u/Bertstripmaster

I just saw Gamexplain's video about an "Untitled PP Movie", and immediately thought "Already? They cannot be working on a Peach spin-off movie that quickly!" How does Minion Animation keep a full schedule that quickly on top of this rumored movie unrelated to Nintendo or even the Minions? I get it's being done in France, but what are they feeding them that allows them to work so fast? I don't see Disney working that quickly! HOW?!

So today I was YouTube and saw a leak from Riddler Khu (whom if I was in charge of Nintendo's social media team would've run him out of town on a rail) saying that Pokémon Wind and Waves is scheduled for a late 2027 release (likely around the holiday season as I've come to expect from the franchise) and so have come to ask myself "OK, then what's Nintendo going to do in the meantime?"

The first answer that comes to mind is a new Kirby since the franchise turns 35, and we know HAL is never one to skimp out on anniversaries. Back in 2017 it was new merchandise, music, or the announcement of Star Allies, which basically became a case of "How many characters from Kirby's past can we shove into this game?" (the answer was 22)

The other choice is 3D Mario, because of course, but what other Mario spinoffs are there? If rumors are to be believed, then Luigi's Mansion 4 is coming this year, so that's off the table, and I don't think Nintendo wants another sports spin-off that early after Mario Tennis Fever, so scratch that either. My best guess is a new WarioWare title that takes advantage of the Switch 2's new mouse controls and probably the camera. Before anyone says anything, Move It released 2 years after Get it Together and the same year as FE: Engage, so you can tell Intelligent Systems doesn't have much in the way of manpower issues.

Speaking of Intelligent Systems and Mario Spinoffs, is it too early for me to talk about a new Paper Mario? Enough time has passed for them to analyze what worked and what didn't with Brothership and apply that to a new Paper Mario title, such as with how that game corrected the sins of the 2010s regarding original characters.

But we're seeing how Nintendo is dredging up franchises they haven't touched in a while like Tomodachi Life, Rhythm Heaven, Famicom Detective Club, and of course Star Fox. Is there another franchise they could revive? While obvious choices include F-Zero or Kid Icarus, there could be other oddball franchises like Fossil Fighters, Starfy, Dillon (if you even remember he exists) or even revive that Harmony project Retro Studios was working on?

I say this on the day of Kirby's 34th birthday, as I'm unsure as to what HAL's big plan is for the franchise's 35th anniversary? We know what it was like back when the series turned 25. I'm also thinking about how Pokémon Winds and Waves is coming out next year, and like how Planet Robobot came out the summer of 16, while Sun and Moon came out that holiday season. Will this potential 35th anniversary game emulate that pattern and try to satiate Nintendo customers with a new Kirby game while Winds and Waves sit in the background?