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[Midway-AGNC-]

I've been a Nintendo fan for decades, but I can't help feeling frustrated with their current approach to announcing new games and hardware. Lately, it seems like they've adopted a strategy of staying completely silent for months—sometimes even a year—only to suddenly drop news about major titles or hardware updates just weeks before release. And while some might appreciate the surprise, I think it's fair to ask: is this really the best way to handle things?

Nintendo often justifies this by saying they don't want to overhype games too early or risk delays that disappoint fans. They've even pointed to cases like Metroid Prime 4, which was first announced back in 2017, then restarted from scratch in 2019, and only recently received a proper re-reveal with a release window. Sure, it's finally coming, but that initial early announcement is exactly what they now claim to avoid. So using it as a reason for late reveals feels a bit contradictory.

Meanwhile, companies like Sony often announce games years in advance—but at least fans know what's in the pipeline. There's transparency, conversation, and a sense of direction. With Nintendo, we're usually left in the dark, refreshing Direct schedules and social media accounts, hoping for any news. The sudden reveals might work for remakes or smaller titles, but for major franchises and new hardware, it feels like fans deserve more clarity.

And that brings me to another big issue: the vacuum of information this strategy creates. Just look at the months leading up to the expected announcement of the Switch successor. Fans, developers, and the press were left guessing, speculating, and grasping at rumors—because Nintendo wouldn't confirm anything. That level of secrecy doesn't just frustrate fans, it creates confusion in the market and among third-party partners. There's a fine line between "surprising your audience" and leaving them completely in the dark.

On top of that, we're now seeing game prices creeping up to $80–$90 USD. That's a big leap—especially for a company that's historically positioned itself as more accessible and family-friendly. And here's the thing: is this last-minute announcement strategy also being used to avoid backlash? If you only reveal a game or console weeks before launch, there's barely any time for fans to voice concerns or push for change—whether about pricing, features, or performance. It feels like a way to short-circuit community feedback rather than engage with it.

Wouldn't it be better to find a middle ground? Give us a roadmap. Let us know what's coming—even if it's vague or without firm dates. Let people get excited, plan their purchases, and feel connected. The current strategy may protect Nintendo from short-term PR headaches, but in the long run, it risks alienating the very fanbase that made the brand what it is.

What do you all think? Has Nintendo's secretive approach gone too far, or is it still working in today's gaming landscape?

 

[HRK69]

"Fans deserve more clarity."

No, what fans deserve is finished games, not PR fluff and empty promises. Clarity isn't code for "tell me everything right now or I'll throw a tantrum on Reddit."

If Nintendo showed you every project they were working on, you'd be whining about delays next

Do people really think about this in their free time? Holy shit, go play some games or something.

 

[jshackles]

Is my life enhanced or changed in any way knowing that The Elder Scrolls VI is a game that will eventually get made? Sometimes I kind of wish I could Men-in-Black-style memory wipe myself from that reveal.

Nintendo is doing this stuff exactly the way I personally prefer. "Only announce games that are less than a year away" is a pretty good measuring stick for me. If something is farther out than 12 months, my mind puts that into the "far future" category.

 

[kevboard]

I like it.
I have become tired of announcements years in advance, only for delays to be announced.

you basically can expect any game that is announced more than a year in advance to be delayed. so why announce it?

you know what the best moment in gaming for me was in recent memory? when Microsoft announced Hifi Rush and released it 1 hour later.
exactly my type of game, Dreamcast vibes, extremely polished... no delays, no unfulfilled promises, no usless speculation.

if I could change reality, this would be how every game gets released

 

[LazyParrot]

I think you severely overestimate what percentage of Nintendo's target audience even keeps up with game announcements.

 

[Boo Who?]

They don't have time for announcing shit years in advance, they have lawsuits to file.

In all seriousness, I prefer the way they keep things secret. I like getting announcements for games that will be out in a few months.

 

[bender]

Is my life enhanced or changed in any way knowing that The Elder Scrolls VI is a game that will eventually get made? Sometimes I kind of wish I could Men-in-Black-style memory wipe myself from that reveal.

 

[Midway-AGNC-]

I think most of you should actually read the full post instead of jumping into hivemind mode.

I'm asking for a middle ground, not for something to be prematurely announced on early stages and wait years for it

 

[Woopah]

Ita been particularly quiet in the run up to the Switch 2 and they were too silent, but I think it won't be like that in the next few years.

We already have their 2025 and a couple of 2026 titles. Generally I would expect first party Switch 2 games to be announced 6-12 months in advance.

