In other words:
"If watching a Nintendo direct wasn't enough stick around for the Treehouse live event and if that's still not enough come back in a few hours and listen to us retell you everything they said plus everything we wish they had said"

It's a companion! We aren't in the business of rundowns. We do these shows under the assumption that you've already seen the Direct, though we generally try to do a solid job of making a show for those who out of the loop too.

"Mike from Star Tropics is never going to be in Smash."


-Writes in a vote for Shovel Knight-

Aww, seems like some of the panel are apathetic to the Direct. Or maybe just one.


I was excited and happy through most of the Direct. The end cap of 200cc for Mario Kart 8 was good for me because it's what I wanted since I started playing Mario Kart 8 last year.

Soren is killing it lately. I'm thoroughly enjoying your posts, sir.

Nice discussion. I didn't finish the last half hour. Neal is hilariously curmudgeony, Zachary almost doesn't know what to say until Fatal Frame comes up, and Alex is enthusiastic but awful at segues. It was a good time. 7.5/10, would listen to again.

To be fair, I don't expect Shovel Knight to get in. I just had to  follow my heart.

Also, I'd lose my mind if Mike from.StarTropics made it in. I just don't think it will ever happen. I think Shovel Knight has a better shot.

Haha, I agree with that! When you have 17 pieces of news to drill through, you kind of have to go "eff it, what's next?"

After listening to you guys this morning I have 2 thoughts

Smash write in I heard a couple weeks back I don’t remember if it was on RFN or NVC’s podcast, but the idea of Abraham Lincoln (from Codename: S.T.E.A.M.) for smash so that Nintendo could do an Abraham Lincoln Amiibo that’s what I’m writing in and I hope everyone that heard that podcast episode does the same.

Second, I was let down by 1 thing in the Nintendo Direct. I was really hoping for them to announce a Xenoblade 3D special edition new 3DS XL, but they didn’t. I would have bought such a thing in a heartbeat, but instead I’ll be playing Xenoblade 3D on my plain red new 3DS.

In a different context I think this would have been a perfectly fine Direct.  Just confirmation that SMT x Fire Emblem still exists is practically enough by itself.  But coming so soon after the Zelda delay the assumption is that this would reveal what makes up for that and it didn't.  We've still got E3 so we could still get Zelda's "replacement" in the release schedule revealed then.  But right now there is nothing to make up for Zelda's absence.

Zelda was unquestionably Nintendo's biggest game of the year (ignoring the fact that many didn't believe it would release in 2015). Nothing can make up for the gaping hole it leaves in the release schedule. I get what you're saying, but realistically, very few games could replace it or hope to fill the gap. Nintendo could have announced Retro's new Metroid, and no, it still doesn't make up for losing Zelda.

Zelda's mix of series reputation and sales potential probably couldn't be matched by any one game. Personally, I'd take a Metroid over a Zelda any day, but that series is a lot more niche. At the same time, though, given the lost cause that is Wii U hardware sales, I don't know that that means that much. A new Mario could bring mainstream appeal, but its impact would be muted by how many of those we've gotten in recent years.

Amiibo needs to go away already.

For me, the Zelda delay means nothing. I'd rather play Yoshi's Wooly World and Xenoblade Chronicles before it anyways. Heck, even the new Star Fox could be something I'd want to play more depending on how it turns out. I still haven't played Skyward Sword or Link to Both Worlds. Or Spirit Tracks even. I've got plenty of Zelda games to play but I'm not a fanatic about the series so I guess I'm one of the few who had no problem with delay.

Splatoon is the new Pikmin in the sense that it is a character drive IP that could be spun off into other forms of fiction driven media. You could make a Splatoon cartoon or comic book, but it would be much harder to make a Wii Fit cartoon.

People will write fan fiction about Splatoon, there is a enough of story (or implied story) there to capture people's imaginations. People can build a deeper fanbase around this kind of IP.

I'll bet some people have written fan fiction about Wii Fit.

I call it "Your Mother Wears Yoga Pants". Just reached number 348 on the all-time best erotica Nintendo Fan Fiction. I'm just finishing up the highly anticipated sequel "Your Father Wears Gym Shorts" so look for that in a few weeks. Then my nationwide internet eBook tour will launch the following day and end that same day after a couple minutes. With the money and fame I'm expecting to come pouring in with this venture, I won't have to bother with these forums and all you scum on them anymore. My ship's almost here and nothing can sink it now! Hasta luego, ya losers.

"Nintendo doesn't have a big game to replace Zelda."

Sony doesn't have a big first party game to replace Uncharted 4 either. I'm so sick of all the doom and gloom negativity that surrounds this industry. It's ridiculous. Games get delayed all the time(same with movies, TV shows, etc.); it's not a big deal.

I'm with you tendoboy1984.

That's ok, because Sony will have the newest Call of Duty, Madden, FIFA and Assassin's Creed games to help fill the gap.


Nintendo has...

Ugh, those gap fillers are why I don't own a PS4. AM I OUT OF TOUCH?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZVesLKOMWdI/Uo0hzM2yZ5I/AAAAAAAAVeE/Mll90gckn9c/s1600/out+of+touch.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zQTYq3K.png