Man, there has been some really good discussion. Bear with me please because I'm catching up on several pages from overnight....
Port Rumors/Confirms
Judging from the tweets, Smash seems like the 2nd likely title. I would guess Xenoblade X is another, it would be an obvious title for the extra power of the NX.
Super Mario Maker DX is the easiest choice. Smash, Splatoon, and even Mario Kart 8 all make sense because they have a highly active online communities. For those that say that Mario Kart 9 or Splatoon 2 are on the way, I don't think that's anytime soon with the big games Nintendo has in full production right now. This new Zelda, that new Mario or 3D action title at Tokyo, and then Pikmin 4 and whatever concept mini-game title they have cooking, that alone wipes away all their 3D artists.
Hey, guys, I spoke to Emily Rogers and she says Shikamaru Ninja's predictions are the closest so far. Zelda and Smash Bros are two of the four Wii U ports coming to NX. Shikamaru Ninja named two of the other four games.
Also, Instro's post is 👌👌👌
So its Smash Bros, Zelda, and either Xenoblade or Mario Maker
I wanted to reply directly to the Emily Rogers rumor/confirm posts first. I think I misunderstood. Didn't Instro name only two titles? So from his we know Smash or XCX are right. Did I miss another Instro post where he named more titles?
James, you said "SN named two of the other four games." But you meant he named two of the other two games, right? He named MM, SSB, Splatoon and MK8. If Zelda and Smash are two, then the other two are two of MM, Splatoon and MK8. Am I understanding correctly?
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DK
Yeah.
Smash was confirmed by Serkan Toto.
Zelda is confirmed by multiple people.
These next two guesses are based on the fact that they were either expensive to make and/or didn't sell enough like their predecessors.
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
Xenoblade Chronicles X
So those are my four.
Splatoon didn't take long to make and I can see Splatoon 2 being ready in 2017 or early 2018.
Mario Kart 9 is on track for 2017 so there's no reason to port over MK8.
Hyrule Warriors with all dlc might be a potential candidate.
Minecraft is a no brainer though but I think the Wii U games being mentioned are Wii U exclusives.
No one is going to do anything with DKCTF at most its going to a handheld
I agree the games mentioned are exclusives. I do think DKTF should get a port sometime for sure since it reached such a tiny audience, but given how it wasn't a system seller--it seems like the ports are all system sellers--I'm not expecting it to get a port imminently at least, though perhaps primarily a HH one as Mihael and others have said could be more imminent.
All these ports mean BC is increasingly unlikely, I think.
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Racers at the Ready
Do you see them having another racer ready for year 1 that's not MK?
Maybe Retro Studios or one of their contract studios are making that niche Nintendo franchise racer for launch. Before the Wii U, Nintendo always loved launching their consoles with a first-party racing game.
But I'm not confident Mario Kart 8 DX is an NX candidate, but I'm also saying that I don't think Mario Kart 9 has any shot of hitting before Spring 2018. Which is why these AAA Wii U ports make sense, because they sort of fill quick gaps and don't require large art teams - which is going to be a problem with the first-party games Nintendo has in full production already.
I just wanted to mention I'd be so thrilled if the niche Nintendo racer happened as a DKR2 as rumored. Man. That would be incredible, especially with a DKR-style adventure mode. I will never stop wanting that till it happens.
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Mario Maker
Sorry, I thought they meant the WiiU game as it is right now.
Nintendo could probably make a decent alternate control scheme. Maybe even a Smartglass like setup with your phone or tablet.
It could be the center piece of their smartphone second screen experience to replace the gamepad. Anyone buying an NX would likely have a smartphone.
Actually I totally forgot about Mario maker but if the screen controller is supposed to be optional this time around, I don't see that game working well on nx (unless it comes bundled with a screen controller). That's why I choose DK. That game sold around 1M when Returns sold over 6M. Nintendo expected more and it would be a quick and simple game to port over at 1080p60 (it's already at 720p60).
Nintendo would have no problem releasing a free app on IOS/Android where you can design levels on your phone or tablet, and upload them to your account.
