Our Nintendo 2026 Predictions Spectacular - NVC 794

Global innovation is accelerating, but how are businesses staying in the fast lane? AWS AI is how? Like Formula One. Tying race action into real time insights, and the AI momentum doesn't stop there. From energy companies using smart grids to prevent surges, to educators personalizing lessons to move at every student's speed. Across industry's worldwide, AWS AI is how industry leaders stay ahead. I'm joined by Seth Macy. Happy New Year to all. Rev Valentine. New Year, New Horizons, folks. Quite literally, and Brian Altano. I don't have anything to top that. It's too early in the year. Happy hello, everyone. Well, this week we are glasses bald, glasses bald. The cold open that everyone loved from our last show last year. But we have a really fun show to kick off 2026. We are going to preview everything we know is coming to Switch and Switch 2 from Nintendo, some third party highlights. And we'll finish with one of my favorite segments of the entire year are Nintendo 2026 predictions. So let's get right into it here. What do we already know is on the books in 2026. Rev mentioned it at the top of the show first up. Animal Crossing, New Horizons, Nintendo Switch 2 edition on January 15, along with version 3.0, which is actually the bulk of the content that is coming to Switch 1 as well as Switch 2. And the Switch 2 upgrade packets, you mouse controls and more players and multiplayer and megaphone so you can scream at your villagers. Rev, you did a preview with Miranda who played New Horizons, the new content. Kind of what's your take so far? Well, she played it and I did not. So it was mostly me asking her questions. I've gone back to my Animal Crossing Island in the last couple days in preparation for this event. This is a really pleasant surprise, I think. Nobody was really expecting there to be any further updates to this game. I think maybe at most we would have said, okay, maybe it'll get like a slightly nice visual improvement patch for Switch 2 or like, you know, a free upgrade or something. But they had made it pretty clear they weren't doing any more new content. And this update doesn't seem to be massive, but it's just, it's a bonus. It's something we weren't expecting. It's more things to decorate. It's more stuff going on. The multiplayer, like the increase in number of players you can have on your island is one of those things that I wished we'd had. Like, oh my god. No, no, not six years ago. It was not six years ago. Six years ago. Six years ago, I wish we'd had this. And now it sort of feels like, well, where am I going to find this many people who all want to hang out on my island? But I don't know at the same time. Maybe we're all going to get really into Animal Crossing again. I think the one sort of disappointing thing about this is that it's leading some people including myself to suspect that maybe there's not a new Animal Crossing game at each time soon because they just did this. And I don't know what they're going to do as far as new games. Like that team also works on Splatoon and who knows what else. So maybe we just have to be content with this for a long time. But also, you know, hope springs eternal. So maybe we're all wrong. But I'm having a good time back on my island. If you were friends with me at one point and came to my island and if your island is named Sunset, I have your Lily. She moved in. I haven't had any guests for three years and Lily moved in. And she's like, I'm from Sunset. And I have no idea who had that island. So if that was you, please let me know. I've claimed your Lily three years later. Well, that is a very Animal Crossing story. Yeah. Brian, I know your big Animal Crossing fan. How are you feeling about this? I'm kind of sad because I didn't transfer my island over when I got a switch too. I left that on my kid's switch one. I looked over the other day. She was playing it and she was writing a very long letter to Bettina, who I think is a mouse. And she was like, hey, I hope you're not mad at me when I went to talk to you the other day. You didn't really want to talk to me. I hope we can still be friends. And I was like, I'm green to me. We cry. It's so sad. But yeah, so I don't know what to do. Do I, like, is it too late? Is it just gone? That's so I can still transfer it. The island lives on that switch. As long as it exists somewhere, you can use the island transfer tool to get it over. OK, so I could just still the joy away from my child and put it on my own switch too. Is your child not allowed to play your switch too? No, no, specifically. Yeah, I let her play switch one and then she can only take the horses. We don't do cars for her yet. Leaches for medicine, basically. We're going to build up. We're building up to the modern stuff event. No, I'm kidding. No, I will transfer this stuff over, especially because there's all that Zelda stuff that I saw in here. And I'm like, every single time there's any sort of crossover, way back to the original GameCube version of Animal Crossing when they put Super Mario stuff in there. And obviously the NES games, which they're doing, you know, virtual console, like sort of Lincoln stuff in this game where you can pretend that you have a system inside your home. But they're doing Zelda stuff for this and I need it. Like, I need to have it. And so I'll go back in there. It's weird though, because I have a weird relationship with this game. I played a lot of it during the pandemic. And that was six years ago, which is insane to think about. Right? And so it's, I have this sort of bittersweet connection with it, because I can't, when I go back into it, I'm like, oh, this is, this reminds me of a very different time. But we've moved on past that time mostly. So I will, I will give it another shot. I do love the Zelda villagers they picked to add. Like, it's not, it's not who you expect. It's Minoru who's like fantastic. I love Minoru. And then Tulan, right? Like, and they're like two of my favorite characters. But also, if I were going to guess what two tears the kingdom characters were going to end up, I probably would just said Lincoln Zelda. Like, I don't know. I guess there's already technically Wolf Link sort of. Yeah, and there's Pig Ganon and Medley and Julief. But I would not have guessed them, but I'm just so happy that it is them. I think that's a fantastic, those are fantastic choices. It means they've got to release that Minoru construct of Mibo at some point that they teased like a year ago and still is not out. That is, I think, how you're going to get Minoru in your village, but we haven't seen that thing yet. Yeah. Yeah. I think this could, this is going to be really interesting to see how it unfolds next week, because this could either take over the world again and be all Nintendo fans are talking about for the next couple of months, or it could be just the hardcore of the hardcore dive back in, enjoy it for a few weeks, and then kind of put it back down and move on to what's next. I can see it going either way. I'm also, like, Brian most excited about the Nintendo items. That's my biggest gripe missing from New Horizons to begin with. So I'm very excited to have a game room filled with Nintendo stuff just like I do in real life, because why not just recreate my exact house in a video game. But I think that it's not going to be, I don't think there's enough here to draw people back in for the whole next year. I think it's going to be, oh, it's nice to go back to this. I think- Even just going back and playing the last couple days, I played like one or two days and made sure I caught up with all my villagers and did a slight bit of redecorating, and then I was like, okay, that's good, that's fine. Animal Crossing on Switch 1, in what March, April, 2020, was sort of a microcosmic version of the Nintendo Wii, right? Where it was like, it, hardcore Nintendo fans were all over it, but also it attracted a user base that is way outside of the usual, right? Like casual players, people who are lapsed and stuff like that. And, anecdotally, I know a bunch of people that bought a Switch who hadn't played video games in forever, they got super animal crossing for a couple of months, and that Switch is now sitting in a desk drawer somewhere, right? So, if this content is Switch 2 exclusive, then it's going to be kind of tricky to get them on board, right? Which it isn't, it's just like the random new things that are Switch 2 exclusive, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, we'll see. I mean, it'd be really cool to get those people, I always want more people playing video games, right? So, it'd be cool to get them back on board. They're not sitting at home board anymore, like they were six years ago, so it's a different story. But, I think this will get enough people to go back in, because it's a really, really great game. Like, it is actually one of the best Nintendo games ever made. It does. And, it's just so special, it's so fun. It's also really beautiful and seeing that they made the graphics even better. It was like, it was never one of my complaints, but it's like, sure, yeah, I'll take it. Yeah, for sure. So, we'll talk more about Animal Crossing next week. Seth, unless you have anything to say on Animal Crossing, how are you feeling about Mario Tennis fever out on February 2? Oh, try to stop me talking about the fever that I got. Take my temperature, it's 108 degrees, and I'm hallucinating wildly. It's like, it's 10s, it's Mario Tennis. It's going to be fun, but it's also going to be, it's going to be the game that everybody owns. I feel like it's going to be the seven out of 10 game that everyone has because we want to Mario Sports, a new Mario Sports game. Yeah, I mean, I want to be excited because they're fun, but it's also like, come on, it's Mario Tennis fever. But Baby Walla Ouija is in this. Well, okay, that is true. We have introduced the official Baby Walla Ouija into the canon that they, which I find surprising because they hate Walla Ouija so much. I know. Yeah, she feels like Baby Sports games love them. I guess this is the only place they could really do it. I feel like if Baby Walla Ouija was real, they would have dropped them in a river like the Penguin's parents. That kid is like, they would be like, no, man. Well, of course he's real because he's just a younger version of Walla Ouija. Walla Ouija is never a child. Is he a young