The Holiday Season can be one of the biggest times of the year for gamers, and the 2020 holiday season is already shaping up to be a big one. Both Microsoft and Sony have announced the next generation of their consoles will be releasing this holiday season alongside some very promising AAA titles. However, gamers still have not heard what is to come this holiday season from one of the biggest names in gaming, Nintendo. Nintendo has started a trend of releasing their biggest title of the year during the holiday season, but have yet to announce what that title will be.
While, yes, the holidays are many months away, Nintendo has held true to the tradition of announcing their big holiday releases earlier in the year, usually being sometime in March. These announcements take the place during one of Nintendo's elusive Nintendo Directs, showcasing gameplay or a cinematic trailer followed by the words "Holiday 2020." However, It is the end of March and the only announcements Nintendo has made were during a Nintendo Direct Mini which lasted 29 minutes and showcased games fans were already aware of, are being released earlier than the holidays, or are games that aren't noteworthy enough to be a Holiday title. Not to mention this has been the only Nintendo Direct for the year 2020 so far.
While Nintendo has yet to reveal its big holiday title, fans and enthusiasts have already been theorizing what games could be Nintendo's big 2020 holiday title. Some theories are a little far-fetched while others have solid evidence to back their claims. This article will explore the possibilities of what the holiday release could be, and why Nintendo would likely choose one of these games to release during the Holiday season.
BOTW 2 is one of the most obvious and logical choices for a 2020 holiday release. For starters, it was the last of Nintendo's large IP's (Mario, Metroid, Zelda) to have a reveal without a release date. Not to that Nintendo couldn't reveal a game later in the year and have it released during the holidays. It is just highly unlikely and would be out of character for Nintendo.
The sequel to BOTW was announced in June of 2019 with no release date, but was stated to be "in development." Usually when Nintendo announces a game is in development the odds of the game being released the following year are incredibly low. However, if you look at the past developmental history of the Zelda franchise, the possibility of the game being released in 2020 seems less far-fetched.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released on November 21, 1998, and less than two years later Majora's Mask was released on April 27, 2000. The quick turn around in producing a second Legend of Zelda game was due to the fact that the developers used the same engine for both games. It has already been stated that BOTW and BOTW 2 will run on the same engine, and that can be seen in the announcement trailer because both games have incredibly similar cutscenes.
Legend of Zelda is also one of the few remaining Nintendo IPs that has not seen a holiday release. Seeing that the sequel was already announced, and the game will run on the same engine as the first, it would be the logical conclusion that BOTW 2 will be this year's holiday title.
While Mario has already received a Holiday release with Super Mario Odyssey releasing during the holiday season of 2017, it is still a viable candidate for a 2020 holiday title for similar reasons to Zelda. While Mario Odyssey 2 has yet to have any sort of announcement it is almost a given that Nintendo's mascot plumber boy will see a 3D platforming sequel for the Nintendo Switch in the near future.
3D Mario games usually see some pass between releases if they are a different console than the previous release. However, another look back at developmental history will show 3D Mario games released on the same platform have shorter gaps in their release dates. Notably, the Super Mario Galaxy series had two games which released on the Nintendo Wii with only a three-year gap between releases.
Super Mario Galaxy released in 2007 and its sequel released in 2010. The quick turnaround also comes from the fact that the first game sold incredibly well for that time, and both games were developed using the same engine. While Mario Odyssey 2 has not had a reveal trailer as of yet, it could happen later this year. Mario Odyssey, although announced in January of 2017, was announced to be released during the holiday season as a part of a Nintendo Direct that took place in June of 2017.
It is also worth noting the various corroborated rumors that a handful of 3D Mario titles are being remastered and are planned to release later this year in celebration of the Mario Bros' 35th Anniversary. The anniversary will take place on September 13, 2020, which is a little outside of the "holiday season," but a new title could release alongside a batch of remasters.
This situation is similar to the release of Super Mario Galaxy 2, as it was released in 2010 which was Mario's 25th Anniversary. That same year a collection of classic Mario games was released in celebration of the anniversary. However, Galaxy 2 was released in May and the collection was not released until later that year in December. Regardless, if this is Mario's big year, then it would make sense for Nintendo to capitalize on their main man.
Now here is where things get a little more far-fetched. While these titles are incredibly unlikely to have a holiday release, they are some of Nintendo's biggest IP's that yet to have a substantial presence on the Nintendo Switch and therefore could be viable candidates for a big release sometime in the near future. The first of these titles is Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong currently has one game on the Nintendo Switch which is a port of a game released in 2014. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze was ported over to the Switch in 2018 with the only new addition to the game being Funky Kong as a playable character. Fans were more than disappointed in the announcement, with many hoping that a new Donkey Kong game would be making its debut on the Switch.
While Nintendo hasn't announced any plans for developing a new Donkey Kong game, fans of the side-scrolling primate are in desperate need of a new adventure. Regardless of whether the adventure stays true to the beloved 2D platforming style of recent titles, or makes a second attempt at the 3D platforming style of Donkey Kong 64, the king of the jungle is well overdue for a proper Switch experience.
Of course, this list would not be complete without naming this heart-breaker. Metroid Prime 4 has been on many gamer's minds since a flashy image revealed the game's development in 2017, but at the beginning of 2019 fans were told the game's development was undergoing some major setbacks, and it seemed unlikely players would see Metroid Prime 4 anytime soon.
Regardless, Nintendo has been deemed the "Kings of Left-field" due to the nature of surprising their fans with incredibly unexpected announcements. Some of these have been good, and others have been less well-received, but the announcements have usually taken fans by surprise. Nothing would surprise fans more than a Holiday 2020 release date for Metroid Prime 4.
This is also reinforced by the fact that the Metroid franchise has relatively zero presence on the Nintendo Switch. Fans can play the original games through emulators available to Nintendo Online members, but the most recent titles available were released over a decade ago. While Nintendo themselves issued a statement regarding the game's delay, 3D Metroid games are well overdue for another installment in the franchise.
While there are many more games that could be released as 2020 holiday titles, these are some of the most likely options. That being said, Nintendo has shown that they do not always choose the "most likely options" and instead opt for titles that surprise Nintendo fans. And who knows, Nintendo could dig up cult classic IPs such as Pikmin or Earthbound or maybe even introduce a new franchise altogether. Regardless of what Nintendo chooses to do, it will surely surprise all those anxiously waiting for this year's hit holiday title.
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