While it is easy to get lost in the hype, 40 minutes isn’t a huge stretch of time, and Nintendo will likely represent a variety of genres. E3 also awaits in June, an event for which Nintendo will surely want to save some surprises. That being said, anything can happen, as Nintendo has thrown curveballs at the gaming community in past showings.
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Safe Bets for the February 2022 Nintendo Direct
Nintendo has a solid number of games coming out for the first few months of 2022. A few of these titles are exclusives, so Nintendo will likely want to give them another chance in the spotlight before they become available. These include Triangle Strategy and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, both of which release in March. Aside from these, there are a number of third-party releases coming to the platform like the Kingdom Hearts series, so that kind of content may receive a quick shout-out.
There have also been numerous rumors that Mario Kart 9, the next entry in Nintendo’s long-running racing franchise, may be unveiled during the showing. This should be taken with a grain of salt, but considering a number of reports have appeared in recent weeks, this may be one to watch out for. Beyond this, more information for Splatoon 3 may be in the cards, as well as for Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, as players haven’t seen much from either in a long time.
Potential Announcements for the February 2022 Nintendo Direct
In terms of upcoming heavy hitters for Switch, few games are as hyped as Breath of the Wild 2. Years after its launch, the original is considered one of the best games on the platform. While it is reasonable to assume Nintendo may save Breath of the Wild 2 for a big, final announcement at the Direct, there is also a chance it may not appear. As one of Nintendo’s biggest upcoming games, Zelda may be saved for a bigger event like E3, at which two prior teasers have debuted.
The same can be said for Bayonetta 3 by PlatinumGames. While fans were relieved to see it again during the last Direct in September 2021, there is a possibility they may have to wait longer. Based on the aforementioned trailer, Bayonetta 3 looks like a grand action game, something Nintendo may want to hold off on until closer to the Holiday season. Finally, while Pokemon is one of the biggest franchises in Nintendo’s library, new announcements for that series may be saved for Pokemon-specific Directs down the line.
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Possible Left-Field Announcements for the February 2022 Nintendo Direct
Over the years, multiple games that nobody saw coming have been revealed at Nintendo events, with Metroid Dread being a huge surprise this past E3. Speaking of the Metroid series, news regarding Metroid Prime 4 is an elephant in the room yet to be addressed. It has been three years since development on Metroid Prime 4 restarted, which should be plenty of time for a product to be shown. Since the game has been quiet for so long fans might not expect to see it show up at the first Direct of the year, but that could make it all the more memorable.
There have been other rumblings over the last several months concerning secret Nintendo projects that could pop up here. A follow-up to Super Mario Odyssey has been suggested for quite some time, as well as a new Donkey Kong game. Nothing is impossible, and fans can always keep fingers crossed, but all answers will be provided tomorrow during the February 2022 Nintendo Direct livestream.
A Nintendo Direct will take place on Wednesday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m. PST.
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