kid? He's spraying into the world fully formed. I agree, I agree with Rev on this. Yeah, he just appeared one day and people, like he's always in uncle form. He was never a little cousin. He's like a, like, a cocoon. Yeah, like one of the Greek gods that like they split Zeus's head and Walla Ouija came up. And they're not, do we know if they're actually Baby because they race against their themselves, right? That's true. Yeah, it is. It is them. It's just the sports games don't care. But it is absolutely them. And the card games don't care. The card games don't care. The link is in the card games. Nobody cares. Why haven't there been like 1800 videos and articles about the time disparity between being able to play as a baby and an adult at the same time? Boy, I hope somebody got fired for that bloody. Be the change you want to see in the world. Yeah, all right. Is Shabie Mario, Mario's son, we investigate it. Oh, there's partners in time where they go back in time. And Yoshi's Island, the conceit is Yoshi delivering Mario and Luigi to their parents. Think about, but is there really if I were playing tennis against my baby version of myself, I would destroy that little, it would be so long. Oh my god. Would you? I think you could say that on this part. You're talking about a baby version of me. I was a, yes, you're talking about you could say baby on the podcast. Your own, yeah, you can't say the other people. Or the other one. When's baby, where's baby Link? Do we ever, are we ever getting a baby? He's in Lincoln. That's definitely a baby. That's a baby. I think he's like seven years old in that game. I don't think that's right. Is it the purpose of Link's awakening that he's having like a dream after Link to the past or one of the other? Baby's have dreams. Can we just have, but he's an adult. He's not a baby. He's not a baby. He's like probably 15. Yeah. Yeah. Now I want a Muppet Baby's style show that's just Nintendo characters. Like a little baby Ganon, a little piglet. How freaking cute would that be? Oh my gosh, baby toad. I don't want baby toad. We've ever gotten baby toad. I don't know. We got baby, while Luigi before baby toad, that's insane. Oh my gosh. That's going to be a baby toad. It's already kind of a diaper. The dogs can hear the high-pitched sound of a baby toad talking. Look, did you say he's already in a diaper? Yes. Baby, I'm a baby toad. He is. Okay. Mario Tetis fever does have baby a little more. Wait, you want to move out with the show or something? Yes, I do. Okay, it's, yeah. What do you hate? You hate journalism? I spent like 15 minutes on this show last year telling everyone the timeline of Decay, Jr. I live for this stuff. You don't want to win a webby? We're doing real work. I'm sorry, Logan, please. That's all good. That was all good fun. But I'm very excited for Mario Tetis fever. I've played Tetis my entire life. I played Tetis in high school and continued through college. Did you play against a baby version of yourself? I did. And yeah, the adult version like kicked my when I was a baby. It was crazy. But I played my whole life. Surprisingly, a lot of skill carries over from knowing how to play Tetis into video game Mario Tetis. Like Mario Tetis aces, I love that game. I think that's the game I best at in this world, which is like, what really random? Like not that I'm the best in the world, but that's the game I'm the best at is Mario Tetis aces. That game's awesome. And this looks to carry over a lot of what that one did. And it has the new Donkey Kong design. And it has wonder effects from Mario Wonder. And it's got baby Waluigi. And who knows how many other infants. So yeah, I think it's going to be great. Sure. I sure. Yeah. Okay. That's Mario Tetis. Mario Tetis is a game I played for hours and hours and hours on the N64. And we'll probably never pick up a new version of ever. Okay. Well, I'm going to I'm going to make everybody hear play it with me next month. No, I'm going to play it for sure. It's a fun game. Tetis games are fun. I mean, like, look, the first video game that went crazy was based on a tenant. I mean, it was pong. But pong is just table tennis. So yeah, this is when this is class. You're denying the heritage of video games by not playing this. Wow. That's right. That's a lot. I don't know. When do you guys think Waluigi grew the mustache? Was he one of those kids that got it in like fifth grade? And everybody was like, yeah, he was buying all the other kids cigarettes and beer. I agree. I thought we agreed that Waluigi emerged as an adult. That is true. Yeah, there's also that theory. So lots of content with we already did our Waluigi power hour like a year and a half ago. Yeah, go listen to that episode. It's about time to do it again. I don't know. I don't know. If you remember that episode, we struggle to feel the time because there's not that much to talk about in the world of Waluigi. Yeah. I said no. We're going to move on to February 17th when virtual boy Nintendo classics comes to Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch to through either a very expensive physical plastic headset replica of the virtual boy headset or a cardboard version that you can like labo that you can slot your Switch one or Switch two into we need to admit it to ourselves now. Who ordered one already? Who bought one? I did. I hate myself. I hate myself. Oh my god, god. So stupid. It's just going to go on that my shelves full of. Yeah, it's going to. You're going to see every two. Did you buy this too? Oh, absolutely. Yes, so we're three four on this. It was. How much was this? How much is this? I don't think $99. $99. $99. I could buy 10 at least really good indie games with that $99. You could get 15 really mediocre games. There we go. No, okay. So here's my excuse. I went to order a thing off of like the my Nintendo shop with points and they're like, oh, it's free shipping if you spend 50 bucks. And I was like, oh, well, I mean, all right. Then I spent some time. How can you afford not to really? Exactly. I can't talk. I'm like, our household obtained without my knowledge and analog 64 recently. And when it arrived, and there was a discussion of potentially putting it on eBay and selling. And I said, why not keep it? Yeah. I can't. I can't really give you guys great. Yeah. I'm excited for this. I've never played these games. And I know there's not many of them. And I know not many of them are very good if at all. But this just being a slice of the only slice really of Nintendo history that I've never played, I'm thrilled that they're doing this as silly as it is. Like Mario Clash, I'm going to play virtual boy Wario Land I'm going to play. I'll probably dabble in all of them. And I'm excited to talk about them on this show. I have no idea how many people are going to buy this. But I think it's really cool they're doing it. No, Mario Clash is really interesting because it is like functionally a much better version of like the original Mario Bros game, right? Not the Super Mario Brothers game we all love. But the arcade one where they're just Mario and the Witcher. The arcade one we all kind of like. Yeah. So this is this slightly better than that, but also it feels almost entirely off model. Like the music is weird, the sprites are weird, the gameplay is kind of floaty. But it's still really fun. And the Wario Land game on this system is genuinely great. As is Mario Tennis, the pinball game, tele-robox, there's pretty cool. Wow, I'm just speaking to these. You were speaking to these as they're arriving. I know. This is magical. Yeah, so and red alarm is really awesome. But it's a weird system, right? I think it got like something set. Do you know it's like 20 something games total? Like, yeah, well, I do have a copy of virtual boy works by Jeremy Parrish right here. So I could, but it is, I want to see it's 32 games. Jeremy Parrish is a legend by the way. If you don't, if you want to like learn everything there is to learn about every video game ever, just go follow that guy. Where was I going in this? Oh, yes. It's I think 32 games. I think Nestor's funky bowling is like the rarest one, but it's also the only appearance of Nestor in a Nintendo video game ever, which is meaningless to young people. But he was going to say it to his Nestor. So how are howard Lincoln was the president of Nintendo for a while, and they decided to put him in a basically a monthly comic in Nintendo power. So howard and Nestor was just like, yeah, howard Lincoln hung out with this kid named Nestor, who I believe they invented. I don't know if it was his real like canonical son or whatever or baby version of Howard Lincoln. It was the baby version of Howard Lincoln. Yeah, and they would they would go on mild adventures. And you know, like it's very like low, like nothing, you know, nothing too stressful or whatever. But like, you know, just occasional kind of like Luke warm high jinks would ensue. And they one day decided where they were like, we got this system coming out. We're sending it out to die. Let's let's give let's let's give Nestor his own bowling game. And they're like, well, he can't just go bowling. It's got to be funky bowling because it was the night of the day. So they gave him a game called Nestor's funky bowling and no one bought it. And so it's incredibly rare and no one bought the virtual boy. So, you know, it's just a it's just a really weird story. And I shouldn't know any of this. I should have more information. So Nestor is sort of the the mascot of Nintendo power. Yeah. And so he, you know, the the the words that Nintendo power gave out at the end of the year were called the Nestors. Yeah. And I mean, they didn't there wasn't actually an award. I don't think there were statues of Nestor. If there are though, by God, that's right. I love to see those are going. Yeah, that'd be cool. That's something that probably Frank's the fall they just like keeps tripping on every day. He's like, I got to put that in the museum. I keep forgetting I have that. I think that the last issue of Nintendo power ever brought Nestor back and Nestor had a kid. And Nestor is like, wistfully reading the final issue of Nintendo power, which is meta, because it's printed in the final issue of Nintendo power. And then he like closes it and then he like sighs and then his dad or his son comes into the room. He's like, hey, dad, want to get back to playing new Super Mario Brothers you. And then the dad's like, yeah. And then as long as you use the game pad to make those blocks to protect me. And then Nestor's son says, I won't let you fall, dad. And that's the end of Nintendo power. It's like an advertisement for new Super Mario Brothers you. That's well, that's actually kind of sweet. Yeah, I didn't know. It was just super brand heavy like you said the full name like I do with every game on this show. It was like no kid is going to talk like that. So it was it was funny. But that's the virtual boy. My virtual prediction is that they are absolutely going to sell out of them very quickly. But it will be because they do not make very many of them. Yes. And not because they are selling many of them. Wrong. I think it can be both things. I think there's a there's a conversation of how many will will this virtual boy outsell the actual virtual boy. Oh, that's extremely funny. Which sells roughly 750,000 I think lifetime. Yes, that's crazy. That's that's actually more than I expected. I had I had the original one. But I bought it on deep discount. I want to say like six months after it came out I walked in the. Toys are us and they had a bundle for it. It was like $27 for the virtual boy in three games. Man. Oh, yeah. And at the time you could buy brand new virtual boy games for like six seven bucks. So I ended up with like a decent library. I have no idea where any of that stuff is. But I definitely had nesters funky bowling. And I should find it and put it through. