Nintendo fans are hungry for a Nintendo Direct right now. You know that, we know that, and we're pretty sure Nintendo knows that, but there's still no sign of a presentation in our near future. So what's going on?
The last Direct presentation we received was on the 1st November - a special Direct which was the last one to be centred completely around Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Going back further, the last "proper" Nintendo Direct which catered to all fans and spoke about a variety of games was released on 13th September, almost five whole months ago.
Since then, Nintendo has been making large, potentially Nintendo Direct-sized announcements on social media; you can easily visualise moments like the Metroid Prime 4 delay and the Dr. Mario smartphone game reveal popping up in a video, but they were shared as standalone news items instead. Picking up on this fact, Wall Street Journal reporter Takashi Mochizuki asked about Nintendo's current attitude to Nintendo Directs in a recent Q&A session.
He reports that Nintendo's stance on Directs hasn't changed, signalling that more will come in the future, although the long gap between presentations was fully acknowledged in the response. The hypothetical January Nintendo Direct that fans were desperately hoping for and attempting to wish into existence never came, so does this acknowledgement suggest that Nintendo is aware of the demand, waiting to spring a presentation on us in the coming weeks?
It's impossible to know for sure, but what we do know is that Nintendo Directs are definitely still a thing; we're sure a presentation will arrive as soon as Nintendo is ready to deliver the goods, so remain calm.
Are you itching for another Nintendo Direct? When do you think the next one will come? Share your thoughts with us below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 87
We'll wait until E3.
These are all well and good but I still miss Super Play magazine.
A Jan direct should have happened and I'm wondering if MP4 delay has something to do with it. Considering most Directs Nintendo likes to start off showing something new or a reveal video for a big game.
E3 has sucked for a long time ... Ninty needs games!!! We don't get any, need at least 8-9 big hitters a year
I guess if you have only delays to announce and nothing new for the next couple of months, then there is nothing coming direct as such! Also, maybe they are sacking the Russian guy after all after his bad presentation...
I'm really hoping SNES games comes in the next direct, which if they were in beta in the last version one can hope it will come in Feb. But seeing as everything has slipped a bit, it could be a march/April thing now
According to an article published on another site earlier, someone from Nintendo said during the financial briefing that they're "preparing at least one unannounced title for Switch that “fans would be delighted to know.”
and will release some point in the next fiscal year.
It's unusual for them to make a tease like that, so they've got at least 1 big surprise for us.
My money is on a 2D Zelda.
None of the announcements they’ve made on Twitter have been overly big. That suggests to me that the Direct, when it comes, will be a doozy.
The January Direct would have been nothing but release dates for games we already knew about and a reveal that MP4 was delayed, going by the stuff they’ve tweeted out lately. I can see why they didn’t go the Direct route this time.
Hopefully this month will be the one though.
There will likely be one early this month. But, I can't get as excited considering the Metroid news. I hope we get something just as big, revealed and released, this year. And, hoping they release the Metroid Prime Trilogy and SNES games this month.
I’m not in any hurry for a full Direct right now. The only thing I want is a Pokémon Direct for the 8th gen games.
@NintyNate 8-9 big hitters is a lot to ask of a single company. Chances are we'll be seeing 4-6 Nintendo developed games this year, with 2-3 of those being the big hitters, as well as maybe 3-5 big hitters from other company's (Doom Eternal, Overwatch, etc.)
I cannot wait to see Nintendo Direct and then suddenly i see and hear a very familiar sounds and logo of this !
My heart will be stopped when i see The Sims 4 on Nintendo Switch and i will die in happiness.
I'm I reading this Tweet correct and it says Octopath Traveler hasn't released in Japan yet?
@NintyNate
Switch has tons of games and 8-9 big hitters a year isn’t realistic
@OorWullie I’m betting on it being Retro’s game, which I’m betting on being Pikmin 4.
Pretty understandable that they have held off. They had to wait until Prime 4 was officially changing gears and then get out in front of it. A Direct before that announcement would have been a disaster and you can't juxtapose the two things because you want to leave people on a high note. Let the Prime 4 sadness dissipate and then get something fun out there.
