Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime recently told Fox News that Nintendo has “big E3” plans this year. Nintendo’s past few E3’s have been nontraditional–and some say lackluster–by showcasing only a couple of games in separate Directs or Treehouse live streams. So what will be different this year?
Reggie assured consumers Nintendo would be featuring “a variety of games” for both Switch and 3DS at E3. While I am interested in seeing more 3DS titles, Switch games are definitely going to be the focus at E3, and hopefully we’ll see some exciting reveals as well as showcases of the hyrbid console’s confirmed games.
Read on for some educated guesses–and a couple high hopes–for Nintendo’s E3 presentation lineup this year.
Game of Show
Realistically, Super Mario Odyssey will be featured as Nintendo’s Game of Show. They’ll give us more in depth looks at gameplay mechanics and level structures, much like they did with Breath of the Wild last E3.
Virtual Console
Nintendo delayed bringing the Virtual Console to the Switch at launch. They might be waiting for their paid online service to get up and running this fall to launch it, or maybe they’re just working out some technical issues. If it doesn’t get here sooner, E3 would give Reggie the right spotlight for debuting a robust Virtual Console lineup with the existing Wii U library and a good number of new Game Cube titles.
Mobile Apps
Nintendo’s been wading into the mobile gaming market with app games like Miitomo, Super Mario Run, and Fire Emblem Heroes. All three have seen some success, and plans for an Animal Crossing app have already been announced. In fact, the game was set to release this March, but Nintendo delayed that into the ambiguous future of anywhere from April 2017 to March 2018.
E3 would be the perfect spot to get the ball rolling on Nintendo’s next mobile app game, most likely Animal Crossing.
New IP Installments
A few Nintendo IP’s are about due for new additions, with some rumors and insider chatter to back them up.
The project Pokémon Stars–a Switch port of Sun and Moon–has been in the rumor mill for some months now, and Game Freak recently posted job listings for character designers for “a globally popular RPG.” By the time E3 rolls around, Nintendo should be ready to spill the beans on this Switch Pokémon title.
Another series that’s ready for a sequel is Animal Crossing. The main series hasn’t seen a new installment since 2012’s New Leaf, and the recent Welcome amiibo update shows Nintendo is paying attention to Animal Crossing and is serious about creating more content. Maybe this new title could be the first Switch/ 3DS release. Fingers crossed.
Reboots / Remakes
If Nintendo fans like anything, it’s a good, wholesome reboot. Remakes or reboots of series like Kid Icarus, Starfox, Metroid, and F-Zero would send many players into a frenzy, and Nintendo enjoys making those frenzies. New Starfox and Metroid games have been rumored and discussed by execs for some time now. Perhaps E3 will give us that sweet reboot reveal.
Nindies
Nintendo’s really been selling those indie games for the Switch. I mean, they make up the vast majority of the eShop currently. It’s a no brainer that they’ll be showcasing an indie or two, such as the anticipated Seasons of Heaven and/or Rime.
More Third-Party
While Nintendo hyped the Switch’s third-party support prior to launch, so far we’ve seen mostly indie releases outside of Breath of the Wild. Where’s Skyrim? Where’s NBA 2K17? Where’s that Rockstar support confirmation? Maybe they’re all waiting patiently for us at E3.
It’s unlikely Nintendo will hit all these games at E3 this year, but this lineup would make for an exciting, well rounded presentation the company–and their Switch–could really use soon.
Did I miss anything you believe Nintendo will or should showcase at E3 2017? Let me know in the comments!
