful.
Orion

I enjoyed the Nintendo Direct but I don’t think it’s going to change the mind of those that aren’t happy with the Switch 2. There was a lot of stuff in there that seems pretty niche. Do we really need that many Xenoblade games?
Colbat86

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