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Everything announced at July’s Nintendo Direct mini

Nintendo announced over the weekend a Direct mini partner showcase less than 12 hours before it was to premiere. Fans online expressed their excitement and hoped we would see more of games like the Breath of the Wild sequel and the reworked Metroid Prime 4. The biggest announcement for the Nintendo Direct mini, however, was that Shin Megami Tensei V, a game that’s been in development for quite a few years, would be coming in 2021.

An RPG set in a modern-day, demon-infested Tokyo, it will feature gameplay that is a hybrid between Shin Megami Tensei IV and Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Speaking of which, before V‘s announcement, a trailer for Nocturne‘s HD Remaster was shown with a spring 2021 release date.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Nintendo Direct mini kicked off with new content for Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer. The Zelda rhythm game will be getting three DLC packs, the first of which brings new characters Impa, Aria, Shadow Link, Shadow Zelda, and Frederick. It is available today.

DLC pack 2 is all about melodies, as it will introduce 39 new songs to the game, some of which are remixes of prior tunes. The final DLC for Cadence of Hyrule is entitled Symphony of the Mask and is new story content that has players rhythmically controlling Skull Kid from Majora’s Mask. DLC packs 2 and 3 will release before November, and a bundle of the base game with its additional content will drop on October 23.

Rogue Company, a game revealed in a Nintendo Direct last September, is an online multiplayer third-person shooter by Hi-Rez Studios. It will feature tactical 4v4 game modes, and there’ll be more info coming later today on the company’s Twitter.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

And finally, a fun gameplay trailer featuring some of wrestling’s biggest names debuted for WWE 2k Battlegrounds, which is coming to the Nintendo Switch and other platforms on September 18.

Nintendo also said this would be the first of multiple Direct minis this year. Perhaps the coronavirus pandemic has forced it to switch to leaner and quicker productions. The company currently has no first-party titles announced with release dates, so if it hopes to compete with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X this holiday, it’s at some point going to need to bring out the big guns.

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Nintendo Direct September 2023: how to watch and what to expect
Mario. Peach, Mallow, Bowser, and Geno find one of the Seven Stars in Super Mario RPG.

Nintendo will hold a full-fledged Nintendo Direct presentation this September, just as it has during this month for the past several years. Whether or not this would happen was in question because of the June Direct and August's Super Mario Bros. Wonder Direct, but now that's no longer a debate. The next Nintendo Direct will take place on September 14 and give us insights on games coming to the Nintendo Switch throughout the rest of the year. It will air live, so we've outlined where and how people can watch the September 2023 Nintendo Direct, as well as what people should expect from it.

When is the September 2023 Nintendo Direct
The September 2023 Nintendo Direct starts at 7 a.m. PT on September 14, so you may need to get up early in the morning for it. Nintendo also confirmed that the presentation will last about 40 minutes, so be prepared to tune in for some time.
How to watch the September 2023 Nintendo Direct
Nintendo Direct 9.14.2023 - Nintendo Switch

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Nintendo’s next console may feature DLSS and ray-tracing support
Mario high-fives Nintendo Live guests.

New reports affirm the rumors that Nintendo has started to show its next-generation console -- referred to colloquially by fans as Nintendo Switch 2 -- behind closed doors at a recent video game industry expo. It reportedly featured tech demos highlighting features like Nvidia DLSS support and ray tracing.
Gamescom 2023 was held in Cologne, Germany, between August 23 and August 27. Nintendo attended the European game industry event, and shortly thereafter, rumors emerged that Nintendo had shown its next console behind closed doors. Now, new reports from Eurogamer and VGC are corroborating these claims.
Specifically, both sources say that Nintendo showed tech demos for its next game console in private during meetings with some other game developers at Gamescom. Both sources confirmed that an upgraded version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was shown off on this "Switch 2" hardware.
VGC also had a source who claimed that the impressive The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo -- used to promote Epic Games' new engine and the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X back in 2021 -- was also shown to developers and seemed to confirm that the new Nintendo system will support Nvidia's upscaling DLSS tech as well as ray-tracing. Keep in mind that tech demos for systems often don't make the transition to full-game releases.

We don't know much else about what was shown, although VGC claims that this system will be usable in a portable mode like the Nintendo Switch is. Currently, the launch window for Nintendo's next new piece of hardware is expected to be sometime in fall 2024, although Eurogamer's source stated that "Nintendo is keen to launch the system sooner if possible."
Nintendo has not commented on these rumors, and is unlikely to ahead of an official console reveal. Still, the idea that the next Nintendo console is nearly upon us should be exciting for fans of one of the video game industry's most storied companies. 

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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom DLC is not happening, says Nintendo
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the year's most successful games, but a developer from Nintendo has confirmed that it doesn't have plans to make any DLC for it. Speaking to the Japanese publication Famitsu, series producer Eiji Aonuma confirmed this was the case because the development team had already explored all of the ideas they wanted to in the base game and is now looking to the future.

"At this time, we are not planning to release additional content. We feel like we have already fully explored and exhausted the gameplay possibilities in this world," Aonuma said in comments translated by Video Games Chronicle. "Initially, the reason we decided to develop a sequel was because we believed there was still value in experiencing new gameplay within that particular Hyrule. If, in the future, we find a compelling reason, we may revisit that world once again. Whether it’s another sequel or an entirely new title, I believe the next game will offer a completely new experience."
While Aonuma's explanation is sound, it's still a pretty surprising move by Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received two expansions after it came out in 2017. Some fans expected that Tears of the Kingdom would follow in that game's footsteps, especially as it would make sense for Nintendo to find more ways to capitalize on a game that has already sold 18.51 million copies. Still, it's probably best for Nintendo to move on from Tears of the Kingdom and create something new rather than making underwhelming DLC for the sake of having post-launch content. 
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch.

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