6 Nintendo E3 Direct Predictions You’ll Hope We’re Right About

The Nintendo Direct that is happening this year during E3 2019 will no doubt have some spectacular announcements, but let’s try to predict what will be shown, shall we?

Here are 6 Nintendo E3 Direct predictions you’ll hope we’re right about.

Two Smash DLC Character Announcements

The Joker announcement for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was easily one of the most surprising things we’ve seen out of gaming in years, and it’ll be hard to top. So how do you top it? By announcing not one, but two Smash characters in one fell swoop.

In fact, there’s already a precedent for this, as the DLC announcements for Super Smash Bros. on Wii U generally came in pairs; Lucas and Mewtwo, Roy and Ryu, then Corrin, Cloud, and Bayonetta.

Considering Piranha Plant landed in February, and Joker in April, the Smash team has had a bit of time to work on whatever, and whoever, is coming next.

Things probably aren’t ready yet, but it’s easy to see Nintendo opening their E3 direct with two crazy character announcements, or maybe bookending it with one at the beginning and one at the end.

Smash is a game definitely still on people’s minds, and considering the buzz Joker cause, two out-of-left-field announcements at E3 could cement this as an amazing E3 for Nintendo.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses DLC Plans

July finally brings us to more big first-party releases for the Nintendo Switch, and the first mainline Fire Emblem on the console.

With the series’ popularity increasing hand-over-hand in recent years, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is bound to be one of the biggest Switch titles of the year, and you can bet it’ll be a big focus for Nintendo.

Apart from new footage and details, we should also expect the announcement of DLC and post-launch plans for Three Houses.

The last three Fire Emblem games (Awakening, Fates, and Warriors) have all had extensive post-launch plans, with a helping of both paid and free DLC.

There’s no doubt we’ll see the same thing for Three Houses, with new maps and scenarios, and maybe even new characters and story.

It’s also possible that we’ll see the announcements of some new amiibo, and previous amiibo compatibility, unlocking various effects in Three Houses.

First Look at Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3

Metroid fans are chomping at the bit for Metroid Prime 4, and while we know the game has seen some development problems, and been pushed to 2020, it still seems likely that we’ll get our first proper look at it during E3.

While Nintendo won’t want to show too much, it’s important that they create a timeline for the future, showing Switch owners what they’ll be getting in 2020 past titles like Pokemon, Animal Crossing, and Luigi’s Mansion.

Metroid Prime 4 is still a ways off, but our money says that we’ll get our first gameplay trailer, just a minute or so showing Samus in glorious HD.

By the same token, it’s almost guaranteed that we’ll get our first look at Bayonetta 3, originally announced at The Game Awards in 2017.

Platinum and Nintendo have been radio silent on it since then, but with Astral Chain due out in a couple of months, it’d be the perfect time to show fans what’s next.

Recently, Gamestop’s server listed over 20 unannounced Nintendo games, and while that could mean nothing, it could also point to a wealth of announcements from this E3.

With Sony and Microsoft both gearing up for their next-generation consoles, this E3 is more important than ever for Nintendo to show they’re serious. It’s go big or go home, and showing both Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3 is certainly one way to go big.

Animal Crossing Gameplay and Early Fall Release

Pokemon is, of course, the Nintendo game of the year, but Animal Crossing pulls in a close second. For years fans have fallen in love with this wacky little simulation series, as they live out a virtual life with their animal neighbors.

By far Animal Crossing has been one of the most requested games on the Nintendo Switch, and now that we know it’s coming, it’s time to see some gameplay.

You can bet that Animal Crossing will be one of the marquee titles for Nintendo at E3, and it might even influence a bit of their booth design.

In the E3 Direct, and following Treehouse Live segments, we’re sure to see a ton of Animal Crossing gameplay, detailing new systems, characters, activities, and much more.

With the lack of any major directs in the last couple months, you can also bet Nintendo will be dropping release dates like crazy.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are probably going to take the big November release date, right before the holidays. This means that Animal Crossing will, most likely, take the early Fall slot sometimes in September or November.

If Nintendo’s looking to fill every month for the rest of the year with a big game, then our money is on Animal Crossing before Pokemon, and Luigi’s Mansion sometime in December.

Brand New First Party Game For a Longtime Series

We know of a lot of Switch exclusives coming right now, but Nintendo still has plenty of series that haven’t appeared properly on the Switch.

A huge announcement at this E3 would be a longtime series returning again with a bold new entry, whether it’s a series like Star Fox that’s gotten an entry more recently or one that’s been sleeping for a while like Golden Sun.

We also know Monolith Soft has been gearing up with new employees, and specifically hiring for a new Legend of Zelda project.

Although it’s only been two years, Nintendo has had short release times between Zelda games in the past, specifically Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.

Past that there are countless series that Nintendo could reimagine in great new ways, like F-Zero, Advance Wars, Custom Robo, WarioWare, Pikmin, Nintendogs, Pilot Wings, Earthbound, Golden Sun, the list goes on.

While everyone might have different opinions on what they want to see, there’s no doubt that we’ll see something new at E3.

A Brand New No More Heroes

Travis Strikes Again released earlier this year on Nintendo Switch, and the ending of the game seems to suggest we’ll be seeing No More Heroes 3 at some point.

To add to that, Suda51 recently confirmed he’d be attending E3 2019, and just this week he shared a strange new piece of concept art with the tag “preparing for E3 now.”

All signs seem to point to a brand new chapter of the No More Heroes franchise, and something a bit more ambitious than Travis Strikes Again. Even if No More Heroes ends up being multiplatform, there’s no doubt we’d see it first during a Nintendo event.

No More Heroes, and its sequel, first released on the Nintendo Wii, taking years to make their way to the PS3. On top of that, Travis Strikes Again was a timed Switch exclusive, and Suda51 himself seems to have a good relationship with Nintendo.

Although the Big N has plenty of games of their own to talk about, the last couple of years have shown that they want to devote just as much time to third parties, and third party exclusives.