The September 2025 Nintendo Direct is already in the books: Nintendo presented it on September 12, 2025, with games and updates for both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Before the stream, fans hoped for news on Metroid Prime 4, a new Fire Emblem, Mario’s 40th anniversary, and Switch 2 upgrades. Here are 10 of the biggest expectations, checked against Nintendo’s announcements rather than treated as predictions that are still ahead.
What people expected before the September 2025 Direct
Pre-event expectations ranged from specific hopes—such as a Metroid Prime 4 release-date reveal—to broader wishes for a new Fire Emblem, anniversary news, new games, or Switch 2 editions of existing titles. Those examples appeared in a Nintendo Life community discussion; they are useful snapshots of fan interest, not a representative poll of Nintendo players. Nintendo Life’s discussion captures the question people were asking before the show.
Prediction lists also need to be distinguished from leaks. Nintendo Wire’s pre-event article described its choices as guesses and said it had no insider information. That is the right lens for reading forecasts: an expectation is not confirmation, and a vague wish should not be upgraded after the fact into a precise prediction. Nintendo Wire’s preview makes that distinction explicitly.
10 major expectations, measured against the actual announcements
The comparison below treats an expectation as accurate only when the announcement matched its subject and type. A reveal is not the same as a release date; a port or edition is not a new game. Nintendo’s September 12 recap is the primary record for the confirmed highlights. Nintendo’s official event page and official recap provide the title spellings and announcement details.
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| Expectation | What Nintendo announced | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mario 40th-anniversary news | Shigeru Miyamoto opened the presentation with activities commemorating 40 years of Super Mario Bros. The original game launched in Japan on September 13, 1985. | Confirmed. This was a major theme, not just a passing anniversary mention. |
| 2. A return for Super Mario Galaxy | Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 were announced for Nintendo Switch, with a launch date of October 2, 2025. | Confirmed as a pair of returning games. This was a re-release announcement, not a new Galaxy title. |
| 3. A new Mario game or substantial Mario release | Nintendo announced Mario Tennis Fever for Switch 2 and a Switch 2 Edition of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. | Partly matched, depending on the wording of the forecast: there was a new Mario sports game and an enhanced edition, but no new mainline Mario platformer was listed among the confirmed highlights. |
| 4. Metroid Prime 4 news, especially a release date | Nintendo shared new information on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. GameSpot’s post-event roundup reported a December release date. | Partly to strongly matched for a forecast of news or a date. It was not a new Metroid game announcement. |
| 5. A new Fire Emblem | Nintendo gave a first look at Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. | Confirmed. A specific new title was revealed, exceeding a general wish for a new entry. |
| 6. Switch 2 editions or upgrades | A Switch 2 Edition of Super Mario Bros. Wonder was announced, alongside other Switch 2 games and updates. | Partly matched. The expectation was broad; the Wonder edition is a concrete example, not proof that every hoped-for game received an upgrade. |
| 7. A new Yoshi game | Nintendo revealed Yoshi and the Mysterious Book. Nintendo Life’s October guide listed a Spring 2026 release window. | Confirmed as a reveal. The forecast would not count as a release-date prediction unless it named that window. |
| 8. More Pokémon news | Nintendo showed Pokémon Pokopia and announced Mega Dimension DLC for Pokémon Legends: Z-A. | Confirmed for Pokémon announcements, but the outcomes were a new game reveal and DLC—not necessarily the particular Pokémon project a fan may have expected. |
| 9. More Donkey Kong Bananza content | Nintendo announced DLC for Donkey Kong Bananza. | Confirmed if the expectation was additional content; not a new standalone Donkey Kong game. |
| 10. Third-party games for Switch 2 | Nintendo highlighted partner titles including Resident Evil Requiem, Hades II, Suika Game Planet, and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. | Confirmed at the level of partner-game announcements. The exact match depends on which titles and platforms a particular forecast named. |
This is a selection of major announcements, not a claim that these were the only segments in the presentation. Nintendo Life characterized the show as an hour of announcements, but the available primary recap does not establish an exact runtime.
What the event’s mix says about those predictions
Anniversary expectations were the clearest match
Nintendo explicitly centered the opening on Super Mario Bros.’ 40th anniversary and followed with the Galaxy games, Mario Tennis Fever, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, and a Switch 2 Edition of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Nintendo’s wording was direct: “Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto kicked off the presentation by announcing activities to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., which first launched in Japan on September 13th, 1985.” The statement appears in Nintendo’s September 12, 2025 recap.
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The show mixed reveals, updates, and returning games
Some expectations were fulfilled through entirely new reveals, such as Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave and Pokémon Pokopia. Others materialized as updates or additional content, including the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond information and DLC for Pokémon Legends: Z-A and Donkey Kong Bananza. The Galaxy pair, by contrast, were returning games for Switch. Those differences matter when judging a prediction: “Mario news” can match a re-release, while “a new Mario game” cannot fairly be credited to the same announcement.
Switch 2 was part of the scope, not the whole story
Nintendo’s recap covered both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. It identified the Wonder upgrade and Mario Tennis Fever among the Switch 2 announcements, while the Galaxy games were announced for Nintendo Switch. So the general expectation of Switch 2-focused news was borne out, but the presentation was not exclusively about the newer system.
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How to judge a prediction fairly
- Check what was actually forecast. Record the original wording and date. “I hope for Metroid news” is a fan wish; “Metroid Prime 4 gets a December release date” is a testable forecast.
- Separate certainty from provenance. A writer’s prediction, a rumor, and an official announcement are different kinds of claims. Nintendo Wire’s preview, for example, labeled its list as speculation rather than insider reporting.
- Compare announcement type. A new game, a re-release, DLC, an edition upgrade, a first look, and a release date are not interchangeable outcomes.
- Compare platform and specificity. A Switch 2 edition only matches a platform-specific forecast if the forecast named that edition or a sufficiently similar upgrade. A general franchise wish earns a partial match at most.
Using that standard, the most concrete pre-event hopes—Mario anniversary material, a new Fire Emblem, and Metroid Prime 4 news—had meaningful matches in the show. More expansive predictions need closer wording checks: the Direct delivered a varied set of first-party reveals, updates, returning games, and partner titles, rather than one single kind of announcement. GameSpot’s post-event roundup provides secondary context on prominent items, including the anniversary, Galaxy games, Mario Tennis, Yoshi, Metroid’s date, Virtual Boy games for Switch Online subscribers, and Fire Emblem.
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