Here's where I sit on the SmartGlass idea. I believe if MM comes to NX, NX will have its own excellent control scheme for making levels on the console (and potentially HH), whether or not the NX console has a screen in the controller. Though an app is entirely possible, I don't think it will be the primary way to make levels. If anything I could see it being a secondary experience on the go for those with access only to a smartphone and not an NX HH. I will say about the second screen rumor, even if it's correct I don't think it was necessarily meaning SG as opposed to HH interaction or a screen in the NX console controller. I didn't get the sense it specified either way but someone please do correct me if I'm wrong.
Also, I'm skeptical that Nintendo is keen on allowing SG as a primary method of control or input for any of their console games, simply because (a) IIRC they've delineated that mobile games, will they may interact with other Nintendo games (I think this was indicated by Nintendo IIRC), will be their own experience different from the games you get on proprietary Nintendo systems and (b) I don't see Nintendo allowing for such variation in how people experience their console games in terms of controllers. They allow for many controllers in some games, but the intention is only for many different Nintendo-created controllers. If it's a touchscreen-only game through SG ... (and I'm skeptical Nintendo will make many of those since look how Kirby went over with people not being able to see the TV at the same time as the HH)... Nintendo has less control over how well that works vs. with their own controllers. If it's not a touchscreen-only controller it doesn't seem Nintendo's style to allow such variation in how their games are played and...the whole thing just seems odd to me and in opposition to Nintendo's philosophies about game play. I'm primarily thinking of active SG interaction with a game here.
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Paper Mario
Ohhhh good pickup. Would have to be a near certainty given how little we have heard.
This game is going to be a spectacular bomb on Wii U isn't it? NX would make sense if not simply to give it attention.
My only hesitation in thinking Paper Mario: Color Splash will be cross-platform is (a) it relies so heavily on the GamePad for the coloring and splashing and such. And (b) I think Nintendo may want to throw Wii U only owners a single exclusive this holiday.
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Miscellaneous
Well internally, like Nintendo's main Kyoto and Tokyo offices, we probably have three certainties.
1. The Legend of Zelda
2. "3D action title from Tokyo office"
3. Pikmin 4
Then you have to figure that they will also have another mini-game concept title at launch.
I wonder if the mini-game concept title will be a new IP or more classic Nintendo-centric again like Nintendo Land. I'm very curious to see where they'll go with it this time.
Ah, I also wanted to ask that if HH games will still have their own dedicated internal teams, isn't it entirely possible plenty of HH exclusive games are being developed as well? I.e. SML3D2, new top-down Zelda, etc. (I'm imagining AC will be cross-platform perhaps.)
New titles, definitive Wii U ports, remasters of 'other stuff' and a solid VC lineup (ideally everything we have now + more) would be very exciting launch.
My hope for VC is that as previously indicated they do fold in the VC architecture from Wii U into NX, and when they do, that they bring along every Wii U VC game day one. I don't think one more drip feed is a great idea if they can avoid it.
BTW, what do you mean by "remasters of 'other stuff" here?
Well the 3D action title from Tokyo office could be 3D Mario, or the team could pull a rabbit out of a hat with a new character title.
If the 3D action title from EPD Tokyo is not a 3D Mario, surely someone else is working on one. Imagine if it turned out Retro was doing the flagship 3D Mario game. That'd be something.
Hoping for Zelda, Mario and Metroid during launch window....but we will get Nintendoland 2, Mario Maker nx and Miitomo home edition.
Spoken like someone who never played much of the extraordinarily content-packed love letter to Nintendo that is Nintendo Land. I would absolutely love a sequel, though I don't know if it will reach wide success so I'm not sure if it should be a launch title.
I dont think is a good idea to release many ports, atleast not on release date
What does it matter if they have new games too? Xbox one and PS4 has a bunch of old ports 1st and 3rd party
Ports help build the library, at least these wont be crappy ports, they will most likely improve on the original release
Do you want a WiiU situation where it was nothing to play for like 6 months after the launch games
My two cents is that ports don't do any harm so long as there is plenty of original content as well. When I start to raise an eyebrow is when the majority of content is ports. However, if ports are going to be playable on the NX HH as well, that at least adds an entirely different dimension to them (and to show I'm playing fair, haha, I would absolutely say the same about Sly 1-3 being cross-play on Vita, for example).