Shack Chat: What's your wildest prediction for the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct?

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct Showcase is finally right around the corner next week, and with it will come a huge showing of details for the Nintendo Switch 2 and the games and features coming to it. We still don’t know what to expect in the new era of Nintendo, but we have a few ideas. With that, the Shack Staff opines on its wildest expectations for the April 2 Nintendo Direct.

Question: What's your wildest prediction for the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct?

Virtual Console returns - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Nintendo Owner

Nintendo Switch Online has been an undeniable hit for Nintendo. There's nothing like being able to access classic titles with features like save states, rewind, and other modern conveniences. With that said, it's not quite the Virtual Console, is it? The Virtual Console allowed for players to purchase classic games digitally and fully own them. There's a section of players that like the new way and others who pine for the way things were done during the days of the Wii, Wii U, and the DS.

I want to believe that the next Nintendo Switch will do things both ways. They'll continue with Nintendo Switch Online the way it is, but they'll also throw in a new "Purchase the Full Game" feature to allow players to fully own their game and be able to play it offline. This way, ideally everybody is left happy.

Nintendo Game Pass - TJ Denzer, Senior Would Be Surprised If This Happened

With Nintendo building out its mobile models and still holding some of the most important IP out there, I’m actually surprised the group hasn’t gone for a subscription-based game model like Game Pass. Paying a flat monthly rate to be able to always access games like Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and upcoming Switch 2 titles seems like a no-brainer at this point. What’s more, Nintendo is pretty good at launching games consistently, so I doubt we’d be waiting as long for new first-party games to come to the subscription.

New F-Zero game finally gets announced - Asif Khan, CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Sure, everyone loves Mario Kart, and Nintendo basically confirmed MK9 in the Switch 2 reveal trailer, but what fans really crave is more racing game variety and a video game that can showcase next-generation graphics of a brand-new system. The F-Zero franchise fits the bill. It’s time, Nintendo. Bring back the race of the 26th century to kick off this next great console generation in style!

It’s Here! - Bill Lavoy, Shackmaps Overlord

I’m not expecting the Nintendo Switch 2 to launch the same day as the direct, but it’s coming a lot sooner than some people think. While there have been many, many predictions on the release date, I wouldn’t be shocked to see it in late April or early May. Nintendo isn’t going to show it off, then make folks wait for months. This thing is going to be here in the very near future.

Bomberman - Sam Chandler, Gold Card Collector

Bomberman 64 is one of my favorite games of all time. It took the Bomberman franchise into a bold new dimension, had a stellar, secret-filled single player story, and a bombastic (ha!) multiplayer mode. Outside of Bomberman Hero, the game never really got back to the adventure mode, with developers focusing on the old-school style multiplayer. This needs to change, and I predict that it will.

I want Nintendo to shake hands with Konami and get more Bomberman on the Switch 2. I want more adventure modes, storylines of Bomberman defending his homeworld, levels laden with secrets and post-credit reveals. Please and thank you.

Nintendo will reveal a themed Switch 2 - Dennis White Jr., Community Manager

I feel like with how Nintendo does things, they may not have an OLED version at the start of the cycle but I could see them making a premium version for a major game drop. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond makes the most sense but it would be even cooler if there was a major franchise game announced that also gets this kind of treatment too. Bayonetta 4 would be a cool exclusive with a sweet version of the Switch 2 don’t you think?

There is a secret 2nd model - Donovan Erskine, The “GameCube is retro” guy

There’s been endless chatter about the Switch 2’s specs and features. Thanks to 3rd party accessory manufacturers, we’ve got a solid idea of how this thing will look and feel. Or do we? What if during the Direct, Nintendo revealed that there was a second model of the Switch 2? Perhaps it has an OLED screen and larger storage capacity at an increased price. It would feel very non-Nintendo, but I’d say a lot of this rollout has been a departure from how they used to handle this stuff.

Classic Nintendo features and more! - Steve Tyminski, THE Stevetendo Show!

First things first, I would love a release date reveal as well as the price reveal. I think those are two of the biggest realistic things the big N could do during the direct. Now let’s have some fun and think of a few crazy ideas. I would love to see Streetpass/Spotpass or Miiverse come back in some capacity. You want more people to take the Switch 2 on the go, give them a reason to like puzzle pieces or mini game progression. Having a system where you could gift games to your friends would be cool too.

The digital game card concept revealed during the recent Nintendo Direct, in my opinion, feels like Nintendo’s first step into doing things like that. I feel that was because those digital games can be given to your family for a limited time. We already know about a new Mario Kart game but it would be nice to hear details pertaining to a brand new Super Mario game as it’s time for a new 3D Mario game. I want more classic games added to the various Nintendo Switch Online modes like Rad Racer or the Pokemon games.

So, everyone is content, being able to vote on games you’d like added to the Nintendo Switch Online would be interesting. That way, Nintendo can see what games people would like. Then they can disregard the whole thing and do whatever they want. It’s hard to believe the Switch’s run is almost over but it’s fun to think about what’s going to change with the Switch 2!

Those are our predictions, but what are yours? Let us know in the Chatty comments below and stay tuned for the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct on April 2!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.