Nintendo followed Xbox’s lead and got the ball rolling on 2023 with the latest Nintendo Direct. Before the show, Nintendo revealed that it would be mostly showcasing games set to release in the “first half of the year”, to the dismay of many hoping for a new hardware announcement. Did they show enough to ease the pain of everyone having to wait even longer to hear about the successor to the Switch? Lets dig in.
PIKMIN 4 – coming July 21, 2023
XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 3 Expansion Pass Volume 3 coming Feb 15th, 2023, Volume 4 teased
Samba De Amigo, A SEGA classic, getting a new entry coming Summer 2023
Fashion Dreamer, Nintendo Switch Exclusive from XSEED, coming 2023
Dead Cells Castlevania DLC gets dated for March 6th, 2023
Mike Bithell’s New game TRON: Identity, coming this April
Nintendo DS Title Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective getting remastered for switch, coming summer 2023
Deca Police, from Level-5, Coming 2023
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, Dated for March 17th, 2023
Splatoon 3 paid Expansion Pass revealed, part one coming spring 2023, mysterious looking part 2 coming “in the future”
Disney Illusion Island gameplay shown off in new trailer, releasing July 28th
Fire Emblem ENGAGE Expansion Pass DLC revealed
New game from DON’T NOD, Harmony: The Fall of Reverie, coming June 2023
Octopath Traveller 2 Demo containing the games opening ours revealed and shadow dropped during the show
We Love Katamari REROLL + Royal Reverie revealed, coming June 2nd. Switch Online Members get free trial
New Sea of Stars Trailer, Demo Shadow Dropped during the show
Free to play Hero Shooter Air Hockey Hybrid, Omega Strikers, Revealed. Releasing April 27th
Collection of the first three Etrian Odyessy games getting remastered for switch, coming June 1st
Advanced Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp release date re-revealed to be April 21st
New Mode for Kirbys Return to Dreamland Deluxe Revealed, game launching Feb 24th
Original Gameboy + Gameboy color added to NSO, with GameBoy Advanced also added to NSO + Expansion Pass
Metroid Prime Remastered Shadow Dropped, Retail version coming Feb 22nd
New Gameplay Trailer for Master Detective Archives RAINCODE revealed, releasing June 30th
Baten Kaitos 1 and 2 HD Remaster revealed, releasing Summer 2023
New Fantasy Life Game revealed, “The Girl Who Steals Time”, coming 2023
After a six year hiatus, New Professor Layton game revealed, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam
New set of tracks and characters coming to the Mario Kart 8 DELUXE Booster Pack
New Trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Revealed, May 12th release date confirmed. Collectors Edition also revealed
Our Take
Like always, this Nintendo Direct was full of peaks and Fashion Dreaming Valleys, but the highs in this one were immense. Perhaps seeing the fruits that shadow dropping Hi-Fi RUSH brought Microsoft, Nintendo hit us with some incredible surprises. Game Boy, and especially Game Boy Advance were some of the most wanted features for NSO+ Expansion pass since the service was revealed. These systems were relevant and having games built for them for over 15 years so the library to draw from is immense.
Metroid Prime is one of the most beloved games from the Gamecube Era and I don’t think anyone saw that shadow drop coming. Outside of the big shadow drops there were some other pleasant surprises like getting our first glimpse at DONT NOD’s next game, composed by Lena Raine no less was awesome to see, as well as the return of the beloved Professor Layton After a six year hiatus.
While having several reasons to run to our Switch’s immediately after the broadcast is a true sign of an excellent showcase, the question of when we will see the next iteration of Nintendo Hardware still looms. As we set our sights on the summer as the next likely window for a possible announcement, make sure to stay tuned to Seasoned Gaming for more updates from the house of M.