 

[kevboard]

I think most of you should actually read the full post instead of jumping into hivemind mode.

I'm asking for a middle ground, not for something to be prematurely announced on early stages and wait years for it

imo Nintendo hit exactly that middleground for the most part.
launch game surprises excluded, they mostly announce and release their mid-tier games within 12 months, which imo is perfect.

more than 12 months is annoying, and you can bet will mean delays. Nintendo still does these as well, but only for massive titles it seems, which makes sense.
you can't announce something like Hyrule Warriors more than a year in advance and expect the hype cycle to stay high enough.

 

[Zacfoldor]

I think Nintendo is on the right track.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Is my life enhanced or changed in any way knowing that The Elder Scrolls VI is a game that will eventually get made? Sometimes I kind of wish I could Men-in-Black-style memory wipe myself from that reveal.

Yeah, but to be fair - you don't need a reveal trailer to broadly know that Elder Scrolls VI will be made. But yeah, I feel you as far as bringing it to "the forefront" when such a trailer is released only for crickets, mothballs, and (star)dust to be the only thing to emerge from Bethesda thereafter for years.

 

[EverythingsOverrated]

I think most of you should actually read the full post instead of jumping into hivemind mode.

I'm asking for a middle ground, not for something to be prematurely announced on early stages and wait years for it

I agree with you, especially early in a new platforms life I want to have a decent idea of games coming out over the next 2 years or so. Though I do think Nintendo announcing Metroid Prime 4 so early to completely start over from scratch has me thinking they won't ever do that again.

 

[Baemono]

Lately, it seems like they've adopted a strategy of staying completely silent for months—sometimes even a year—only to suddenly drop news about major titles or hardware updates just weeks before release.

Pretty much since 2017 then

 

[Ritsumei2020]

Nintendo should have announced MKW as a free to play game

Then make people pay for every new racer, colour, and track.

This way the game would be out much faster

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

Nintendo should have announced MKW as a free to play game

Then make people pay for every new racer, colour, and track.

This way the game would be out much faster

 

[Midway-AGNC-]

imo Nintendo hit exactly that middleground for the most part.
launch game surprises excluded, they mostly announce and release their mid-tier games within 12 months, which imo is perfect.

more than 12 months is annoying, and you can bet will mean delays. Nintendo still does these as well, but only for massive titles it seems, which makes sense.
you can't announce something like Hyrule Warriors more than a year in advance and expect the hype cycle to stay high enough.

I get where you're coming from, and yeah, announcing and releasing within a year can work — but with Nintendo, it's more about the total lack of communication than the exact timeline. They often go completely dark, leaving fans guessing for months, with no roadmap or even vague teases. That might work for smaller games, but when it comes to big franchises or hardware, it just creates confusion and frustration.

Also, that "12-month window" isn't consistent. Look at Paper Mario: Origami King, Metroid Dread, Wonder — all announced just months before launch. That's not middle ground, that's short notice. And with prices creeping toward $70–$90, people deserve more time to process, budget, and give feedback.

Other companies give at least a hint of what's coming. Nintendo's "surprise drop" style might avoid early backlash, but it also shuts down community input. A little more transparency wouldn't hurt — and would go a long way in keeping fans engaged.

 

[ADiTAR]

Get Nintendo Today, and you'll get new shit almost daily. They put some stuff in there that are fun for any fan.

 

[blacktout]

On top of that, we're now seeing game prices creeping up to $80–$90 USD.

There are no $90 USD Switch 2 games. It's insane how many people still believe this even though we've known that it was false since literal hours after the Switch 2 Direct.

Anyway, regarding the topic of the post: Yes, I personally would like to know Nintendo's full release schedule for the next year or two. As a consumer, that would help me make more informed purchasing decisions.

However, Nintendo's current strategy works better for them for at least three reasons:

1. It protects them from backlash over game delays. Pretty much every title of the Switch generation that Nintendo announced more than a year in advance ended up being delayed. Most of the games that were announced and released within a few months were probably also "delayed" at some point during their production, but there's no reputational cost for those delays. So there's not much PR upside to announcing a game early.

2. As you admit in your post, this strategy is great for building hype, because it keeps people tuning into Directs and following Nintendo YouTubers and influencers because they never know when a title they really care about will be announced, and the short reveal to release window keeps the discourse from becoming fixated on one big game at the expense of all others.