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. It always kills me when you see those old like toys RS ads. It's like Cheebie Robo, path of radiance 1999. This weekend only man. Yeah. They're thankfully coming back finally now on Switch 2. But for a long time those games were hundreds of dollars and virtual boys right there with it. Let's move on though to a thing that I think animal crossing new horizons on Switch 2 is going to help out a lot. And that's Pokemon Pokef which is coming to Switch 2 on March 5th. This is Dragon Quest Builders meets Pokemon. It's got Minecraft elements in there for sure. Reb, take it away. Well, I don't know what else I have to say about this because I think I I talked about this pretty extensively at the end of last year. And there hasn't been any new information about it to my knowledge. So this looks great. I said that before I'll say it again. Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest Builders was really really good. This is the team that worked. They were one of the developers on Dragon Quest Builders 2. And this looks very similar but with Pokemon thrown in. I think it has a really wacky premise. I was reading some fan theories that it's post-apocalyptic in the Pokemon world which has some really fascinating implications. All the Pokemon lore nerds who are really into the deep stuff and then Pokemon is just like here's a squirtle. Have fun. But I love the different ways you can interact with the different Pokemon that they teach you these moves and then those different they're different like tight moves help you sort of flesh out this kind of Baron Island and make it something interesting. I think being able to fly to other islands is really interesting. And I'm excited to see how the story is sort of dovetailing with the creative aspect I'm not I'm not really a big like customizing creative build a town kind of person but in service of following an interesting enough story and meeting a bunch of colorful characters I will absolutely do it. So I'm really stoked for this. Also, Mosslacks is the best. I love Mosslacks. Great. So is that actually Mosslacks or is that a community dubbed name at this point? I believe it's actually Mosslacks. I think I think that's what they called them in the trailer. Okay. Nice. I love the idea that this might be like post-apocalyptic. I just don't know why. I like to think that there's a Pokemon Einstein who is like I don't know what World War 3 will be fought with but World War 4 will be fought with rock and grass types. Yeah, there's like I this is a very famed speculative theory. So take take this is this is not journalism. But someone did this shot that we're looking at right now of this sort of ruined town with the Pokemon Center. Somebody was bapping this out over Fuchsia City from Kanto and it actually it actually seems pretty on the spot from what they were finding and there there are some other things people were looking at that was suggesting oh this is like you know the humans have been wiped out in the Pokemon are rebuilding and that's why you're a ditto and not actually a person. So I don't know I I think there's something sort of interesting in a world where humans have been wiped out in the Pokemon are like mimicking things they saw humans do and trying to build a society maybe a little grim and sad but Pokemon's always been such a weird series. I love it. Well I think there's even more credit to that Dragon Quest Builders is an apocalyptic sequel. It is that too. It is what happens if the hero loses or sides with evil at the end of Dragon Quest 1 and then the world falls apart and later the builders rebuild it so it could totally be the same thing here. Oh that's right I forgot all about that. Nice. Yeah super neat but I think this one's going to be a huge seller this year. I mean you got Pokemon you got Minecraft elements those are two of the biggest things on the planet. I think this is going to be a smash hit on Switch 2 that's coming on March 5th and that is the last firm release date that we know about. We have a few things slated for the spring all real and all off here. Super Mario Brothers wondered and said it's what's two addition plus meet up in Belle Bell Park is coming out in the spring. All my money is on April 2nd. That's the day the Mario Galaxy and Mibo are coming out and that's the day before the Super Mario Galaxy movie. So I think it'll be that day up that's going to add more multiplayer mini game stuff hopefully some sort of single player campaign we haven't seen much of yet. Yeah but any thoughts on this one? No. No. Okay nobody cares. I will. Yeah. Mario Wunder was fantastic. I do not feel the need to play it again in any capacity. So it wasn't fantastic. No it was it was a great I don't need to be able to play a game over and over for it to be fantastic. I mostly just play games through one time but I just don't I don't really feel like the new content is strong enough for me to like bother coming back. So I've gotten in trouble on the show because I've been sort of Luke Warmer on this game than most people and I feel like recently people have kind of come around to be like oh yeah that was that was good but not great. Yeah I guess this is something that I say about a lot of different Nintendo things so I apologize for using this metaphor again but like it is still a Mario game and Mario games are still really really freaking good so like the baseline is really high. I think this is a really great game like it's so good. It is I think a little weaker as a Mario game compared to some of the others and I think that's totally fair to say. Yeah there's so much great stuff here I think you know I this is one of the best like controlling platformers ever made it's it's utterly gorgeous. I think it's a bit on the easy side and the bosses aren't great and the the wonder effects actually get sort of tedious on on replays and I tried again recently and I was kind of surprised I was like oh yeah this this feels it I feel less like revisiting this than I do something like you know Super Mario world or something right which I feel like I could replay that game endlessly and this one is just more on the one and done side which is I think I wasn't as critical about at the time I you know I didn't necessarily see at in the moment at at release that this wouldn't have the same level of replay value as some of the other classics but yeah I think I think it's a fantastic foundation I hope it gets a sequel but it's also feels kind of proof of concept and I want to see what they do next. Yeah it still drives me crazy that Mario wonder does not have eight worlds that just doesn't seem right it seems like we were cheated or we got you know the demo version of the eight world game I don't know it just it's never set with me other than that you know it's fine everything I kind of agree with everything Brian said but yeah I have two more worlds that's what they're adding into the next game it's simple it's easy just two more worlds I love Mario wonder and this is one that I look at I've I've 100% of this game multiple times with different groups of people and on my own I adore this game and I think I don't know I think it gets compared to Mario world and isn't it a great thing we're finally comparing to the Mario to Mario world instead of the onslaught of new Super Mario Bros games we got for 20 years like this game is so much better than those games and so I really like it for just getting us out of that sequence of a new Super Mario Brothers game every console just the art style alone is I think the best Mario has ever looked any so expressive and his animations are incredible and I agree sometimes the wonder effects it's like I just want to replay a level I don't want to do this roller coaster on rails thing every single time but I think the Mario wonder has a ton of great ideas and brief new life into 2D Mario that had been missing since like the 90s so I'm excited that it's gonna have more content there's two other things coming in the spring that is Yoshi in the mysterious book and Tomodachi life living the dream Tomodachi life is coming to switch one no switch to addition yet it's just a switch one game right now and Yoshi is a switch to game I think both of these like nice we talked about Tomodachi life a lot on the show that this is one that you should pay attention to in 2026 because it's not really like animal crossing it's not really like anything else Nintendo puts out it is this hilarious me and form simulation thing where you can put in your friends celebrities co-workers athletes fictional characters whoever you want and just see how they interact with each other and I think this is going to be a total delight I actually have a special announcement based on this so my kid has been playing Tomodachi life on my 3ds XL and yesterday and this is exclusive to NBC yesterday me Brian Altono an adult man who was already married to a