I'd guess the main reason why we haven't had a January Direct is because they have no major first party titles releasing in the very near future that they can hype up. If they were to show us a Direct with a bunch of release dates and windows but none of those were between now and Yoshi's release, it'd only highlight that gap. They're better off saving all the info on the upcoming games until we're getting closer to an actual new release.
@Spoony_Tech
It was released in Japan but published there by Square-Enix so Nintendo don’t report on those sales. Weird, I know.
@Scrummer you know what I mean lol we need more like PS and Xbox, Ninty keep throwing games out that nobody wants and the games we ask for lay dormant ... Where's F-ZERO? Metroid? (Not prime 4) Pikmin? 1080? Wave race? Etc...
@electrolite77 I figured that out just as I saw this lol. Remembered it was not a Nintendo game in Japan.
@Anti-Matter Would be nice, the Sims 3 ports on the 3DS were pretty disappointing, it be great to have a fully portable version of the PC version of Sims 4
@NintyNate
“Nobody wants?” Have you seen what their games are selling?
It's time to reveal a new 1080 and drop it before the ski season ends. Gimme. PLEASE GIMME IT.
@Anti-Matter I love the Sims (according to Origin I put nearly 400 hours into Sims 4), but I could never play it on a console. Downloading custom content (and making your own!) is at least half the fun.
Nintendo's next release is yoshi and then fire emblem so I expect a direct about 4 weeks out from yoshi as the start of a promo push from Nintendo.
No direct just means they have nothing to show....which won't be shown at E3.
Generally the Q4 direct is only showing off games which will release between January-July. yoshi, fire emblem, and demon machina.
That’s all good ! But a direct would do nothing but good for nintendo at this point
@NintyNate "Ninty keep throwing games out that nobody wants"
Aces, Party, Octo, Let's Go all say hi. Granted, you probably couldn't hear them over Smash screaming everywhere.
More options are good, not bad. You're acting like all that's on Switch is Duke Nukem Forever.
On point, I'm not really starving for a Direct. I know what I know and it's enough for me. For now.
Please understand
Got a feeling that when it does drop it going to be a big one, think the March direct last year. A less is more could be ideal for Nintendo, even if its only 3 directs in a year if they all are massive no rude words given lol.Oh and when i say 3 that is also including the e3 one
Good to know they will continue making direct. As for the unannounced game that Nintendo says that will delight the fans, my guess is that Paper Mario will come but with the RPG elements of the first two entries. I know it's a bold guess but a 2D Zelda is not something farfetched to happen (Edit: What I mean is that everyone could see a 2D Zelda happening, so if this unannounced game is to be something that delight fans in the same way as Super Mario Party, it has to be something like a new Paper Mario with the elements of Paper Mario 1 and 2.
@JackEatsSparrows I found forever quite fun for the whole price of 50p lol ... The WiiU missed out on alot of opportunities, the switch is now 2 years old and it hasn't got its own Zelda yet or a Mario kart ... We know nothing about Bayo 3, Metroid is miles away, DXM looks good but we need abit more don't you think??? .... Need better ports too
@NintyNate If you own a Nintendo Switch you must be certainly aware that your "Nintendo Switch has no games" sentence does not stand true.
@Anti-Matter Why do you feel the need to post box art, for every game you play and like ? it's getting a bit boring every week.
Sounds like they put everything into Metroid Prime 4
@Cosats yeah I got games but a few are ports (Mario kart, Zelda, Bayo) and all the rest I've finished, indie games are abit meh a few are great don't get me wrong but it needs way more
@Madder128 hope so!!!
@617Sqn It’s actually a psychological masterpiece. He knows most most people just scroll until they get to the pictures. He puts pictures in not just to illustrate, but to captivate.
Well, it would be nice to know some details for the year, which is what the "January Direct" was supposed to outline. All we can assume is that the next big game drop is Yoshi in March, and from there, we have no idea.