3. Nintendo *doesn't want* consumers to make informed long term budgeting decisions. They want to maximize software sales. Let's say, hypothetically, they have a new 3D Mario game coming next spring, releasing right before the next Mario movie. Well, knowing that might make you less likely to spend $80 on Mario Kart, or might make you hold off on buying a Switch 2 altogether, because you can rationalize away the FOMO of passing on purchases now by telling yourself that you're just waiting for the product you "really want," and, after all, you can always get Mario Kart World then if you still want it. It's better for Nintendo if your mental time horizon is short, not long.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Meanwhile, companies like Sony often announce games years in advance—but at least fans know what's in the pipeline

SIE haven't really been doing that this gen, my guy. Outside of some GAAS titles, and some games in 2020 and 2021 when they did in fact reveal them years ahead, they've mostly stopped with that strategy.

Saros got revealed this year, and it's releasing the next. Astro Bot was revealed and released the same year. GT7, HFW, and Ragnarok were 2 years between reveal and release, but they were originally planned for 2021 (so only a year between) before they got delayed.

We haven't had any reveals like Uncharted 4 or TLOU2, in terms of time between that and release, this gen aside from Wolverine which, well, that got leaked in a massive ransomware hack. And Insomniac are probably redesigning huge parts of the game due to the leak anyhow.

 

[Codes 208]

I'd rather wait 2-4 months than 2-4 years after an announcement

Just sayin'

 

[consoul]

Nintendo often justifies this by saying they don't want to overhype games too early or risk delays that disappoint fans. They've even pointed to cases like Metroid Prime 4, which was first announced back in 2017, then restarted from scratch in 2019, and only recently received a proper re-reveal with a release window. Sure, it's finally coming, but that initial early announcement is exactly what they now claim to avoid. So using it as a reason for late reveals feels a bit contradictory.

That's not contradictory. They did announce it too early and the delays were disappointing. It's a good example of why playing their cards closer to their chest is less likely to disappoint fans.

 

[Woopah]

I get where you're coming from, and yeah, announcing and releasing within a year can work — but with Nintendo, it's more about the total lack of communication than the exact timeline. They often go completely dark, leaving fans guessing for months, with no roadmap or even vague teases. That might work for smaller games, but when it comes to big franchises or hardware, it just creates confusion and frustration.

Also, that "12-month window" isn't consistent. Look at Paper Mario: Origami King, Metroid Dread, Wonder — all announced just months before launch. That's not middle ground, that's short notice. And with prices creeping toward $70–$90, people deserve more time to process, budget, and give feedback.

Other companies give at least a hint of what's coming. Nintendo's "surprise drop" style might avoid early backlash, but it also shuts down community input. A little more transparency wouldn't hurt — and would go a long way in keeping fans engaged.

Paper Mario and Metroid announcement were mainly a result of Covid. Apart from that they usually had 2 or 3 Directs per year.

 

[ADiTAR]

and give feedback.

What? To who?

 

[kevboard]

I get where you're coming from, and yeah, announcing and releasing within a year can work — but with Nintendo, it's more about the total lack of communication than the exact timeline. They often go completely dark, leaving fans guessing for months, with no roadmap or even vague teases. That might work for smaller games, but when it comes to big franchises or hardware, it just creates confusion and frustration.

Also, that "12-month window" isn't consistent. Look at Paper Mario: Origami King, Metroid Dread, Wonder — all announced just months before launch. That's not middle ground, that's short notice. And with prices creeping toward $70–$90, people deserve more time to process, budget, and give feedback.

Other companies give at least a hint of what's coming. Nintendo's "surprise drop" style might avoid early backlash, but it also shuts down community input. A little more transparency wouldn't hurt — and would go a long way in keeping fans engaged.

with Nintendo you can bet on what they are working on pretty reliably, which differentiates them from others imo.

like, they don't have to announce that they are working on a new 3D Mario, you just know that one will eventually release.
they don't have to tell you that a new 3D Zelda is coming, because it will eventually happen.

same with Mario Kart, Kirby, Smash Bros., now I think Splatoon is also among those guaranteed releases (Splatoon 4 will probably be announced by the end of the year)

and I feel only 3D Mario, Smash and 3D Zelda have the potential to have a more than 12 month long hype cycle, but they are also among those games that are essentially guaranteed to surface at some point.

 

[analog_future]

Fans don't "deserve" anything.

Why do people believe they deserve some kind of special treatment for liking something a lot?

The over the top entitlement of so many gamers is embarrassing .

 

[Midway-AGNC-]

There are no $90 USD Switch 2 games. It's insane how many people still believe this even though we've known that it was false since literal hours after the Switch 2 Direct.