real human woman married Rosalina oh congratulations and my kids and playing this game I don't know it was actually Hawaii yeah we know because you go you go on a honeymoon wait the me is actually going to honeymoon they do yeah wow I don't remember that yes so my my kid has been playing this game constantly and laughing hysterically it is it's so funny hearing all the little voices in the background and there's been like the under construction section for like the wet it's like a wedding hall or something like that yeah and yesterday for the first time like Rosalina proposed to me because I'm a lazy piece of crap I guess I couldn't get it together and I said yes in the game this is not me in real life but in the game and she like lost it and it was funny because she also put my wife in the game and it shows all the people at the wedding and my wife was not there she's like I'm not going to the sham way the Tomodachi life is so so so awesome it is for all the people who are like I miss weird Nintendo all of it is in here it's right yeah all of it is in this game like all of those weird quirky things that you expect from them like if you think they're they're they're this like you know different company now and they're sanitized they do everything by the books and there's no rough edges anymore like they there are so much quirky strange hilarious genuinely bizarre things happen in this game interaction wise item wise just the the the deadpan comedy in this game is just unmatched and so when when they announced that they were making a new one of these I was shocked because it really felt like one of those things that was left back on the sort of like old school Nintendo 3ds era right yeah so I'm ecstatic to see that this is returning we're going to play so much of this game in my household it's really I wonder how they're going to like because on on 3ds you can just look up like a QR code of like Zelda or something take a picture with your 3ds camera my kid went into a room took pictures of the kpop demon hunters on a poster that I got her and imported all of them into the game so now all like you know Zoe lives next door to her like it's there's so much stuff you can do and so it's different now because like me's they're not as ubiquitous as they were back in the day right like they're they're they're there on your switch right and they're they're part of the ecosystem but they're not integrated in every single first party game like they used to and so I hope that there's you know I hope that there's a renaissance for me's and that people find new ways to connect and share them and build them and create them and put them online and all that so because that's where it's fun right like having like Taylor Swift and Snoop Dog and the kpop demon hunters and your your mom are all like an out on the same island like that's that's great and so yeah I'm I could not be happier about this game I'm really excited for it I am too I think it's a real shame that Nintendo moved away from me's I thought that was one of their most fun little social features I mean I know I know there were various things that could have and should have been better over the years with Nintendo's many online enterprises and their attempts at having social community spaces but the me's themselves and the customization options and the ways in which you could have them interact with other real human beings in different ways street past stuff like that that that was always fantastic to me and I loved it and so the fact that it might still exist and some crumb within Tomodachi life uh this this is absolutely my kind of game too I love I love games full of weird little freaks yes and they can be you in this and it will be me I think a underrated exciting prospect of this one is that metopia the 3ds RPG from Grezzo got a switch port and in that switch port they completely revamped the memaker and it's only available like these these more detailed options are only available in that game not in the memaker on switch or switch two just there and this looks to have that same memaker for Tomodachi life so the the amount of detail and the crazy stuff people are going to be able to do is going to be so much higher and metopia on switch there were ways you could share a me's even though it doesn't have a camera like the 3ds did for QR code so there's still going to be ways to share a me's with your friends and I think we should all share our our me's with our audience and let let our villagers move into people's people's islands I want to marry everyone in your games yeah so that is coming out this spring along with Yoshi in the mysterious book sometime this spring and then we have a few things coming out just dated for 2026 that don't have more specific windows yet that's fire emblem fortunes we've rhythm heaven grew that's on switch one the dusk bloods co-published with from software pokemon champions which is also going to be on mobile and switch one away to for that's going to be the new competitive battling mechanism for pokemon and splatoon raiders is tba it doesn't even have this year on it I'm not sure it's going to make it this year I feel like we we know if it was going to the splatoon splatoon games basically always get delayed so I think that one could be a ways out but let's just go around the table Seth how you feeling about this whole lineup as we know it so far I think this is a very good spring winter lineup I think it's there's a lot of fun things there's nothing huge and big that's gonna I mean well I say picoopia might actually be like the runaway franchise that sort of takes on a life of its own but no I think this is a good solid venture into it's what's going to be its first full year on the market and it's you know it's the first half of the year like I think breath of the wild's probably the only game I can think of that was that big and that important that we got in like March like everything else it feels like is going to be a later you know Q and of Q3 starter Q4 for the for the holiday rush but I'm I mean there's plenty to play there's a lot of fun Nintendo-ass games coming out in this first quarter and or first half of the year and yeah this is solid I mean there's a lot of games to play yeah yeah breath how about you I agree with Seth I I think this is pretty pretty darn good lots of things I find interesting lots of games just generally it's missing like a big like first party massive pillar to hold it up somewhere I have no concern that I'm not worried that they don't have them I'm sure they do like we're gonna get an Nintendo direct at some point this month next month somewhat soon yeah run the headlines now I don't tomorrow I don't know anything but we will right like I mean obviously they're gonna come out and announce what games they're gonna be publishing in the next you know couple months they're just gonna do it and so I'm not really worried we'll get more information on their lineup within the next couple months and I'm sure we'll see a couple of bigger things but for right now where we're at this is great I think that thing that interests me most about it is sort of a weird thing but usually at about this time this is what Nintendo's lineup roughly looks like at this time of year every year but all of its competitors usually have a whole lot more pieces on the chess board at this point like we usually have a far better picture of what the rest of the year is gonna look like as far as like everybody else PlayStation Xbox PC random third parties everybody when you look at the just the total lineup of games coming out this year across all platforms it's like dead man like there's people are not announcing things and I I genuinely don't know what it is I don't know if people are like a free to GTA maybe that's exactly what it is well but like everybody everybody that's gonna be the biggest game ever ever ever ever that's hard of it I do I think I'm going to I said I think that's part of it but it's not the whole story it's just it's everyone's running into the same problem we all know it it's like games take too long to make their way more expensive than ever like you look at a game like Tomodachi life on 3ds versus how the new one looks right like it's it's it's a night and day jump in visuals I'm right there with you Reb like it it feels sort of tepid right now for this year and like third parties are still you know doing their thing across the board but like we're six years or set this is this is gonna be the seventh year for the ps5 and the Xbox series right and I like neither of them like there's I know about Wolverine coming to ps5 like we know about you know intergalactic heretic profit which doesn't have a release date on on ps5 and then you know there's some Xbox stuff here and there they're doing doing a showcase thing yeah like it but it's it's it's kind of muted right now it just feels kind of quiet and I don't I don't think it's all just GTA I think it's just that like there was you know a lot a lot of different factors went into it and with those those other guys they took some bets with PlayStation they you know bet the house on 13 different studios making games as a service games and then they canceled like 11 of them and put one of them out and canceled that immediately and it's it's kind of messy and Xbox is going all in on third party and I think Nintendo is doing a better job than some of the others by at least saying let's take switch one games and it's add some new stuff to it to kind of hold people over while we have the other stuff in the other right and I'm okay with that because we just got like you know maybe most people were an entirely hot on Metroid Prime 4 but like in the first six months getting Bonanza Mario Kart World Metroid Prime 4 Hyrule Warriors and a couple of smaller little ones plus Kirby yeah and then and then some updates to some switch one games and like the biggest thing now is that there is actual you know for the most part parody with the next-gen consoles when it comes to third party games like I'm you know I was playing I was I was on a flight over Chris's break I played a sassan's Creed shadows the entire time on my switch too that's not something I could have done on switch one like there's yeah you have options now right like there's there's there's a lot more and I think that like if you're just coming into switch two for the first time you're inundated with cool stuff to