Our Nintendo Predictions: 2023 Edition

Another year is here and that means it’s time for our yearly Nintendo predictions! Put on your thinking caps and join us as we try to guess what Nintendo will do next! 🧐

Check out last year’s predictions HERE to see how we did!

For Justin in 2022:

1. Wii Sports follow-up to be announced
   1. Yep, Switch Sports was announced
2. New Fire Emblem announced (remake of a previous game most likely)
   1. 0.5 point, Fire Emblem Engage announced but not a remake of a previous game
3. Xenoblade 3 gets announced
   1. Yep, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced and released in 2022!

That’s 2.5 points for Justin

For Trev in 2022:

1. COVID-19 (and its variants) will continue to lead to understandable game delays and issues with stock. Expect to see more DLC and ports as a result.
   1. Yep, we saw many delays in 2022
2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land will become the best-selling game in the entire series!
   1. Yep, it is now the best selling game in the series!
3. Wii Sports Resort will return; Switch Sports Resort? It’ll be open world a la Go Vacation and offer traditional controls for Switch Lite Players.
   1. 1 point (Half of the 2 points) since the game wasn’t an open world game like Go Vacation

That’s 3.0 points for Trev

Trev and I didn’t do great this year — I think in 2022 we were still seeing a lot of game developers recovering. Hopefully 2023 brings more success both for Nintendo and our predictions 😄🥳

Justin’s Predictions

1. Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet will receive several updates throughout 2023 including DLC
2. Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will set new sales records for the Legend of Zelda series and for Nintendo Switch games in general
3. The Pokémon Company will showcase a new trailer for the Detective Pikachu 2 video game
4. The Super Mario Bros. movie will be a success despite some misgivings about various voice actor performances
5. I know I’ve said this before but I think 2023 is the year we’ll finally see some news of what’s next for Nintendo hardware. The Switch Lite launched in 2019 and the OLED model launched in 2021. If we’re following the 2 year cycle of hardware Nintendo used in the Nintendo DS era, its most successful system ever, 2023 should be the year for it.
6. Donkey Kong was revealed to have a new design for the Mario movie. I think this year would be the right time to announce a new Donkey Kong game.
7. I’ve been hoping for Metroid Prime 4 or Metroid Prime Trilogy news for awhile, I don’t think they’ve wanted to talk about the trilogy until they have had something new to talk about for Metroid Prime 4. I think this is the year we’ll hear about both.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will have DLC announced this year, but the new content may or may not release in 2023
9. I haven’t had F-Zero on my predictions for awhile but why not? I’m hoping there’s a new game but I’d settle for an F-Zero GX remaster.
10. The Nintendo Switch will pass the PS4 and Game Boy / Game Boy Color to become the 3rd best selling system of all time. Only behind the Nintendo DS and PS2.

Wild Cards*

1. It’s been awhile since we’ve had the new iteration in the Super Mario series, I could see a new title being announced this year.
2. The Simpsons Hit & Run turns 20 in 2023, I think we’ll see a remaster or perhaps a totally new Simpsons video game. It’s time!

Trev’s Predictions

1. With the sad closure of the Wii U and 3DS eShops on March 27th, you’ll see some of their releases arrive on Switch in one form or another.
2. After rolling out a free addition of golf, Switch Sports will get even more updates in 2023. By year’s end, continued sales will also move it into the top 15 best-selling Switch games.
3. Will 30 years of StarFox get much of an anniversary celebration? Probably not, but I’m predicting we’ll see an update to an older game, either a GameCube entry or Zero, with a reworked control scheme.
4. To celebrate the first E3 since 2019, the Pure Nintendo team will again have several staffers at the show, including some new faces. Speaking of E3…
5. Did you know it’s been 5+ years since Metroid Prime 4 was announced at 2017’s E3? They’ll have to show something!
6. I predict another Pikmin 4 delay since we (oddly) saw so much more of the mobile app than actual footage. It’ll be sad, but after waiting since 2015, we can wait a little more.
7. Four years after it was announced, Detective Pikachu will finally arrive on Nintendo Switch in 2023. Maybe we’ll get some more concrete info on the movie sequel, too?
8. The Pure Nintendo podcast will continue its growth, making several “best of” lists by the end of the year. Roger and Jemma will celebrate by fueling their amiibo collections to even more heights.
9. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of NES Remix, Nintendo will release a long overdue follow-up. Will it be chunks of SNES games, N64 ones, a mashup, or something more?
10. If BOTW 2 releases in May, A Link Between Worlds HD will be Nintendo’s big Zelda game for the 4th quarter, ten years after the original landed on 3DS.

Wild Cards*

1. With Mario Kart 8 DX getting so much DLC, Nintendo decides to celebrate 20 years of Double Dash by adding the option of two characters per vehicle.
2. Pure Nintendo will return to proper print or go out in a blaze of glory trying!

*Wild Cards are worth two points

What are your predictions for 2023? Let us know in the comments!