Anyway, regarding the topic of the post: Yes, I personally would like to know Nintendo's full release schedule for the next year or two. As a consumer, that would help me make more informed purchasing decisions.

However, Nintendo's current strategy works better for them for at least three reasons:

1. It protects them from backlash over game delays. Pretty much every title of the Switch generation that Nintendo announced more than a year in advance ended up being delayed. Most of the games that were announced and released within a few months were probably also "delayed" at some point during their production, but there's no reputational cost for those delays. So there's not much PR upside to announcing a game early.

2. As you admit in your post, this strategy is great for building hype, because it keeps people tuning into Directs and following Nintendo YouTubers and influencers because they never know when a title they really care about will be announced, and the short reveal to release window keeps the discourse from becoming fixated on one big game at the expense of all others.

3. Nintendo *doesn't want* consumers to make informed long term budgeting decisions. They want to maximize software sales. Let's say, hypothetically, they have a new 3D Mario game coming next spring, releasing right before the next Mario movie. Well, knowing that might make you less likely to spend $80 on Mario Kart, or might make you hold off on buying a Switch 2 altogether, because you can rationalize away the FOMO of passing on purchases now by telling yourself that you're just waiting for the product you "really want," and, after all, you can always get Mario Kart World then if you still want it. It's better for Nintendo if your mental time horizon is short, not long.

You're right that no Switch 2 games are officially $90, but let's be real — regional pricing has already shown spikes close to that, especially in Canada and parts of Europe. So yeah, maybe not a clean "$90 USD," but the point about rising prices still stands.

As for the rest, I get the logic behind Nintendo's approach — but just because it benefits them doesn't mean it's good for us.

1. Avoiding backlash isn't the same as building trust. The "no delays if you say nothing" tactic might help PR short-term, but it also shows they'd rather stay silent than be transparent. That's not a great look.

2. The hype cycle works until it doesn't. Surprise reveals are cool, but the lack of roadmap gets tiring fast — especially when you're trying to plan purchases or just want to know if your favorite series is even alive.

3. And yeah, I totally agree Nintendo doesn't want informed budgeting — but that kinda proves the point. It's a strategy that treats fans more like impulse buyers than invested supporters.

In the end, I just think there's room for more balance. A little more clarity wouldn't kill the hype — it might even make it stronger.

SIE haven't really been doing that this gen, my guy. Outside of some GAAS titles, and some games in 2020 and 2021 when they did in fact reveal them years ahead, they've mostly stopped with that strategy.

Saros got revealed this year, and it's releasing the next. Astro Bot was revealed and released the same year. GT7, HFW, and Ragnarok were 2 years between reveal and release, but they were originally planned for 2021 (so only a year between) before they got delayed.

We haven't had any reveals like Uncharted 4 or TLOU2, in terms of time between that and release, this gen aside from Wolverine which, well, that got leaked in a massive ransomware hack. And Insomniac are probably redesigning huge parts of the game due to the leak anyhow.

Fair point — Sony has definitely dialed it back a bit this gen compared to the PS4 days. But even with that, there's still a general sense of what's coming. You get teases, logos, or updates that show some kind of roadmap. We know stuff like Wolverine and Fairgame$ are in the pipeline, even if they're far off.

With Nintendo, it's way more of a black box. No roadmap, no teases — just radio silence for months. You don't even know if a franchise is alive until a random Direct drops something. That kind of unpredictability might work for surprise hype, but it kills long-term engagement and planning.

So yeah, Sony's not perfect, but they're still more transparent than Nintendo's "you'll hear about it when we feel like it" approach.

 

[Walter Matthau]

I like Nintendo's approach, but they're only able to afford doing it because sales have been strong. If they had more desperation, we'd be seeing way more games in early or mid development being shown off to try to get the fence sitters to buy.

I don't really need them to tell me a new Mario, Pikmin, Zelda, Splatoon, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, etc. are coming because they're Nintendo staples and this should be a given. Get my hype up closer to release.

Last thing I would say is that the showcase showed off a ton of games, especially for those who don't have a PS5 or gaming PC. If anything, some of the low points of the presentation were from things they did show like Drag X Drive and GameChat. I don't feel it suffered from not having enough content.

 

[InterMusketeer]

Not sure I agree with the premise. Wasn't Metroid Prime 4 announced in 2018 or something? It's finally releasing this year. Tears of the Kingdom was announced 4 or 5 years before it came out. How long did it take Pikmin 4 to end up on shelves? Heck, they announced several Switch 1 games that are releasing next year, just a couple weeks ago.

