Daily Debate: What Are Your Expectations for the June Nintendo Direct?
Posted on May 17 2024 by John Lortie
Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa has announced a June Nintendo Direct in the same X post as the update pertaining to the successor to the Nintendo Switch. One could argue that, since we’re still more than a few weeks from the start of June, it may be too early to speculate on what Nintendo has in store for the event. However, I doubt such an argument will stop hype and hopes for specific announcements from building.
So, let’s get a jump on it! We know from Furukawa’s post that June’s Direct will focus entirely on Switch titles coming in the second half of 2024, which might mean Nintendo has some surprise Switch announcements in store. Coupled with the most recent Direct presenting a somewhat dry lineup for 2024 (many titles announced then have now been released or are slated to release soon), this feels like the timing is right for Nintendo to give a proper farewell to its wildly successful console.
What will we see in the Direct? Well, we have a slate of Level 5-developed titles on the horizon for Switch. There are also those hoped-for Twilight Princess and Wind Waker ports, along with the rumored Metroid Prime 2 and 3, and the possibility of Metroid Prime 4. Don’t forget the rumored Fire Emblem title remake! Or – dare I say it – Silksong?
But let’s not content ourselves with these possibilities only. What about the Oracle games being remade in a similar vein as 2019 Link’s Awakening? Or ports of Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora’s Mask 3D? As unlikely as these announcements may be, they would be the talk of the Zelda community if any of them were revealed as this Direct’s “one more thing.”
社長の古川です。2015年3月にNintendo Switchの存在を公表して以来9年ぶりにSwitchの後継機種に関するアナウンスを今期中に行います。また、2024年後半のSwitchソフトラインナップをお知らせするNintendo Directを6月に実施しますが、そこでは後継機種を扱いません。誤解のないようお願いいたします。
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) May 7, 2024
In all seriousness, I’m expecting some GameCube, Wii, and Wii U ports from Nintendo, including Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD (each priced at a full retail $60 USD). We might get news of those Level 5 games, and straggling release dates for the announcements in the recent Partner Showcase that still need them. I’m also hoping Nintendo mentions a price cut for Switch and Switch Lite systems at the event, to tempt more people into the fold. I think that Metroid Prime 4 will round out the Direct with Nintendo’s “one more thing”, the announcement being that it will see an optimized release on the new console.
Really, I don’t have any pie-in-the-sky predictions for the June Direct. I expect it will be enough to keep Switch owners happy with the rest of 2024 while possibly garnering buy-in from new Switch users. It will also give a clue on Nintendo’s next steps if there is a Prime 4 release for the next system.
What do you think? What are your expectations for the June Nintendo Direct? Will we see any surprise Zelda announcements? Is Nintendo being intentionally coy by saying the June Direct will only feature Switch software? What wild announcement could Nintendo make that nobody would see coming? Head on down to the comments and let us know what you expect, no matter how untempered your expectations might be!
John’s been a Zelda fan since he was seven years old (which was a good few decades ago). He loves the last three months of the year, analog media, his family, and Tolkien. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild and his favorite game is Night in the Woods.
