Nintendogs Tease Shows Nintendo Still Wants Forgotten Games

A YouTube commenter who correctly called Nintendo’s two September Directs now says a new Super Smash Bros. game is in the works, not a port of Ultimate. The same account, malo932, also teased Nintendogs with a bark, and that is the claim that does not read like filler.

Nintendo has not confirmed either project. The Directs on Sept. 8 and 9 are built for Zelda’s 40th anniversary and for Switch 2 games due this winter, which leaves Smash and a pet game as a later-calendar problem if they exist at all.

Malo932 Cashed Two Directs, Then Named Smash

Malo932 is not a household leak name. The account posted on YouTube that Nintendo would hold separate Zelda and general presentations, days before Nintendo posted the dates, and those shows are now on the calendar.

Nintendo’s U.S. site lists a Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct on Sept. 8 at 7 a.m. PT for about 30 minutes, then a Nintendo Direct on Sept. 9 at the same hour for about 45 minutes, with Treehouse: Live after the second show. European Nintendo pages describe that Wednesday Direct as a look at Switch 2 games due this winter.

The Smash line came in a comment under talk of an Ultimate Switch 2 edition. “No, a new Smash is in the works,” malo932 wrote. That is a small sentence with a large distinction, because a new fighting game and a paid upgrade of the 2018 roster are different products with different wait times.

MALO932’S CONFIRMED CALLS

• The Directs: The account flagged separate Zelda and Nintendo presentations before Nintendo posted Sept. 8 and Sept. 9.
• Ocarina of Time: The same comment trail pointed to a remake that Nintendo later showed for Switch 2 in 2026.
• Star Fox: A classic-style Star Fox title was named before Nintendo put Fox McCloud back on a box.
• Switch Sports: A new Sports game was called, and Nintendo Switch Sports Resort is dated Oct. 22.

Those hits are why the new comments are moving. They are still comments on YouTube, not a briefing, and they do not name a studio, a year, or a Direct slot for Smash.

The 15-Year Gap Nintendogs Never Filled

Smash is the search term. Nintendogs is the stray that does not belong on a winter software tape, which is why the tease is doing more work than the fighting-game line.

Cozy weird games are strong in Nintendo, and maybe another “forgotten” cozy weird Nintendo series is coming back, barking. Wink wik, woof woof

malo932, YouTube comment

The original Nintendogs games on Nintendo DS sold 23.96 million copies worldwide as of March 31, 2016, second only to New Super Mario Bros. on that handheld. Hideki Konno produced the series to use the DS touch screen and microphone; Shigeru Miyamoto has said a family dog helped push the idea. Nintendo later noted that most owners were female, a customer mix the company still chases with life sims.

Nintendogs + Cats launched with the Nintendo 3DS on Feb. 26, 2011 in Japan and March 27, 2011 in North America. There has been no new entry on Switch or Switch 2. That is a 15-year hole for a series that once moved handheld hardware.

The cozy half of the tease already has a live sales check. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launched on April 16, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, plays on Switch 2, and Nintendo said worldwide sell-through had exceeded 8 million copies by early August. Malo932’s “another” forgotten series only makes sense if Nintendo thinks pets can sit beside Miis without cannibalizing that run.

A new Nintendogs would also be a hardware pitch. Switch 2 mouse controls and a stronger camera story than the DS mic-and-stylus kit are the obvious hooks. That is not in the comment. The bark is the whole leak.

Ultimate Is Still a 38-Million-Copy Problem

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate shipped worldwide on Dec. 7, 2018. Nintendo’s dedicated-title tally puts it at 38.14 million copies through June 30, 2026, third among Switch games behind Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

That number is why a Switch 2 edition of Ultimate keeps coming up in fan talk, and why malo932 bothered to shut it down. Ultimate is still a full-price catalog game with 86 fighters once downloadable characters are counted, and it still charts in Japan in quiet weeks. A port would be cheaper to ship. A new game would be the first Smash in nearly eight years.

ULTIMATE’S UNFINISHED BUSINESS

• Ship date: Ultimate launched worldwide on Dec. 7, 2018, so the gap to a sequel is nearly eight years.
• Unit total: Nintendo’s June 30, 2026 figure is 38.14 million copies, still climbing by a few hundred thousand a quarter.
• Post-launch: Fighters Pass content ended with Sora in October 2021, and Masahiro Sakurai later said his Ultimate work was finished after the Sora amiibo.
• Sakurai’s last ship: He directed Kirby Air Riders, which Nintendo released in November 2025, before any new Smash could be the day job again.

In May, interviewer Reece Reilly, who posts as Kiwi Talkz, said Smash was coming in the next year or two and that Sakurai had wanted Kirby Air Riders done first. That older note and malo932’s “new Smash” line point at the same window, 2027 or 2028, not at Wednesday’s winter Direct.

What a New Smash Would Have to Replace

Switch 2 already has a fighting-game-shaped absence in its first-party list. Mario Kart World launched with the hardware. Donkey Kong Bananza, Kirby Air Riders, Mario Tennis Fever, Pokémon Pokopia, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, Splatoon Raiders, and a new Star Fox filled the next year. Smash is not on that list.

The remainder of 2026 is booked with other names. Nintendo’s June Direct dated Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave on Sept. 17, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort on Oct. 22 with 12 sports, and a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on Dec. 3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a 2026 Switch 2 remake without a day. Xenoblade Genesis is dated 2027. Pokémon Winds and Waves are 2027 as well.

