Games Inbox: Was the Nintendo Direct worth watching?

The Friday letters page worries that PlayStation is ashamed of its multiformat releases, as one reader lays out his hopes for Rocksteady’s new Batman game.

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A good life
Well, that Nintendo Direct was definitely one of the weirder ones we’ve ever had. Even the fact that it happened, just days before the Switch 2 one, is crazy and I’m still not sure what the thinking was. I guess if the rumour was it was supposed to be in February something got delayed and this was just the latest they could push it back without having a Switch 1 Direct coming out after they’d just been talking about the Switch 2.

I think it was good overall though and definitely worth watching. The start and end was weak, when normally they’re the biggest games, but there were plenty of nice surprises, including stuff like that multiformat Marvel game.

I’m still not sure why Metroid Prime 4 was randomly in the middle. Does that mean they were saving other stuff till the Switch 2 Direct or is that really going to be it for now, like that other rumour said? It was right about it being shown this week, so the source obviously knows something.

I really wish the niche comeback game had been something more interesting than Tomodachi Life but what are you gonna do? At this point I don’t feel there’s really anything you can criticise the Switch about, given what a good life it’s had.
Grackle

Half committed
I certainly didn’t have two PlayStation ports on my bingo card for the Nintendo Direct. In fact, I’d have to say I didn’t get anything right, except Metroid Prime 4. A weird showcase but in a good way, but the strangest thing to me is that the PlayStation Blog makes no mention of either Patapon or the new Everybody’s Golf – both of which are on PlayStation 5 and published by Sony.

If Sony are that embarrassed about releasing multiformat games, why are they doing it? Somehow, I don’t think remasters of two ancient PSP games is going to tip the scales of their back balance but apparently they want to release them but also don’t want to tell anyone they exist? It’s the same with Xbox and making Forza Horizon 5 physical only.

These companies have got to embrace multiformat or it’s not going to work. You can’t be ashamed of it and also have it be the cornerstone of your business. I get it’s not that yet for Sony, but clearly they thought this worth doing. But apparently only by half-assing it.
Cranston

Wrong niche
We all thought the Switch had a good line-up last year, even though it was its last big year, but it’s days from retirement and it’s still announcing games that will come out in 2026? Nintendo said it would last 10 years and now it’s only one year away from that and the chances of it being the best-selling console ever are even greater.

All well deserved I’d say, even if this latest Direct was a bit of a disappointment for me. Yes, it had a lot more games than I expected. But two niche franchises to bring back and they went for Rhythm Paradise and Tomodachi Life?! Is F-Zero really dead to them?

I get it, they’re cheap games to make and not much of a risk, but it’s still a shame. But I’ll let them off because Metroid Prime 4 looked good. At least we know F-Zero is definitely next. Right, right?!
Louie

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Please explain
So there it is, in Nintendo’s own words: there will be upgraded Switch 1 games on Switch 2. It seemed obvious that they would (or rather should) do that, so I’m glad to see that Nintendo isn’t avoiding an open goal just because it seems obvious.

They’ll probably charge too much for the upgrade, but we can only deal with that problem when they announce it properly. I’m fascinated to know what’s going on with Metroid Prime 4 because I agree the graphics seem impossible on the current Switch but surely Nintendo wouldn’t show the upgraded version in a Direct that was specifically meant to be Switch 1 only?

Maybe Retro are just even more talented than we thought but I’m definitely interested in finding out more. Although I’m not sure I trust Nintendo to explain it all that clearly. That’s not been their specialist subject normally. Especially that weird virtual game card thing.
Custard

Ulterior motives
Nintendo virtual game cards can’t help but remind me of the Xbox One launch, when they tried to explain their convoluted sharing process, followed by Sony making fun of them. Admittedly that was worse, but not by much. The idea family members need to loan a game to each other is somewhat ridiculous.

Apple came up with the easiest solution a decade ago, where family members just get access to shared purchases and to avoid abuse the organiser’s credit card gets used for all purchases in the family.

Obviously, Nintendo are making it hard, to get people to buy multiple copies of a game, but as that’s the case why even bother with virtual game cards in the first place?
Tim

Direct analysis
You have to give it to Nintendo, they definitely know how to do an online showcase. They invented the concept of a Direct and they’ve got it down to a fine art, even when they’ve not got much to work with. It seems to me the secret is not lingering on anything for too long, having lots to talk about, and having a few cameos from people but no waffle or marketing talk.

This Direct did all of that but compare that to a Microsoft one, which tends to have only four or five games and is filled with beauty shots of developers pretending to be happy and spontaneous, while going on for so long you just start tuning it out. They’re also constantly doing that thing where the camera is filming them looking at a different camera, which I hate.

Sony’s problem is that they also don’t usually have enough games, and they have no presenters at all. Often there can be no sign of a human being at all, just some AI-sounding voiceover babbling away. State of Plays are often shorter than a Nintendo Direct but they feel longer because all the segments are too long and there’s too much time spent being bored.

If you’re not interested in something in a Nintendo Direct, like a farming sim, it doesn’t matter because it’ll be replaced by something else that’s completely different in a minute or two. Anyway, that’s my analysis. I give this week’s Direct a 7/10. Let’s hope next week’s is an 11.
Terry Gold

Fake retro
A good Nintendo Direct, considering it’s only for the current one, but the game that caught my attention the most was Marvel Cosmic Invasion. I love a good beat ‘em-up and I am fully behind this recent spree of fake retro games with their amazing 2D animation. Marvel games can be hit and miss, in terms of whether they sell, but I hope this is a hit, mostly because it’ll encourage other companies to do similar things.

I’m still sore that amazing looking Power Rangers one didn’t turn out to be as good as it looks, but I’d love to see the Marvel one and others do more sprite-scaling racing and the like, to homage things like OutRun and After Burner. I love all that old stuff. Next step DC Cosmic Invasion and then Marvel vs. DC!
Taylor Moon

Bat-slop
I really hope Rocksteady’s new Batman game works out, for obvious reasons of not wanting them to go bust and wanting a decent game again. I’m for them starting a whole new canon though. I don’t see any point in going back to the Arkham series, because then they’d have to account for all the nonsense that happened in Suicide Squad, including the non-explanation of why Bruce Wayne is back.

I thought Batman Beyond was the perfect idea, but this new rumour seems to say that’s not happening, which is a shame. The most important thing is just to let Rocksteady do whatever they think makes sense and don’t interfere. Suicide Squad might even have worked if there wasn’t all the executive interference.

Although I guess I’m kind of glad it failed, because that means they’ll never try again and it was the quickest route to getting a proper single-player game again. I wouldn’t say that if a load of people were laid off, but I don’t actually think they were (most of the top staff left years ago, instead).

Let’s just hope there’s not some other pointless gimmick or buzzword that gets big in the next few years, that will see the new game derailed as well. AI-designed Batman game, anyone?
Cardi

Inbox also-rans
I knew GC would be excited about that Gradius compilation as soon as it got announced. M2 ports and a brand new game on top? I think I’m pretty jazzed for it too.
Galen

GC: Hideki Kamiya will also be pleased, Salamander is one of his favourites.

Only one farming game in the Nintendo Direct?! You can definitely tell the Switch is winding down.
Preston

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The small print
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