play yeah if you've been there since day one on on switch one and you have the other consoles it might seem a little boring right now but like you're you're kind of a smaller part of a bigger story I'd say right yeah like there's there's a there's a lot of people right now that are coming into this for the very first time or have only just dabbled in other consoles that all of a sudden have this kind of all-in-one machine that can play every switch one game and play a bunch of third party stuff on switch two and I think that's the bigger picture story that Nintendo's accomplished so far that they're not getting enough credit for yeah I would also just add on to that that I have faith that Nintendo has stuff like I'm again I'm not worried that they don't have things I think they are going to bring things out I don't know about everybody else this is a weird year for everybody else and so it's it's kind of an interesting position to be in to be like wow like I guess no matter what I feel confident we're gonna get some really good Nintendo stuff this year and if that's if that's the year then hey I'm on the right podcast yeah I'm confident they have stuff we haven't seen but I think we know 75% of the year already just with how much it is that it's uncharacteristic that we know think of it Rebs giving me a look but they release about one game every night and we know like 10 games and so sometimes they double up on their months but I I was just thinking about the whole release calendar for the year and I'm like yeah I think like Fire emblems a summer game I think the duskbloods is a fall game like I think we have a few big pillars to fill out over the course of the year but I think we know what most of it is and Nintendo is not immune to making games in 4k now and this is something I don't think every year there's going to be these enormous huge oh my gosh mind blowing things there's going to be stuff but I think we know most of 2026 I I'm not like I'm not down on the year but I don't expect them to blow us away with a 3D Mario and all these amazing things that we never saw coming I think Fire emblems a big deal to follow up to the best selling strategy RPG of all time I think the duskbloods is a big deal they're partnering partnering with FromSoft on an exclusive game to their next gen console and I think that there's going to be stuff we'll get into in the prediction segment that will fill out the fall I think that he honestly think this is a lot of what we're going to see this year yeah I think to to pull on something that Rebs said earlier about like seeing new content in Animal Crossing is exciting but it also potentially dampens the possibility of us getting a brand new installment in that franchise and then taking that sort of that that mantra and putting it across the board for all of the other games we're seeing getting updated that's where it gets a little bit scary to me because it's like it's cool that we're getting DLC to switch one classic games but like I don't want them to be the only things we see from those franchises for the next five years right like I selfishly want more Zelda I want more 2D Mario more 3D Mario I want to do Animal Crossing I want a new Kirby all that other fun stuff and so I I'm hoping that this that these are like kind of holdover make goods but at the same time there's another big thing coming to right yeah yeah I think that these little additions are just like let's get the team you know comfortable with developing for the Switch 2 let's put out these little you know bite-sized portions to games that we already know are hits rather than have to you know start from scratch and maybe everything sucks it's a good way it's a good stepping stone that's what I think I don't know if that's true or not maybe Nintendo will release some salacious interviews about that being the case but I agree with you I agree with you but I also think that these were in development a while ago probably many of them and I also imagine that Nintendo probably had a pretty like this is the second year of the Switch 2 they got a plan right like I'm not just gushing like like it would be crazy not to have a plan no I think they have I think they have a big I think they have two big fall games we don't know about I don't think it's more than that I think they have two enormous things will be the best two things they put out this year but I look at 2018 for the Switch that was a slow year not much happened until Smash Ultimate came December that was year two and Nintendo played a lot of their cards last year they've showed a lot of their cards for this year and like Mario Kart World started development the day after like the Switch came out like that came took almost a decade to make and still is being patchwork finished as we speak like Donkey Kong Benanza started development right after Super Mario Odyssey it's taken them longer now and I just think I don't think this generation is going to be the same insane cadence we saw on Switch 1 I think it's going to be great I think it's going to be better than the other guys but I don't think it's going to be wow this year we got four things from Nintendo's internal studio I don't see that happening very often this generation it's just the reality of 4k game development I also don't think it's going to be insane to be clear I just I I looking at this lineup and saying oh this is most of it I don't know that I agree with that either I think I'm leaning somewhere in between those two things well I think over half his most thing is over half of it if Nintendo publishes 20 things this year I'll be floored I'll be thrilled but we'll see let's should we get into our predictions should we should we start talking about yeah yeah well I wanted to shout out some third party games we we already touched on it a little bit but it is very strong a cap comm is releasing three games Resident Evil Requiem on February 27th along with 7 and 8 on the same day which still is just hilarious today Monster Hunter Stories 3 twisted reflection on March 13th pragmato on April 24th all four of those are getting their own amiibo so that's a little a goodie if you're playing on Switch 2 final fantasy 7 remake integrate on January 22nd Dragon Quest 7 reimagined on February 5th there's a demo out now for both of those on Switch 2 and the I played Dragon Quest this morning demos awesome games are going to be great Indiana Jones in the Great Circle Fallout 4 anniversary edition Lego Batman Legacy of the Dark Night that's coming later than the other platforms on Switch 2 a double a 7 first light which just got pushed from March 2 May 27th and then Elden Ring maybe like it got pushed but we still don't have a date for that and Borderlands 4 also got pushed and we still don't have a date for those troubled versions either but this this is a really really strong year of games that would have been dreams on Nintendo platforms just a year ago they would have been clouds yeah I could never re-imagine those games on Switch 2 last year but let's let's get into our predictions right after this piece of housekeeping save the Starfall Islands with Sonic the Hedgehog or dive into classic Tomb Raiding with the remastered Tomb Raider collection head over to Humble right now you can get Humble choice for just 1499 and score a curated bundle of PC games for January including Sonic Frontiers Tomb Raider 4 through 6 remastered Hunt Showdown 1896 etchry and Odyssey 2 HD nice day for fishing, Metal Slugs Tactics, Settlement Survival and Wizard of Legend 2 this month's choice is available through February 3rd so head to HumbleBundle.com and start playing today okay we've set the table a lot with everything we know is coming let's talk about what we don't know is coming but we think will happen in 2026 we each have a few I don't know if we have a set number of rounds we'll just go and tell we're out of predictions for 2026 and Seth I'll kick it to you first all right I don't know which one I should go first with I think we're gonna see something from Splatoon that's not a Splatoon game if that makes sense I think they're going to use the Splatoon world for in some other direction whatever that is a Splatoon RPG Splatoon farm simulator I don't know but I feel like Splatoon is so it's such a popular franchise in Japan and it does well enough in the United States that they would spin it out into something that isn't a mainline Splatoon game so I don't know if we'll get it this year if that'll be their big fall game but I feel like we'll hear about something new in the Splatoon universe that's not the I it's not a first what would you call it's not a first person shooter but it's a competitive third person shooter yeah yeah cool what like a movie like a theme park what do you think and I don't know I just feel like they're sitting on like such a cool like the Splatoon is just the coolest Nintendo franchise everything about it is so cool and charming and effortlessly so that it just maybe they're yeah maybe their animation studio puts out a new you know a cartoon based on or a anime based on it I mean there is a manga out there which I have read because I'm a real fan but I don't know I just feel like something Splatoon that's not a mainline Splatoon game is coming I think that I like that I mean we are getting this single player Splatoon game but selfishly like a Splatoon RPG sounds awesome like whatever you're throwing out there or even some sort of animated short maybe like the just they can torment that mother and baby again from the pick and physical inklings yeah baby me yeah cool Splatoon is always good by me Rabbits your first prediction um I think we are going to get a 3D Zelda big asterisk on this I think we're going to and but I don't think it's going to be like tears of the kingdom level breath of the wild three I don't think that's what's going to happen so normally Nintendo's cadence with Zelda games is 2D Zelda 3D Zelda 2D Zelda 3D Zelda they tend to go back and forth sometimes they do eat but that tends to be what it is the most recent Zelda release was echoes of wisdom right right like yeah I mean Hyrule Warriors the switch to additions but you have like this mainline museum series doesn't count um but echoes of wisdom was the most most recent one that was the top down to the I guess isometric Zelda whatever uh so next logically would be 3D but we know that stuff like Breath of the Wild and tears of the kingdom