A new Smash would sit in that 2027 cluster if malo932 and Reilly are both roughly right. It would also have to clear Ultimate’s “Everyone Is Here” promise, which Sakurai has called a one-time feat. Starting over means new licenses, new netcode, and a roster fight that Ultimate already won. Building on Ultimate means Nintendo is selling a sequel that looks like a revision. The comment does not pick a path. It only rules out a simple port.

Smash arriving late is normal for the series. Brawl, Smash 4, and Ultimate each took years after Sakurai’s prior game. Kirby Air Riders only left his desk last winter. Anyone expecting a trailer on Sept. 9 is arguing with that clock.

Wario Land, a Super Metroid Remake, and Another Star Fox

Malo932’s earlier comments, now being copied as a set, name more than Smash and dogs. A Star Fox adventure game, a Super Metroid remake that is “close,” a new Wario Land that might land in 2027, and a new 3D Mario likely in 2027 sit on the same list. Later roundups of those comments also attach Mario Kart World DLC with Fox McCloud in 2027 and a new 2D Metroid beside a pixel-style Super Metroid remake.

DORMANT NINTENDO SERIES

Those gaps are the actual software story. Nintendo spent Switch 2’s first year on Kart, Kong, Kirby, tennis, Yoshi, Splatoon, and a Star Fox shooter. The odd platformers and pet games that used to fill the months between Mario and Zelda never showed up.

Star Fox Already Shipped a Shooter in June

Nintendo’s first-quarter results mention Star Fox, released in June, as one of the Switch 2 titles that sold steadily. The June Direct had already billed “the return of Fox McCloud.” A Star Fox adventure game would be a second new entry in the same series inside a year, closer to Rare’s 2002 on-foot GameCube game than to the rail shooter that just shipped.

Fox in Mario Kart World DLC in 2027 would be cheaper crossover maintenance, not a new Star Fox. Both can be true. Only the adventure game would mean Nintendo is staffing the series as a line, not as a one-off revival.

Super Metroid Is the Remake That Keeps Coming Back

Super Metroid is from 1994 and already lives on Nintendo Switch Online. A pixel remake that is “close” would be a different product: a full rerecord, not a Classics app listing. Nintendo has spent the Switch years remaking Metroid Prime and shipping Metroid Dread and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. A 2D Super Metroid project would sit next to those, not replace them, and it is the kind of mid-size game a winter Direct can actually date.

Wario Land and 3D Mario Sit in 2027

Wario Land: Shake It! is from 2008. WarioWare kept the character visible, including Move It! in 2023, but the side-scrolling Land games stopped. A 2027 Land title would be an 18-year wait. Super Mario Odyssey is from 2017, with Bowser’s Fury in 2021 and a Galaxy 1 + 2 collection in 2025 standing in for a new 3D Mario. A 2027 3D Mario would be the first true follow-up in almost nine years. Those two dates match a company that used 2026 for remakes, Sports, Fire Emblem, and Pokémon spinoffs, then saved the expensive original 3D work for the hardware’s third calendar year.

Wednesday’s Direct Is Aimed at Winter Software

Tuesday, Sept. 8 is a Zelda 40th anniversary show. A live-action movie trailer would fit that hour better than Smash. Wednesday, Sept. 9 is the general Direct, and Nintendo’s own European copy frames it as winter Switch 2 software, which in practice means Fire Emblem in two weeks, Sports Resort in October, the Ocarina remake whenever Nintendo prints a day, and the Xenoblade 3 upgrade in December.

THE SEPTEMBER SOFTWARE WINDOW

1. Sept. 8, 2026: The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct, about 30 minutes, 7 a.m. PT.
2. Sept. 9, 2026: Nintendo Direct 9.9.2026, about 45 minutes, 7 a.m. PT, then Treehouse: Live.
3. Sept. 17, 2026: Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave ships on Switch 2.
4. Oct. 22, 2026: Nintendo Switch Sports Resort ships on Switch 2.

A Super Metroid remake that is “close” could sneak into that winter hour. Smash, Nintendogs, Wario Land, and a 2027 3D Mario would be logos at most, and even that would be a gift. Sakurai’s last game is not even a year old. Nintendogs has no public team. Ultimate does not need a sequel to keep selling.

WHAT WE KNOW

• The Directs: Nintendo has posted Sept. 8 and Sept. 9, with runtimes, and European pages tie the second show to winter Switch 2 games.
• The slate: Fire Emblem, Sports Resort, Ocarina of Time, and Xenoblade Genesis are official; Smash and Nintendogs are not.
• The cozy check: Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream has already cleared 8 million copies, so Nintendo has current proof that weird life sims still sell.

WHAT IS UNCONFIRMED

• New Smash: Malo932 says a new game is in the works and that it is not an Ultimate Switch 2 edition; Nintendo has said nothing.
• Nintendogs: The bark is a tease with no platform, no year, and no studio.
• The rest of the pile: Star Fox adventure, Super Metroid remake, Wario Land, 3D Mario 2027, Fox Kart DLC, and a 2D Metroid remain comment-trail claims.

Smash will get the clicks because Ultimate is nearly eight years old and still one of Nintendo’s three biggest Switch games. The harder read is the bark. Nintendo already brought a forgotten cozy series back this year and watched it clear 8 million, and the Switch 2 calendar still has no pet game, no Land game, and no new 3D Mario. If malo932 is right, those holes are the 2027 plan, and Wednesday’s Direct is not where they get filled.