Earlier this week, we released a list of predicitions for this Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. Now it’s all out there, we thought it would be fund to go back and see what we got right, what we missed on, and what caught us off guard. In short, we did pretty well. Without further ado…

What we got right

– Mario Kart was indeed the show opener, and it will indeed be a launch title. It will not carry the number 9, however. Mario Kart World is the next iteration in the kart racing series, and it’s a little different to what we’ve had so far from the series. 24 player races, more cups to compete for, but, interestingly, an open world element to proceedings. Tell you what would be fun; a little story, ala Diddy Kong Racing. There will also be a bundle, albeit without a racing stripe on the dock. Just the game and the console.

– A new Donkey Kong platformer was unveiled, with Donkey Kong Bananza acting as this shows “one last thing”. And it’s a 3D platformer, which is fun. There had been rumblings of a 3D Donkey Kong for a while, and I’m delighted to see this come to pass. A July 17th release date puts it as the first major post-launch release. I’m really excited for this one.

Image Credit: Nintendo

– Breath of the Wild and Pokemon Z-A were both used to announce the “Switch 2 Upgrade Pack” program. Both games will receive upgrades to frame rate and resolution. Upgrade Packs will be purchasable add ons to your existing games, so you don’t need to buy the whole game again. Though full Switch 2 editions will be purchasable if you did want to do that.

– Mario Smash Football was confirmed to be coming to the Gamecube library when it launches on Nintendo Switch Online, so you know what I’m counting it as a Mario Sports title announcement.

– Nintendo’s new IP turned out to be Drag x Drive, a three on three wheelchair basketball game that uses the mouse functionality to simulate propelling a wheelchair. Not sure exactly how well mouse controls will work on a home console, but you know what I’ll give it a try.

– EA FC, Madden, Hogwarts Legacy, Civilization VII, all announced. I’ll have a lap of honour for the indies, too. No Nindies Showcase, sadly, but the independent scene was represented with Hades II, Deltarune, Enter The Gungeon 2, and Hollow Knight: Silksong. Yes, really.

– Post-Direct, Nintendo announced that Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers will receive the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom upgrade packs at no extra cost. It is unclear whether this will extend to other games at the time of writing.

– The New Pro Controller got wheeled out, but none of my other peripheral shouts came to pass. I genuinely thought about putting an attachable webcam in there, but went with the attachable screen instead. Shame.

What we didn’t

– No time at all spent on the UI, focusing on the hardware itself. I’ll take a half point for my UI prediction, though. We did get a quick look post-Direct, and it’s almost exactly the same as the Switch’s homescreen.

– No Splatoon 4, no new Mario Sports title, no new Fire Emblem, and a bunch of named third party titles were not announced. Still expect them to come to the console, but they haven’t been confirmed just yet.

– No return of Streetpass! The wait goes on.

– The extra screen was ultimately tied to the idea of doing DS games on the Switch 2, and given that wasn’t announced, it would have been silly. 

Image Credit: Nintendo

– Date and Price, though I’m pretty pleased with how close we were. Our “£370 base, £420 Mario Kart bundle, June 13th” prediction ended up being “£395.99 base, £429.99 Mario Kart bundle, June 5th”. No points, but not far off.

– No new 3D Mario, and this stunned me. I thought this was a dead cert. It’ll be eight years this year since Super Mario Odyssey was released, twice the gap between Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Odyssey. 2026, maybe.

What we didn’t expect

– Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment?!? Coming out this year? Age of Calamity was one of my favourite games of 2020, but I absolutely did not anticipate this formula returning. I’m all in.

– The Gamecube is my favourite console. That was my machine. My mates and I played that thing to death for a solid 4 years after school. For it to be coming back on Nintendo Switch Online is amazing. And with a controller? I’m in heaven. Though, does that mean Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD will be shelved in favour of just releasing the original versions through this service?

– Masahiro Sakurai handling a Kirby Air Ride game came out of nowhere. He might be doing something with a Smash Bros. title somewhere in the background, but it’s nice to see him working on something else. Kid Icarus Uprising was a triumph, hopefully his magic will run through this too.

– A post-Direct detail, but game prices don’t seem to have a hard limit. Donkey Kong Bananza is £58.99 digital, £66.99 physical. Mario Kart World is £66.99 digital, £74.99 physical. That’s a kick in the stomach. Obviously, other retailers’ prices will vary, but as an RRP? Horrid.

– 4K output, up to 120 frames per second? Are you sure?- So they announced a cute little tech demo called Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which felt like a museum-y Astro’s Playroom. “Neat!” I thought. Then they referred to it as a “paid demo”. Maybe not, then.