I mean, if Fire Emblem is coming in "spring" they better drop some info soon, so they can market it. I dunno, I just feel like they're wasting time by keeping everyone in the dark about how the year (or even the first half of the year) is shaping up.
I am hoping we get one sooner then later
People say they want a Direct, but what they really want is announcements of new games and news on known releases. Nintendo's 'stance' on Directs isn't really relevant.
@NintyNate You want 8-9 AAA? Already happening. I mean this year we already have MK11, Doom:Eternal, LM3, FE:TH,Animal Crossing, Daemon Ex Machina, Yoshi's Crafted World, Tale of Vesperia Definitive Edition, Team Sonic Racing, Crash Nitro Fueled, Dragon Quest Builders 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Pokemon 2019, NSMBU DX, AC3+Liberation,. 7 of those are exclusives and not ports, so one more announcement of an exclusive will hit that number if you were ignoring multiplats and ports for some reason. (which is pretty much guaranteed to happen by E3)
I haven't bought a game since Octopath. I'll buy the Fire Emblem game coming out, but expecting that to be delayed. Yoshi...maybe. Last year's first half was really slow too. Now, back to Octopath!
They say their stance hasn't changed, but in the Iwata era, even with WiiU having no games, there were Directs every few months and constant communication. The stance has clearly changed with generally 2-3 per year now, and 1 or 2 of them not being directs, but being a single game infomercial. They've rolled back to 1990's communication levels.
I am a massive Nintendo fan and I love the Directs but all the begging for them non stop is insufferable.
@MoonKnight7 Could even be that Yoshi is the last big game of this half of the year.
@NintyNate That's a bit lofty of an expectation, isn't it? Does Sony and Microsoft release that many first party titles a year? Or are you counting third party?
@NintyNate You know how many franchises Sony has that are dormant?
Good god, you could play a full game of bingo with em!
Wave Race Switch! 🤞🏻
@NintyNate Maybe you could ask the other Third Parties what thier Switch Plans are instead of dumping all your request for Games on Nintendo who's already put dozens of thier own 8-10 quality games on the system.
@link3710 wow AAA titles with 40 dollar price tags!
Sometimes Nintendo baffles me. At first people weren't too keen on the Directs, now that everyone likes and expects them, they do this lol.
@Grumblevolcano
Yeah maybe, but Fire Emblem is supposed to be somewhere in the first half and at their financial shareholder meeting it was still slated for "spring". If there was a delay on that game, you would think it wouldn't have been mentioned or have a "2019" instead.
So I think that's at least arriving in the first half, but they better get moving, so they can properly market it.
@phanboy First of all, price doesn't determine AAA, production values do. Secondly, every game with an announced price on my list costs $60, so what are you even talking about?
@LoveEmpath coz third parties don't listen and when they do it old ports lol Ninty don't listen well either but I buy my Nintendo stuff for Nintendo games...
I wondered after the Metroid 4 news if that game was planned to have a spotlight, until they realized how poorly development was going and decided to pivot away. It's also too early for Pokemon, assuming it comes out in late fall like it usually does. Fingers are always crossed for that Metroid trilogy port and ports of the HD Zelda games from Wii u
The way things are looking I can imagine we'll get one direct towards the end of the month and then nothing until E3
Yeah, we're getting a lot of games this year, and we're barely into February, so theres gonna be even more games(1st and 3rd party)that'll be announced and released this year.
People just need to be patient and play the literal 1,000+ games available on Switch or other platforms. We all know Nintendo likes to keep their cards close, and won't announce stuff till they're ready. I prefer Nintendo's way of not announcing everything right away; look at Prime 4 which was announced too early, even if you ignore the restart in development.
@NintyNate You obviously know nothing about game development. Sure it's nice for us if we get many great games, but a so-called big hitter isn't done in a couple of months. Many people today don't appreciate the work that goes into a game at all, that's really sad.
@MoonKnight7 Nintendo uses the astronomical season definitions so if a game planned for the end of Spring is delayed by a few weeks you're already in the 2nd half of the year. Like Mario Tennis Aces missed Spring by a few days, if it was delayed by 2 weeks it would've been July.
