With E3 2018 set to kick off this weekend with the showcases from many of the big publishers and platformer holders in the video game industry, we thought it was high time we cooked up a fresh batch of predictions. Team Nintendo Life has gathered together its collective hopes and dreams for the show – some realistic, some ridiculous – but we also want to hear from you, the good readers of the site. So be sure to leave a comment below with your hot picks for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Mobile and Nintendo 3DS…
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, editor
Being Nintendo Switch’s second year, this feels like /the/ year the console really starts getting some exciting software. Not just more ports (of which I expect there to be many), but exclusive third-party titles built specifically for a console with Switch’s architecture. I’m really hoping to see some more vested interest from publishers such as Ubisoft, EA and Activision, and this is the time to start seeing that focus. Come on, give us a Switch-exclusive Assassin’s Creed, Ubi – you’ve got enough studios to make it happen.
I’d imagine we’re going to have some new/cameo characters for Super Smash Bros. announced, and we’re obviously getting Fortnite, but I’d really love to see more from Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4 beyond simple logo trailers. I think we could see the new Madden on Switch as it’s the most obvious candidate in EA’s remaining sports sims roster, and there’s a chance we might get confirmation of a DOOM 2 port as well.
Dave Frear, retro reviewer
I predict Sony will have a good E3 and Microsoft will once again stretch the definition of exclusive to breaking point, but Nintendo-wise I think a new Wave Race is on the way. Actually I’ve thought that since Wave Race 64 turned up on Wii U with the Kawasaki branding back, having been omitted from previous re-releases. It’s also been a long time since the last instalment although if I’m using that as an indicator I guess a new F-Zero is coming too.
That would be brilliant, but I think that ‘Star Fox: Grand Prix‘ game has pushed new F-Zero back a few years, even if it is said to be quite different. Outside of that I’m hoping for some decent third-party support. Something other than ‘oldish game with added portability’, whether that’s new multiplats or something tailored specifically for Switch. Oh, and if Nintendo could unveil the Virtual Boy Color, that’d be great.
Dave Letcavage, contributing writer
Rumors suggest it’s nowhere near a reality, but Retro Studios rounding out its own Donkey Kong Country trilogy would be my ultimate E3 announcement. Wait a minute… I lied. While that would make me one unbelievably happy human, it’s really a StarTropics reboot that could earn a smile big enough to rip my face in two. There’s just so much potential there. Sure, a top-down approach would work just fine, but I envision something more ambitious – think Zelda meets Uncharted meets EarthBound. Just the thought of a game like that has me drooling like Homer Simpson ogling a donut.
I’d also like to see Professor Layton reinvented for the Switch. Keep Layton’s Mystery Journal running yearly on 3DS until it concludes a trilogy, which is about when I expect the 3DS to go quietly into the night, but bring back the venerable Professor himself on Switch, in full polygons, with a totally new presentation/gameplay approach. Keep the essence of the series intact, but have it make as much sense as possible for the current hardware. Again, potential – and lots of it. Also, Professor Layton, Mike Jones, Banjo-Kazooie, and another DKC character in Smash, please.
Glen Fox, guides editor
I don’t remember being this excited for E3 since 2011, and I’ve got Nintendo to thank for that. The Switch has just totally revitalised my excitement for gaming. Sure, I’m intrigued about announcements from Sony, EA, Bethesda et all, but I’d be happy to just read a round-up to be honest. It’s the Nintendo Direct I’m screaming in anticipation for.
It’s amazing how the system itself can just garner so much excitement. I’m as stoked to play remasters and re-releases on Switch as I am totally new games, because it really does offer a new way to play. So far Skyrim, DOOM, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Binding of Isaac, Tropical Freeze, FIFA 18, Resi Revelations 2, Rayman Legends, Rime, Rogue Trooper, Shovel Knight, and Wonder Boy have all been given totally new leases of life for me on Switch. That’s in just over a year.
We’ve already got Crash Bandicoot, Wolfenstein II, Captain Toad, Monster Hunter Generations, and Dark Souls to come this year as well. And it speaks volumes that I’m super excited to play Dark Souls over again on Switch having literally just beat it on PS4 as well. That’s just how hungry I am for the new experiences that my wonderful Switch offers me even in older games.
But E3 is about new announcements, and right now I’m excited about the possibilities. Looking at Nintendo’s line-up, I’m not particularly that stoked though – sorry guys! I’ll play Mario Tennis Aces and Super Smash Bros., but they’re not that big of a deal to me. I’m excited about Let’s Go for sure because I love casual Pokémon games and that looks a real winner, and I’d love to see more of Fire Emblem and Metroid Prime 4, but I don’t expect to see them this year so that excitement is somewhat stifled.