 

[Muffdraul]

IMO in a perfect world, all devs/publishers would keep their big fat mouths shut about any upcoming project until they're no more than six months from retail availability. And that's being generous. I don't think ANY game or even new console needs more than 90 DAYS worth of marketing. Announce it, hype it, release it. There is NO reason that would get in the way of anyone's success. We fell into this bullshit protracted multi-year hype cycle only because historically a few devs fucked up and announced their next big thing too early. They didn't mean to, but things went off the rails and got delayed, and in the end the Marketing execs thought it worked in their favor and made it a strategy. (Halo 2 is the first example that comes to mind.) I think it sucks, always have. I miss the good ol' days when a new game would get announced suddenly and then next thing you knew it was on a shelf in a game shop. Somewhere in my stuff I have an old EGM from like November 1995 with a news blurb about Capcom announcing a new game called Biohazard. Then in the next issue there was an update that it had been re-titled Resident Evil. Then the next issue had a big hypey cover story preview. Then the next month you could buy Resident Evil at Toys R Us or Circuit City. Good times.

 

[Rush2112]

You don't need 'strategy' if people buy your games no matter what. Make whatever you want, announce it whenever you want, charge whatever you want and release it whenever you want.

The 'strategy' that you think you see is actually called not giving a flying F.

 

[Midway-AGNC-]

with Nintendo you can bet on what they are working on pretty reliably, which differentiates them from others imo.

like, they don't have to announce that they are working on a new 3D Mario, you just know that one will eventually release.
they don't have to tell you that a new 3D Zelda is coming, because it will eventually happen.

same with Mario Kart, Kirby, Smash Bros., now I think Splatoon is also among those guaranteed releases (Splatoon 4 will probably be announced by the end of the year)

and I feel only 3D Mario, Smash and 3D Zelda have the potential to have a more than 12 month long hype cycle, but they are also among those games that are essentially guaranteed to surface at some point.

Sure, you can assume certain franchises will come back eventually — but that's not really the same as actual communication. Just "knowing" a 3D Mario or Zelda will happen someday doesn't help with planning, excitement, or keeping fans engaged between releases.

Plus, Nintendo has a long list of series that aren't guaranteed: Donkey Kong, F-Zero, Star Fox, Kid Icarus, etc. People wait years without updates, and silence often feels like abandonment. Even for the "guaranteed" stuff, there's rarely a sense of when or how it's coming — which makes following Nintendo feel more like wishful thinking than a steady pipeline.

Would it really hurt to just confirm, "Hey, yes, a new 3D Mario is in development"? That's not spoiling anything — it's just basic transparency.

Paper Mario and Metroid announcement were mainly a result of Covid. Apart from that they usually had 2 or 3 Directs per year.

Covid definitely shook things up, yeah — but the pattern of super short-notice announcements didn't stop after that. Mario Wonder, Peach Showtime, Thousand-Year Door remake, F-Zero 99, and even the Switch OLED were all revealed just a few months (or weeks) before launch — long after the lockdown era.

And sure, we get 2–3 Directs a year, but frequency isn't the issue — it's the content. A Direct can come and go without any real roadmap or major updates. It's more about the style of communication than the number of broadcasts.

 

[Loomy]

People need to learn patience.

What good does announcing a game 2 years out actually do? All it does is adds unnecessary pressure on the team and the publisher when every other month someone publishes speculating about a release date based on a pre-rendered trailer.

Best scenario is every announcement/reveal for a game/hardware comes with a release date within 6 months.

Do you think there's ever a risk that a major publisher stops publishing games without announcing that they're no longer publishing games?

Fans, developers, and the press were left guessing, speculating, and grasping at rumors—because Nintendo wouldn't confirm anything. That level of secrecy doesn't just frustrate fans, it creates confusion in the market and among third-party partners. There's a fine line between "surprising your audience" and leaving them completely in the dark.

Blame fans and bloggers for the incessant rumours. 3rd party partners were made aware of the system specs to target for a long time now. It's why we have launch games or Switch 2 versions of games available at or near launch.

Give us a roadmap. Let us know what's coming—even if it's vague or without firm dates. Let people get excited, plan their purchases, and feel connected. The current strategy may protect Nintendo from short-term PR headaches, but in the long run, it risks alienating the very fanbase that made the brand what it is.

No. Just...no. I work in software development. External roadmaps are a fucking headache. No amount of "subject to change" disclaimer ever works.