Now wait as YTer LaxChris reports a 4chan "leak" saying a Direct is happening anyway.
On a more serious note, though (wait, no, my prediction on LC will still turn out to be accurate, no joke there), a Direct is still overdue. Between Piranha Plant's nasty bug that's currently keeping me the hell away from Smash and the Metroid Prime 4 delay, a Direct is kind of needed. Especially given one really, really interesting detail. (Please be Maker.)
@Nagi_Nagisa I know plenty, they should have been developing these games for the past 3 years at least ... I'm not holding out hope for E3 as the last few have been awful ... The Switch needs more games
They first have to make some games to announce.
@Grumblevolcano
Yeah I know they do. Same thing happened with Smash for 3DS, slated for "summer" then showed up in October. And countless other times that's happened too. But still, spring, late spring, or early July — specific details aside, it still seems like it'll make it the first half of the year, is all I'm saying. At least if the report we saw is still accurate.
@NintyNate The Switch already has plenty of great games and as we all know it will get more games this year, both AAA first and third party games + indies. LOL, you must be picky.
I don't need a meaty Direct or presentation until E3, but I certainly wouldn't mind a release date for FE Three Houses and a release window for Animal Crossing 2019 & Luigi's Mansion 3.
I don’t mind the wait if it’s good. If we get a direct in feb/ March featuring Yoshi I may just torch something.
@Quarth it has lots yeah but could do with alot more... I am picky haha
I. Just. Want. My. Freaking. Fire Emblem game. Jesus, Nintendo.
I can wait for a Direct; I'm used to waiting for one by this point. XD I'd be satisfied with more info and an actual release date for Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
Maby nintendo is going to release a specail nintendo direct like an animal crossing one and they need to get these other announcements out of the way since there won't be a normal direct for a long time.
Directs are fun but fans whining and crying for them is annoying.
Its time for a direct and I have a feeling when it comes it will be big one.
I honestly really thought a new Direct would have been done this week but I guess not. That's okay though. I still have plenty to play on Switch, and enough on the horizon still, and the Direct will come when it comes. I'm not worried!
It’ll come when it comes. I’m not stressing. I’ve got enough games to tide me over.
@DK-Fan ain’t that the truth... 😄
All directs are "proper".
NL saying otherwise is factually incorrect.
@Anti-Matter that sounds bad for your health
@MattFox
When we’re people not keen on the Directs? I remember some saying they didn’t like them at E3 but that’s it.
I don't think its fans that need a Direct as much as it is Nintendo that needs one. They need to keep the Switch momentum going, especially after the disappointment of the Metroid Prime 4 news and the lowering of their sales forcast for the year.
I really thought this might be the year that we didn't have the traditional Nintendo drought at the start of the year but, so far...
@617Sqn
Everyone has the right to post the boxarts they want to see a Nintendo Switch sticker on.
Come on: we're getting PS2 Squeenix remasters already, the time is right.
@jswhitfield8 I don't know if anyone is really demanding a direct, it's more like this is what we have been trained to be used to happening. Historically Nintendo just typically likes to share information in January. I can see them doing what they are now for a reason, likely just not having anything coming up until late March with Yoshi. Still it's atypical as we usually get an early glimpse at projects releasing this year or soon.
@G-man22 I'm wondering at what point we will hear more on the "fan pleasing game" releasing this year announced at the stock holder meeting. Maybe a surprise E3 announcement for Metroid Prime Trilogy HD, Mario Kart 9, or something more unexpected.
@Nomad Exactly. Nintendo uses them to market their games in a more personable way than just announcing them to the media. It's like if they put out a quarterly catalog but then skipped an issue, their consumers would be concerned with good reason. Still I think most fans are okay with them taking their time.
This doesn't bother me in the slightest. I like the spontinuity of Directs.
@jswhitfield8 they are not doing favor or fan service to anyone. Thats their marketing approach and its been rather succesful so far. This may change though if it stops being effective
So basically, still your boats. It'll arrive when it arrives.
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