It’s actually third party that I’m more excited about. I want to know what Bethesda’s planning next (PLEASE let it be one of the Fallouts, preferably 4), I’m interested in the potential changes EA might make for FIFA 19, and I really, REALLY, want a Tales game on Switch. Rumour’s Vesperia, which is awesome, but I’d also take Xillia, Symphonia, or Berseria. In fact, give me any JRPG and I’ll be happy!
So basically, it’s the possibilities that excite me most of all – and particularly what third party developers are cooking up this year, which I’m pretty amazed to be saying about a Nintendo console. Tuesday just can’t come soon enough.
Jon Cousins, Japan correspondent
The Nintendo Switch’s second E3 is an interesting one. The megaton, home run, system selling games for this fall (as well and something to do with a couple of week long last person standing phenomenon) have already been very well publicised, and Metroid/Bayonetta 3 seem a way off, but it’s the perpetual rumours of Star Fox Grand Prix that have me most curious. There’s so much more potential with the IP than just a straight up racer- a Diddy Kong Racing type set up with the dog fights and set pieces we know and love from the franchise could be super cool.
Other than that, a release date for Yoshi (and the long rumoured Pikmin 4) would be lovely and I’d love to see a few beloved 3DS titles reappear, like BoxBoy, Pushmo collections or even a port of Kid Icarus Uprising. On the 3rd party front, some more Bethesda and Rock Star support (OMG Red Dead or Switch-specific Bully on the go!), The Witness and SUPERHOT.
Liam Doolan, Australia correspondent
I was a big fan of Super Mario Maker on the Wii U when it was originally released in 2015. I used to spend hours crafting courses that required seemingly impossible manoeuvres in order to succeed. That’s why at this year’s E3 I would like to see this title announced for the Switch. I’m not exactly sure how compatible a game like this would be, due to the nature of Nintendo’s latest system, but surely the company could work its magic to make it happen. I don’t mind if it’s a port, and I’m also open to a direct sequel. At the very least, I just want to find out more about Super Smash Bros. Is it some kind of enhanced port of the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game, or is it a sequel of sorts? I guess that’s something we will find out next week based on Bill Trinen’s recent comments to the Hollywood Reporter.
Richard Atkinson, contributing writer
E3 is a magical time for the industry and, more importantly, for the gamers as it’s a time for our collective minds to run wild with what could be coming to our favourite consoles in the near future. I always tend to watch Nintendo’s E3 Direct with fairly low expectations with my faith restored in the Big N during the Treehouse segments. This year, however, I feel they need to nail the Direct with Metroid Prime 4 gameplay, a well overdue Pikmin 4 announcement, Animal Crossing (pretty please, Nintendo, don’t let us down…) and some serious and concrete Online details along with a complete overhaul of the eShop that goes live at the time of the reveal.
Needless to say, I’m expecting a bunch of ports such as Metroid Prime Trilogy to land this Holiday to tide us over and an out-of-this-world surprise that will have our jaws dropping to the floor – something along the lines of the Final Fantasy XII remake coming to Switch perhaps? Let a man dream.
Ryan Craddock, staff writer
I think the thing I want to see the most is simply anything related to Metroid Prime 4. Those 30 seconds or so from last year’s conference, with the Prime music beautifully seducing everyone in until that magic number ‘4’ was displayed, somehow managed to steal the whole show for me. I find it unlikely that we’ll see anything substantial just yet, but the hype will be very real for me if we do.
Being realistic, I’d be very surprised if we don’t see Fortnite make an appearance after all the recent hullabaloo, as well as more information on the 2018 Yoshi game and the online service launching this September. If you want some of my slightly more ‘out-there’ predictions, though, let’s say a Switch port of The Wonderful 101, something Fallout related from Bethesda, a paid-for chunk of DLC for Super Mario Odyssey with a new kingdom or two, and some kind of strange new direction for the Switch’s first Animal Crossing game.
Goncalo Lopes, contributing writer
You might consider me part dreamer, part masochist but it will come to little surprise that I have been waiting since 2003 for a new proper F-Zero to be announced. Every year I go into E3 season with that “Maybe this year!” vibe only to find nothing to appease my peculiar need for speed. I always look forward to my favourite Nintendo franchises (Star Fox, Metroid, Pilotwings, Wave Race) to get some sort of nod during the presentation. I take special attention to learn whatever Monolith Soft is up to because I need still need closure for Xenoblade Chronicles X (I would fully finance a direct sequel). I hope we learn at the very least who is developing Metroid Prime 4 and if we are getting a Nintendo 64 Mini this holiday season. Truly we are living terribly exciting times for the industry as a whole and Nintendo in particular.
So that’s our predictions for E3 2018, but what about you? What do you want to see announced for Nintendo Switch et all at the big expo of the year? Share your thoughts with the rest of the NL community below…