Again, why do you need to know more than 4-6 months in advance what's coming out?

If you need more than that to plan your purchase for a game, this hobby may be too expensive for you. If you waited for Nintendo to announce the release date of a successor to an 8 year console before you started saving for it, that's on you.

Learn some patience.

 

[Hookshot]

The Switch 2 will sell out all year long even if Miyamoto shat in every box. They do not need to announce anything else this year, we knew this going going into this gen, they are coasting off of 150+ million selling console and a 60+ million selling game, this stuff is probably all paid for by a 10% return of those numbers getting the new versions.

 

[Midway-AGNC-]

People need to learn patience.

What good does announcing a game 2 years out actually do? All it does is adds unnecessary pressure on the team and the publisher when every other month someone publishes speculating about a release date based on a pre-rendered trailer.

Best scenario is every announcement/reveal for a game/hardware comes with a release date within 6 months.

Do you think there's ever a risk that a major publisher stops publishing games without announcing that they're no longer publishing games?


Blame fans and bloggers for the incessant rumours. 3rd party partners were made aware of the system specs to target for a long time now. It's why we have launch games or Switch 2 versions of games available at or near launch.


No. Just...no. I work in software development. External roadmaps are a fucking headache. No amount of "subject to change" disclaimer ever works.

Again, why do you need to know more than 4-6 months in advance what's coming out?

If you need more than that to plan your purchase for a game, this hobby may be too expensive for you. If you waited for Nintendo to announce the release date of a successor to an 8 year console before you started saving for it, that's on you.

Learn some patience.

I think you might've skimmed over what I actually wrote — I'm not asking for games to be revealed super early just for the sake of hype. I literally said I'm asking for a middle ground, not premature announcements.

No one's saying we need exact dates or full-blown trailers two years in advance. But some kind of roadmap or acknowledgment that certain things are in development — especially for major franchises or hardware — isn't some wild demand. It's about transparency, not micromanaging dev timelines.

Also, the "if you need more than 4–6 months to plan, maybe this hobby isn't for you" line is kinda wild. People budget, plan around life stuff, and want to make informed choices — that doesn't make them cheap, it makes them smart consumers.

Not everything has to be radio silence or a full-blown reveal. There's a healthy middle — and that's all I was arguing for.

 

[Griffon]

I've been thinking about it... and... no, actually I prefer to have announcement years in advance rather than a couple of months. Knowing that I have cool shit to look forward to in the future is a good thing to have in life.

 

[K' Dash]

Fuck that noise, let us know the game exists 3 months before release, anything more than a year away is worthless to me.

I can't wait to grab Donkey Kong and it's… 3 months away. Showing a game with a CGI trailer or a logo is a fucking waste of time.

 

[Woopah]

Sure, you can assume certain franchises will come back eventually — but that's not really the same as actual communication. Just "knowing" a 3D Mario or Zelda will happen someday doesn't help with planning, excitement, or keeping fans engaged between releases.

Plus, Nintendo has a long list of series that aren't guaranteed: Donkey Kong, F-Zero, Star Fox, Kid Icarus, etc. People wait years without updates, and silence often feels like abandonment. Even for the "guaranteed" stuff, there's rarely a sense of when or how it's coming — which makes following Nintendo feel more like wishful thinking than a steady pipeline.

Would it really hurt to just confirm, "Hey, yes, a new 3D Mario is in development"? That's not spoiling anything — it's just basic transparency.


Covid definitely shook things up, yeah — but the pattern of super short-notice announcements didn't stop after that. Mario Wonder, Peach Showtime, Thousand-Year Door remake, F-Zero 99, and even the Switch OLED were all revealed just a few months (or weeks) before launch — long after the lockdown era.

And sure, we get 2–3 Directs a year, but frequency isn't the issue — it's the content. A Direct can come and go without any real roadmap or major updates. It's more about the style of communication than the number of broadcasts.

So if I'm understanding correctly you'd prefer it if it games were announced a year in advance?

I think a key reason why they do this is that they like to show gameplay when they first announce a title.

 

[Midway-AGNC-]

So if I'm understanding correctly you'd prefer it if it games were announced a year in advance?

I think a key reason why they do this is that they like to show gameplay when they first announce a title.

Not necessarily a full year — I'm just asking for a bit more visibility. Even 6–9 months with some kind of roadmap or early heads-up would go a long way. Doesn't need to be a cinematic trailer or full gameplay breakdown on day one either — just knowing a game exists and is in the works is enough to get people excited and thinking ahead.