takes so long to develop they would have if that was ready to come out this year we would have heard about it last year like if they if they do something like that they will announce it a little more in advance I think we're going to get one of two things we're either going to get basically like as Majora's mask was to Ocarina of Time we will either get that to Breath of the Wild and tears of the kingdom like the sort of more condensed sort of smaller scale story that uses a lot of the same assets but does something wacky with them like that version of Breath of the Wild and tears of the kingdom or we'll get an Ocarina remake oh I don't know which one but I want to believe yeah I think I think that makes it ton of sense it's the 40th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda this year they got to do something right I mean we say that every time they have an anniversary this we say they got to do something and then they don't remember the Mario anniversary they typically do something for Mario and Zelda but um nobody else they they don't do anything else for really it's Metroid's 40th but I don't really think we'll ever hear anything about it yeah I think Ocarina remake makes just a ton of sense and I also think that's gonna happen this year yay Brian that was one year's too wasn't it uh sorry Brian no no no I I will happily uh will uh Ocarina of time remake into the world I'm replaying that game now and it's magical uh the 3ds version is um so so everyone's playing that game right now everybody's playing Ocarina of time I don't yeah I think I don't I have a tendency to start uh new years with like some comfort food gaming and I don't know if it's something I consciously do but instead of being like I'm gonna tear in this and brand new game I've never played before I was like you know let's let's let's start with something that you know you're great at that brings you immense joy and is infinitely replayable um so yeah Ocarina of time's up there for me but no I've been I've been really into my you know my 3ds ds games recently and I've been thinking a lot about how much I love that era and how um it hasn't necessarily made it to modern Nintendo systems like they ported some games to the Wii and Wii U virtual console but it was kind of awkward and clunky playing like dual screen games on like what what were mostly single screen systems you know the Wii U had some ways around it but um seeing the virtual console peripheral for Nintendo Switch 2 made me think that all bets are off right and so there has been like there have been people have been like mocking these things up and they've been talking about this but there there are some theories going around that Nintendo will and I think I believe there was even a patent at some point that Nintendo will release a basically like second screen peripheral that you can plug into the USB port on the top of your switch to that will clamp on that will allow you to play Nintendo DS virtual console games please please yes that was my prediction yes and I think that's the original version of the world ends with you aren't Academy back let's go I had not heard about this oh my god no so I think that the Nintendo DS is a sort of like crystallization of some of the best it's one of the best errors of of Nintendo ever right because I think I think I think it encapsulates everything that they're great at they took so many big swings with their first party stuff at the same time it was such a monumental success of a system that they just kept throwing everything at it right they just kept making new games in in pretty much every one of their franchises and they took some weird experimental ideas and turned them into masterpieces and there's some you know there's some things that don't necessarily work super well like the touch screen Zelda like obviously not not everyone's favorites but there's some really charming really great stuff going on in those games and they're really difficult libraries to revisit legally through Nintendo's consoles and so if Nintendo found a way like they did with the virtual the virtual boy which makes you know like such that's such a small it's a small library of games it's small group of people that are really excited about that three of them are here like three of the eight are here three of the eight people are here I feel like there's there's an opportunity for Nintendo to strike gold with Nintendo DS games with a peripheral that will you know allow us and people will be disappointed by it because it will only be used for you know it's not like you'll be able to watch YouTube up there you can't even do that on the single screen that the switch one that those which do as so I'm hoping that they release this year a like ninety nine dollar peripheral for Nintendo switch two that allows you to play Nintendo DS virtual console games on a second screen that will also let it close like clamshell just because I missed that clamshell thing that will click yeah we'll see I don't think it will happen but I would love if it did and I'm just trying to put that into the world I love that so much thank you for telling me about that that brought me a lot of joy yeah there's some really crude Photoshop's out there if you can imagine that's just a wonky second screen just haphazardly slapped at the top of your screen it would weigh so much the whole that just a malgamesh it would be great though yeah you've got mouse controls too for some of the stuff if you want for bottom screen yeah oh yeah it could really work Seth that was one of yours too wasn't that was one of mine yeah anything to add home of Brian said I mean I Brian pretty much said everything that I was going to say I will add that we do have DS games on switch we have the the the Castlevania collection are DS games the the Mega Man zero collection has like DS games on or a DS game on it but yeah like we have these games the switch can handle a DS emulator just fine and they found some pretty clever ways to work in the second screen not so great in like Castlevania where you know you had to originally draw like the runes with your stylist doesn't work so great but if they do have the second screen like let's go all day or hey how about this use the Nintendo app and you know sell a little thing that you can you stick your phone right next year right next year controller or something like that so yeah yeah I'd be great I would love to see that do you either of you think that would come with a NSO price increase like it's been a very long time without one it's going to be NSO plus expansion plan expansion pass extra plus plus that's an Nintendo name yeah yeah yeah I think this could be the year also that that that goes up in price for the first time since they added the expansion package just it feels like it's been too long without a price increase on that my first prediction is Luigi's Mansion 4 I feel really good about this being the year that we get the next Luigi's Mansion next level games has made one game every three years since they've been solely in Nintendo studio that dates back to 2013 with with Dark Immune on 30s every three years they've hit a game they didn't have one last year they're credited on Metroid Prime 4 beyond but before you comment that doesn't count like six people from next level assisted on Metroid Prime 4 they did not meaningfully work on that game for very long so they're working on something and I think it has to be Luigi's Mansion 4 Luigi's Mansion 3 there was a juggernaut it's hope like 15 million copies on switch one just a huge surprise for that franchise and it just it just feels like the year so I think that's gonna come on October 29th 2026 wow I'll date it it's the Thursday before Halloween and I think it's gonna be on a haunted cruise ship as the setting I think that'd be really fun oh I thought you meant the release okay I I think you're probably no the release will be on a cruise ship yeah I'll be on the cruise we'll have a live NBC from the cruise I think you're probably right but it's funny how against my instinct that goes because when you said that I immediately want to say but when they just released Luigi's Mansion 3 like yesterday no that was several years ago seven years ago yeah what in a while yeah 2019 yeah which also like it it came out like three months after fire emblem three houses now we're getting that sequel this year and it's just like yeah it feels like they're kind of repeating that cycle Mario tennis was in a similar window so yeah and October 29th and Luigi will get stuck in a water slide at some point let's do it yeah I know my my final touch on that prediction but I think so I love next level games and their last game was Mario strikers which was not very well liked and they've got to have some big Luigi's mansion sequel cooking yeah Seth do you have any more or or do you do this one okay my most controversial take you mentioned the NSO's gotta go up in price well everything is going up in price which is why I think they are pushing behind the scenes to get a cheaper handheld only hardware revision out there this year because the price of everything is about to go up and if they don't I mean I it's it's kind of a given that they're going to do some sort of hardware revision to the Nintendo switch to at some point and I think they're going to follow the switch light model I think it's going to be you know maybe even like a 1080 or like a weird like this the steam deck which is like 1200 by 800 resolution handheld only but I think they're going to push fast track that's the word I was looking for fast track that through to try to get out in front of the fact that every GD thing is about to cost like way way more RAM right now costs you know I have four sticks of eight gigabytes DDR4 RAM that's for my children to live in a tropical wonderland when I'm gone that is my investment that is my retirement fund because it's absurd and like GPU prices are about to go absolutely crazy through the roof everything's going crazy and I think that they're like Nintendo knows what they're doing they're looking at that and they're if I got to try to get out in front of it and I think they're going to have for the holiday season a smaller cheaper kid friendly more ruggedized version of the switch to that doesn't work on the TV that they're going to call it the switch to light okay couldn't just say it was light two or two light because I can see it