Forget Let’s Play for a second and enter the world of Let’s Dream. Every few weeks from now until E3 2016, we’re going to run down our list of dreams for every major publisher and developer in the industry. Everyone from Activision to Ubisoft, PlayStation to Xbox.
Keep in mind this is a list of what we would absolutely love to see from these companies in an ideal world. This is not what we expect to happen. But we can dream, right?
The first thing we’d love to see is a return to form for Nintendo’s presentation at E3. We don’t think they need to do a live show every year, but given that this is big-N’s year to unveil their next console, they should do it with a bit of fanfare. The palpable energy in the Microsoft Theatre (formerly the Nokia Theater), when Reggie and Mr. Miyamoto would announce products and games on stage would be a welcome feature of their 2016 announcements.
With the world awaiting the latest news about Zelda for Wii U (and potentially NX), the ideal announcement about the game would be one that not only explains what the game will be all about, but also that Mr. Aonuma and company are planning downloadable content. We aren’t referring to a set of gloves or a different hilt colour, but rather a new area of Hyrule. Perhaps a downloadable dungeon or challenge mode, or a mix of the two. It has happened in past Zelda experiences with areas such as the Color Dungeon in Link’s Awakening DX, so there is no reason it couldn’t happen again. Just imagine a huge, sprawling downloadable map akin to Skyrim‘s Dragonborn expansion.
We’ve said it before, and here we go again: Nintendo can absolutely revitalize its Pokémon trading card market with amiibo functionality. Not only would Nintendo show that it is doubling down on its huge amiibo market, releasing Pokémon trading cards with amiibo functionality could be the most functional amiibo of any released before it.
Picture this: Nintendo releases a base set of the original 151 monsters. It’s based on the artwork from the original set to attract collectors of the cards who perhaps haven’t picked up a booster pack in the last 15 years. Those who had never collected those cards would also follow suit, and the cards would be used in future Pokémon handheld games, perhaps a new console game in the vein of Pokémon Stadium, and that upcoming Pokémon MMO that we all know is coming but has yet to be announced (okay, that last one may be a bit farfetched, but this is Let’s Dream, after all).
Speaking of that Pokémon MMO, here’s how we’d love for it to play out. Nintendo, at E3 announces that some sort of title is in the works but doesn’t elaborate on it. The game is set in a huge mix of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn, while the other regions eventually get released as downloadable content or expansions to the base game. The world is persistent, and if someone chooses to battle you while you’re not at your console or handheld (yes, it’s a dual-platform game), you will still have some say in the battle from your smartphone, whether it be to deliver potions or other items to your creatures, or tell them to use specific moves in an effort for them to defeat your opponent. As much as we can dream, we realize that if this ever does happen, this will be something like Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS: big-N tells us it’s in the works, but it takes three or four years before any concrete information is released afterward.
Next: Metroid, Mario, and a few returning favourites…