And yeah, I totally get that Nintendo likes to show gameplay upfront — that's actually a great thing. But that doesn't mean the only alternative is total silence until right before release. There's a balance to be found.

 

[JusticeForAll]

I like the way they do things. There is nothing I hate more than "hello, here is a snippet of a game. Looks cool, doesn't it? It will be out in 2 years. See you then!"

 

[Loomy]

I think you might've skimmed over what I actually wrote — I'm not asking for games to be revealed super early just for the sake of hype. I literally said I'm asking for a middle ground, not premature announcements.

No one's saying we need exact dates or full-blown trailers two years in advance. But some kind of roadmap or acknowledgment that certain things are in development — especially for major franchises or hardware — isn't some wild demand. It's about transparency, not micromanaging dev timelines.

Also, the "if you need more than 4–6 months to plan, maybe this hobby isn't for you" line is kinda wild. People budget, plan around life stuff, and want to make informed choices — that doesn't make them cheap, it makes them smart consumers.

Not everything has to be radio silence or a full-blown reveal. There's a healthy middle — and that's all I was arguing for.

I read it multiple times.

Games are in development. There are no dev teams out there sitting on their hands when the average developer makes almost $60k/year. What difference does it make to you if a game is announced 3 years before it comes out vs 6 months? If it's a kickstarter game, then yeah. You've pre-paid for it. But that's not the case here.

I still stand by my statement that if a game is announced to be released in 6 months, and you're looking at your bank account concerned that you won't be able to save $70 by then - around $3/week for that one game, let alone multiple games - then you probably should be spending your money on other things. Or saving it.

The healthy middle is a few months out. When the game is what it's going to be. There's gameplay available, and we have an idea which month it'll come out. Not vague years.

And I will say this again. External roadmaps are a terrible idea. Maybe for small to medium sized features/fixes. But for games in development? That's just crazy. What would that roadmap even look like? Just that <game> is in development, or do you want it detailed enough to show what portion of the game they're working on?

If it's the first one, we're back to why? Here's a roadmap: Nintendo is working on 1 or more Mario games, 1 or more Zelda games, 1 or more Pokemon games. How does that help you?

 

[consoul]

Tekken (1994)

 

[Midway-AGNC-]

I read it multiple times.

Games are in development. There are no dev teams out there sitting on their hands when the average developer makes almost $60k/year. What difference does it make to you if a game is announced 3 years before it comes out vs 6 months? If it's a kickstarter game, then yeah. You've pre-paid for it. But that's not the case here.

I still stand by my statement that if a game is announced to be released in 6 months, and you're looking at your bank account concerned that you won't be able to save $70 by then - around $3/week for that one game, let alone multiple games - then you probably should be spending your money on other things. Or saving it.

The healthy middle is a few months out. When the game is what it's going to be. There's gameplay available, and we have an idea which month it'll come out. Not vague years.

And I will say this again. External roadmaps are a terrible idea. Maybe for small to medium sized features/fixes. But for games in development? That's just crazy. What would that roadmap even look like? Just that <game> is in development, or do you want it detailed enough to show what portion of the game they're working on?

If it's the first one, we're back to why? Here's a roadmap: Nintendo is working on 1 or more Mario games, 1 or more Zelda games, 1 or more Pokemon games. How does that help you?

I get where you're coming from, and yeah, no one's arguing that devs aren't working or that vague early announcements help much. But again — I'm not asking for deep dev breakdowns or multi-year timelines. I'm talking about basic communication.

A roadmap doesn't have to be detailed or rigid. Just a simple "We're working on a new 3D Mario" or "Zelda's next adventure is in development" is enough. It builds trust and shows fans what direction things are heading without locking devs into deadlines or promising too much.

And about the money thing — it's not just about scraping together $70. People like to plan purchases, especially when multiple big games or even new hardware might drop close together. It's not always about affording it — it's about making smart, informed choices. That shouldn't be controversial.

So yeah, I'm not calling for 3-year hype cycles or dev diaries — just a little more clarity than total silence. That's the middle ground I'm talking about.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

OP paid actor?

 

[Woopah]

Not necessarily a full year — I'm just asking for a bit more visibility. Even 6–9 months with some kind of roadmap or early heads-up would go a long way. Doesn't need to be a cinematic trailer or full gameplay breakdown on day one either — just knowing a game exists and is in the works is enough to get people excited and thinking ahead.