going out their way but yeah I don't I don't want to light it'll just float away yeah I feel like the the switch light was moderately successful but I feel like they've they've kind of quietly quietly pushed it off like I you don't really I incorrect me if I'm wrong but I feel like it's not really front or wasn't front and center and they're advertising towards like the the end tail of the switch was not at all no yeah just I got one the occasional special edition like the Zelda one near the end right now the OLED was by far the best selling one in the last few years yeah yeah but yeah I'd be down for that and I see a lot of people ask for that weirdly I see a lot more people asking for a switch to that doesn't have a screen because like there are people there are a lot of people who are like I just bought it to play on my TV I never go on a where I'll never travel I literally just want to play it on my TV so give me give me a ver like a cheaper version or the you know more powerful version that that doesn't actually at all I can yeah and then if they do have the switch to light then you can have it you know your cake in 82 I know a lot of people who aren't gamers who played I do know a lot of people and not the braggaring no I it was all right to the thing you said before that why would you buy a switch that only hooks up to the console and is not portable and then also buy the portable switch you could just buy a switch they're going back to two pillars or back yeah they're gonna different game libraries and one's gonna have two screens it's gonna be I don't know whatever that was just something they came I was just gonna say that I know many people who did not play video games who bought a switch light and that's their animal crossing machine like people who just aren't into the video game space they don't care that it's not on the TV and there's a huge market for that of people who are just maybe gonna get back into animal crossing or maybe you know a more casual audience I have a lot of friends I'm not your brand I have a lot of friends who are parents who did not want to buy a whole second switch for their kids but didn't want to keep hand and get over to that switch lights easy yeah yeah no I'm gonna get the switch to pro no screen version the dozen switch that doesn't switch that you can only hook up to your TV and then I'm gonna buy two of the Nintendo DS screens so I can play DS games because I'm stupid you'll just have two top screens it will work for you they just release a bunch of different parts if you just interlock them like Legos to make the console you want that's PC you're describing PC no so I like it I like the call I think that the switch to is very expensive like like Rev just said to buy and hand the your kid and I think that the faster they get a light out the better and if there's maybe a new Pokemon Gen around the corner then that is a perfect time to release a hand health console which brings us to Rev's next prediction yeah I think you're gonna announce a new Pokemon Gen this year I feel like that's an easy prediction that they're going to announce one this year I think run Gen 10 or something like that I stopped keeping track of the numbers whatever I've been going back and forth on this because in our planning meeting I said initially that I did not think they were going to release it this year and I've been trying to figure out okay but they need some sort of big Pokemon thing in the fall I always have one and then I remember Pokopia exists which is not in the fall but which will be big and Pokemon related so I think I'm very much on the fence I could see it going both ways I could see them not having a giant mainline Pokemon release this year and just filling the space with like Pokopia and I don't know like DLC for Pokopia in the fall if they want to do that I have no idea but I also could see them just pushing it out the door Pokemon franchise continues to be in the weirdest dang spot in the entire world the transition to the transition out of dedicated hand health has been a mess for them I think even with how much I liked Legend ZA better than the last couple of games I still think they're struggling with some stuff so I'm curious as to what this is going to be I just hope that they take the amount of time they need with it but I do think we'll be getting an announcement this year probably on Pokemon Day which is next month well yeah it is the 30th anniversary of Pokemon yeah absolutely it's going to be a big Pokemon year yeah um I'm completely with you Reb this I did I did our Nintendo 2026 preview article which you can check out on IGN and YouTube and in there I think this is the November game I think Gen 10 makes it out this year I think that I think like Hall or Highwater Pokemon doesn't miss their 30th even if it's not ready and I think it comes out this November you're probably right I just I think I want them to just like take the time but yeah I do too yeah the marketing that you do yeah it's been a long time since the new gen what Scarlet Violet was 2022 did not speak of those games to me yeah okay well the one before that was 2019 same year's Luigi's Mansion 3-Sing at all I didn't got Fire Emblem new Pokemon Gen Luigi's Mansion it's just it's 2019 again yeah Brian do you have any more predictions yeah last one for me you mentioned what was it the Luigi's Mansion studio putting out something new every two years right every three yeah three so Grezzo is I believe I like on it yeah they're on a two-year cycle right that we've gotten something from them every two or so years for a long time and in this year 2026 it'll be two years since Echoes of Wisdom which was two years after Link's Awakening remake and I feel like we're due and we've been talking about that you know sorry not to time warp you but Link's Awakening was seven years ago it was a was a way back there's no way that's true it was we we keep right it was 2019 it was the it was the September game of that year okay so wait did Grezzo was it metopia they made me topia in the me okay and I think I think Dragalia lost but I'm not 100% sure on that mobile game oh my god 2019 Link's Awakening yeah it's been it's been a while I know the pandemic worked time it out so it really did either way I think I think we're due for either a new game or the reveal of a new game from Grezzo and selfishly I want it to be a Zelda thing and more selfishly I want it to be a remake of one or both of the Oracle of Ages and Oracle seasons games they're so great if not like take another you know mini-cap like there's there's there are there are 2d Zelda games that I would love to see on switch to with you know a fresh coat of paint and some new bells and whistles they did such a great job with Link's Awakening I just replayed that recently and it's just yeah it is it is such a it it is so hard to take a game that I love so much and remake it perfectly that add a bunch of stuff and make me look at both of the original and the remake as things I respect equally resident before did it uh Link's Awakening did it and so yeah I trust Grezzo in whatever they do next you know obviously Echo's a wisdom little rougher on the edges in terms of UI but there was so much charm there and there was so much cool stuff going on in that game and so whether it be a sequel to that game and they just kind of keep pulling on that and and build on a great foundation or they you know give us a remake of a classic Zelda game or something new entirely I want to see what they're working on because they're they're like one of my favorite Nintendo studios and uh yeah they're up. Dance a power glass with the DS peripheral let's go. Oh let's go. There we go. No I would I would love Oracle's in that Link's Awakening art style now that that runs well on Switch too that would just be that'd be the perfect announcement. Ryan I think one of us I think one of us is going to get what we want out of Zelda I don't know which one of us is going to be but I I think one of us is going to be right and I'm stoked about that either way. I mean spoilers if either of us are right both of us will be happy. That's true. All of us will be happy. Yeah if we get end yeah there's any any new Zelda will will will always make me happy unless it's like Zelda basketball and even then it'll be so ridiculous that I'll be like sure why not Zelda Federation Force. Although it could be could be do for another multiplayer Zelda it's been a while since try for heroes. When was the last time you played that game um two years ago okay did you did you play it with three people with friends really fun still really fun with friends terrible alone yeah because I think I played it I played it mostly alone and I played a bunch with I believe I played a bunch with Joseo Taro from a writer and I think we only played it it's you played it we played it two-player and then the third player is just this like idiot that you have to bring everywhere yeah I'm I I kind of like that uh that you pay us yeah you said he's he's your boss yeah um the guy who was just to every IGN podcast is what does high-pair Logan said that not me if you're in your car and you're driving really fast and you couldn't tell whose voice that was that wasn't me I would call you an idiot to your face no I miss I miss that era of multiplayer Zelda games which is which is odd right because like we didn't get a ton of them but they did some pool stuff here in there there was a while where they just put it they put it like on everything they put out on a GBA they're like oh you also get four swords it's oh yeah it was like when every Mario game on DS they're like hey remember those mini games from Mario 64 DS they're back that's worse than ever yeah play Luigi poker that is the one that comes to mind or Yoshi plucking the he loves me he loves me not pedals on the flower or the one that's psychotic one where it's like you had it there were like a hundred faces yes yeah and you you had to find like Wario in all the Mario faces yeah like find the one Waluigi that doesn't have a mustache yeah those were the baby Waluigi yes yeah okay that my I have one more prediction actually I have several more but I think that this might be the last one of the segment I think this is finally the year that Pokemon Red Blue and Yellow come to switch I think that they're gonna release as separately paid products not in the Game Boy app I think they're gonna cost ten