Nintendo Held Two Consecutive Directs, Crammed 45 Minutes Full of Big Titles — Yet Chinese Players Say They're "Even Hungrier"
On the morning of September 9, Nintendo held a 45-minute Direct. After it ended, domestic players' reaction was telling: "Everything we most wanted to see didn't show up." First, the event itself This was the first time in Nintendo's history it held Directs on two consecutive days. On September 8 came a Legend of Zelda 40th anniversary special; on September 9, a regular general Direct hosted by Shinya Takahashi, running about 45 minutes. The 45 minutes packed in no small amount of content — more than 25 games by rough count, with release windows stretching from this winter all the way to spring 2027. The genuinely new stuff: Metroid and Kirby The two heaviest announcements of the show were two brand-new first-party Nintendo titles. One is Metroid Ravenous — a new 2D Metroid, which from the demonstration appears likely to again be handled by MercurySteam, due in January 2027. The other is Kirby and the World Beyond, a new 3D Kirby, due spring 2027. Note that both are Switch 2 exclusives. Then came the long "port list" The rest of the show, to put it bluntly, was remedial class on a massive scale. Monster Hunter Wilds was confirmed for Switch 2 on December 4, with all released updates and local multiplayer included, with the expansion Ascension following in 2027. This was the show's first announcement and a statement about hardware. Atlus brought the bigger bombshell: Persona 6 confirmed for Switch 2, with Persona 4 Revival dated for May 20, 2027. Square Enix placed Final Fantasy VII Revelation (the final chapter of the remake trilogy) on April 8, 2027, and launched Crisis Core –Final Fantasy VII– Reunion on the spot. Kingdom Hearts IV was also confirmed for a simultaneous Switch 2 release. The classic library stayed busy too: three Resident Evil titles (2/3/4), The Witcher 3, and It Takes Two (October 15) are heading to Switch 2. On the first-party side, Pikmin 4's Switch 2 edition arrives November 12 with a 72-level "Dandori Academy" mode; Xenoblade Chronicles 3's Switch 2 edition on December 3; and Fire Emblem: Threads of Fate on September 17. Mario Kart World received a free 1.8.0 update the same day, adding 10 classic tracks from the original Super Mario Kart. And the one held over from the previous day: the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is dated for November 6, on Switch 2. (Source: NetEase account "Du Chuanwu," September 10, 2026, "After Nintendo's September Direct, players are even hungrier: everything they wanted to see didn't come.") Why did Nintendo run two consecutive Directs? My judgment: Nintendo is not playing a "hit title" card right now — it's playing an "ecosystem" card. The Switch 2's hardware honeymoon has passed its hottest phase. What determines installed base from here on is no longer availability, but whether buyers have enough games to play. The structure of this Direct makes that clear: it opened with a third-party blockbuster on the scale of Monster Hunter Wilds, filled the middle with a string of legacy IPs — Persona, FF7, Resident Evil, Kingdom Hearts — and saved the emotional peak for a Kirby at the end. That ordering was clever. Use third parties to hold up the impression of "everything is playable here," then lift the mood with Kirby at the close. But the controversy is real The problem: the three phrases "Switch 2 Edition," "Definitive Edition," and "free update" took up a considerable share of the show. For players who only bought a Switch 2 and never played these games, it's a timely rescue. For veteran players who've been through it all, it's "I have to buy all of this again." When domestic players say "even hungrier," this is what they mean — a new Zelda, a new Pokémon, a new 3D Mario: none of them appeared. A few thoughts of my own The steadiest thing about Nintendo in recent years is that it never rushes to play every card at once. The new Zelda, the next generation of Pokémon — plainly being saved for 2027 or later. By Nintendo's convention, new Pokémon news will have to wait for February's Pokémon Presents. So "didn't appear" doesn't mean it doesn't exist; it means it's not time yet. But for players, the cost of waiting is real. Which side are you on? Can you accept "Switch 2 Editions + a port wave"? Or would you rather Nintendo announce fewer games and pull brand-new blockbusters forward? Head to the Gghubs comments to talk about it.