And yeah, I totally get that Nintendo likes to show gameplay upfront — that's actually a great thing. But that doesn't mean the only alternative is total silence until right before release. There's a balance to be found.

I certainly get that from a personal preference perspective. But to answer the OP I don't think it has harmed them.

For example, I don't think MK World's total sales would have been notably higher if it was announced last year instead.

 

[jufonuk]

When MP 4 was announced all that time ago look how people went mental because they heard nothing about it after the announcement. The same when ToTK was delayed
I prefer the last minute announcement it hyped it up more for me. Of a game is announced years before release I kinda forget about it. I sort of go oh yeah that was coming out when it does come out.

 

[hemo memo]

Unless you're trying to play the stock market with Nintendo shares, why would it matter if they announce a game tomorrow or two years from now? The end result is the same: we either get the game or we don't. I'd much rather they just release a great game whenever it's ready, and the shadow drops are a cool bonus. Why would you need years of advance notice? If the game's good, it's good, regardless of when they decided to tell us about it.

 

[Dacvak]

I like their style of announcements. It's been BRUTAL waiting for Metroid Prime 4 this whole time, so I much prefer giving us a reveal with less than a year to wait.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Nintendo announces things when they are ready and about to be released. That means everything Nintendo announces is real, actually exists, and you'll play it soon. What are you even complaining about?

Sony announces things typically 8-12 months before release, but they are almost ready and really exist and are rarely delayed because they know it will be done soon and have planned for it. This is all right, because you know you'll eventually get it

Most other studios announce things when they are early in development. This means there is a chance for major changes, long delays, or even cancellation. This is sometimes OK and sometimes it goes badly

Microsoft announces things when someone in a meeting thinks "Oh hey this might be cool" and it doesn't actually exist, probably hasn't even entered planning stages, and will likely not exist for a decade or at all ever. This is the dumbest and worst strategy and is only used when you have actually nothing coming and are desperate to pretend you are doing something

Of the various approaches, I greatly prefer Nintendo's approach and am accepting of Sony's approach. Everyone else can go fuck themselves with their vaporware announcements, especially Microsoft

TES6 will probably have had 15 years elapse between original announcement and actual release which puts it in Duke Nukem Forever territory

 

[Midway-AGNC-]

Unless you're trying to play the stock market with Nintendo shares, why would it matter if they announce a game tomorrow or two years from now? The end result is the same: we either get the game or we don't. I'd much rather they just release a great game whenever it's ready, and the shadow drops are a cool bonus. Why would you need years of advance notice? If the game's good, it's good, regardless of when they decided to tell us about it.

Totally agree that quality matters most — no argument there. But it's not about wanting years of notice or treating this like a stock investment. It's about feeling connected to what's coming, especially as a long-time fan.

Shadow drops can be fun, but when that becomes the default approach, it leaves people in the dark. A little more visibility helps fans stay engaged, plan purchases, and just feel like they're part of the journey — not just consumers getting surprised last-minute.

Nintendo announces things when they are ready and about to be released. That means everything Nintendo announces is real, actually exists, and you'll play it soon. What are you even complaining about?

Sony announces things typically 8-12 months before release, but they are almost ready and really exist and are rarely delayed because they know it will be done soon and have planned for it. This is all right, because you know you'll eventually get it

Most other studios announce things when they are early in development. This means there is a chance for major changes, long delays, or even cancellation. This is sometimes OK and sometimes it goes badly

Microsoft announces things when someone in a meeting thinks "Oh hey this might be cool" and it doesn't actually exist, probably hasn't even entered planning stages, and will likely not exist for a decade or at all ever. This is the dumbest and worst strategy and is only used when you have actually nothing coming and are desperate to pretend you are doing something

Of the various approaches, I greatly prefer Nintendo's approach and am accepting of Sony's approach. Everyone else can go fuck themselves with their vaporware announcements, especially Microsoft

TES6 will probably have had 15 years elapse between original announcement and actual release which puts it in Duke Nukem Forever territory

Man, I've already explained this exact point multiple times in this thread — in detail. It's honestly kinda exhausting having to restate the same thing over and over.

I'm not asking for Nintendo to announce games years before they're ready. I'm not defending vaporware or praising the "announce it in a boardroom and never follow up" strategy. That's literally the opposite of what I've been saying.

What I've argued for is a middle ground — not total silence, not hype five years out, just a bit more communication and transparency. Something between "here's a game out next week" and "lol surprise, no updates for 8 months."

It's wild how many people are replying like I'm asking for a TES6 situation when I've clearly said I'm not.