bucks a pop I think they're gonna shadow drop them on Pokemon Day February 27th for the 30th anniversary and I think all this because it's the playbook they ran 10 years ago on 3ds where people wanted them wanted them wanted them where were they were we're so far into this generation and on the 20th anniversary people lost their minds when they dropped red blue and yellow I think they'll have Pokemon home and Pokemon champions functionality and finally these games will be on switch if they do that I better be getting gold silver crystal right next to them dad gummage those came to 3ds eventually right those were out too yeah yeah they all made it they better do all of them I'll be so pissed if we only get Gen 1 my goodness yeah the Gen 1 love is a little overdone yeah also I really have to happen because I've had a shell in our content management system but like a basically like an outline of an article saying that they're doing this for like three years now and every time there's a Pokemon day I pull it up because I think I can fill it out and use it because they're gonna announce this and they never do so I would love to just get rid of that thing yeah that that's like the that's like the silk song is here or xenoblade chronicles X is finally coming to switch like these ones that have just lived forever and ever but anyone have any more they want to throw it here at the last minute before we move on I won't go into detail fit a new fit game we fit right fit a new fit game of some sort there was a patent that surfaced for a ring con with switch two stuff so let's go we're gonna be at two oh my god yes it's actually it's gonna be mouse control exercise you guys are telling me so many lovely things today that I didn't know about patents please give me a ring fit too Nintendo please mr. no mr. browser anymore oh no yeah Mrs. Pritchard this is your please yeah so that's our predictions for the year and looking back at the list we had earlier if we have everything that's coming out that we know of some Zelda remake a new Pokemon gen a Luigi's mansion and some couple smaller thing that's a full year that's a very strong I think sophomore year first switch two I'll throw out one more as we wrap up this is my craziest prediction I think announced this year out next year super smash brothers ultimate switch two addition with soccer I returning to add more characters no I can't deal with it again I think it's gonna happen and it's not just because I wanted I think this makes a ton of sense this if you look at the best selling switch one games basically every single one except for smash has either gotten a performance patch on switch two a Nintendo switch two addition or a sequel on switch two smash is the is the odd one out that has gotten none of those three things like Mario Kart 8 you got Mario Kart world animal crossing switch two additions out next week both Zelda's got switch two additions on launch day like look across the board this is the case smash has gotten nothing and I think that after Kirby airwriters I think soccer is already working on a very simple switch to addition 4k and a new expf fighters pass that's gonna come with it five new characters maybe five more after launch and that's gonna be the smash brothers for the foreseeable future and this is me to Stephen further speculating I think that this is the time soccer I need to take to train his successor for smash brothers it has to happen at some point kind of a half project just bringing ultimate to a new console with some new bells and whistles that seems like the time for soccer I had to pass the reins he doesn't really seem to want to so I don't know if he's going to but I think that it makes a ton of sense new Nintendo consoles get smashed in the first two years every single time since the end six or since melee smash hits in the first two years light clockwork there's not time for a brand new one in the next year and a half he just made Kirby airwriters I think this is the direction and I think they'll reveal it in June and for the next year or so every direct will end with a new character reveal and it'll come out sometime next year I love the character reveals so that'll be fun I guess yeah yeah wallowigi baby wallowigi and smash before we go to get wallowigi yeah sweeten up at a nation yeah but I hope that's the case I think ultimate is just too dang good to let that breathe for another gen like Mario Kart 8 got to and I think that would be perfectly fine so those are 2026 predictions for Nintendo everything we just said is going to happen so it's going to be a really fun year yeah follow along on your yeah exactly we willed it all into existence follow along to see how right or how wrong we were this year on Nintendo voice chat we were going to talk about games we played over the break but we had some tech issues and ran a little long so rabbi just want to give you a second to shout out games done quick that you wanted to talk thank you so much okay it's awesome games done quick week everybody it's like the super bowl of video games I love this week I mean the big game by the time this comes out on Friday it will be mostly over so I super encourage you to go back and look at those if you don't know what it is it's basically a week long 24 seven speedrunning marathon we're all these really talented people get up on a stage and they run games as fast as possible for charity for the prevent cancer foundation and it's it's just so cool to watch some of the crazy stuff that they do there have been tons of really good Nintendo games already in here they open with a Mario sunshine run that was fantastic by the time you're seeing this on Friday Friday and Saturday the last two days so I'm just going to shout out a couple of the big Nintendo runs coming up at the end on Friday evening they have super Mario galaxy any percent parentheses Luigi I don't know what that means and then a bonus game that's like a bonus incentive if they meet donation incentives spoilers they usually do they're going to run Donkey Kong but Nancy yeah followed by I'm just going to read this the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time versus Majora's Mask any percent parentheses blindfolded game choice days so I think I think the donators are going to donate to pick between Ocarina and Majora's so the runner doesn't know what they have to run I think that's probably what that is and then they have to do whichever one blindfolded I'm it's going to be so good later that night if you stay up they're doing Chrono trigger and then oh I just hit the button to scroll down to the bottom of the page on the final day they have a ton of stuff but at 11 a.m. they're going to be running Super Mario 64 followed by Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker and then they're closing with just an absolute banger series Elden Ring Night Raine Hades 2 Hollow Knight Silk Song the final bonus game and then the final game of the run is Pokemon Emerald games are night-brain speedrun sounds crazy I know I love games done quick go go watch them go check that out especially if you've never seen them before it's it's honestly one of the best times a year to just think about video games and see a bunch of really talented people doing incredible stuff for charity yeah everything rep said seems like like random like games come it just it doesn't make sense you'll be like oh yeah do you hear about that 100 hour game a guy beat it in 32 seconds it's a new world record they do a really good job of having either the people who are playing the runners or somebody who's knowledgeable on Mike behind them explain what's going on and how they're doing it and why they're doing it the way they're doing it so even if you don't know anything about speedrunner even anything about the game you're watching you can usually pick up on what's happening so it doesn't feel like one of the sporting events where you walk in and they're yelling about to stuff and you just don't know what the rules are like they do it's a pretty good job really you get so that he's like he's gonna hit this frame perfect oh my god he did it yeah yes yes he spun around yeah at 8 a.m. this morning central time before work I was watching a race for an animal crossing city folk to catch all 64 bugs and get the golden net and it took them what it takes a whole year though two hours to do that wow so you like going time travel like yeah forward the seasons and then go back in and that's cool amazing yeah that's cool it revs sent me a Mario Kart world run where the runner was collecting all the question block panels in free roam in in each track that has five of them scattered around the routes and the runner is like rewinding and then canceling the rewind at the exact right time so the cart drops and hits a panel on the ground and then they're like driving and they they stop two two feet short of a panel and they fast-traumat and they say oh don't worry you pick it up on the loading screens like what how do people figure that stuff out it's it's just crazy it's very cool that cool that's games done quick where do people watch this I don't watch this twitch youtube I'm pretty sure it's just twitch.tv slash games and quick but if you don't know just type games done quick into google they have like an official website with the schedule um the schedule does change a little bit depending on because you know some runs go long or short uh so if you're if you're looking to watch a specific run just keep an eye on what time it says because it might fluctuate a bit uh but it there's also a link to the twitch channel on their website as well it's very easy to find. Awesome well that is the first episode for 2026 of Nintendo Voice Chat in the books we're here every Friday with audio on your favorite podcast app and a video on the IGN games channel on youtube if you like the show please tell a friend or leave us a review rating or nice comment wherever you're listening it helps us out so much next week Animal Crossing New Horizons big update will be here we'll talk all about it thank you so much Seth Reb and Brian and thank you to Nick Maier for filling in behind the scenes this week and thank you so much for listening but for now that's all the time I've got I gotta get back to playing Animal Crossing New Leaf on my Nintendo 3DS have a great week we'll be back next time with more Nintendo Voice Chat the only place you can get the thing