It's Been 162 Days Since The Last Full Nintendo Direct, The Longest Wait Since 2016

We're getting an animal crossing direct before animal crossing. But a typical direct isn't coming out until E3. Nintendo is saving every game to show when the other companies are going to show hardware. The approach is cool look at your fancy 4k but here we have all the games. Hope the strategy works.... It's been annoying to me.

And only 10 days since Nintendo Life's last article on a Nintendo Direct!

The thirst is real.

@sixrings source? Or just guesses?

Based on the article, statistically we could expect a Direct within the next 20 days.

@sixrings How do we know that?

@Ajent it's a guess. But really at a certain point why not just wait for a mega e3 direct. Especially if all the big games are in the second half of the year.

Seriously what's going on? Its been way too quiet from Ninty. either 1st party titles aren't ready or not enough 3rd party port.

I hope is ready soon

I shouldn’t be concerned, because I have too many games to play as it is, but I need something to be hyped about!

The lack of upcoming games is giving me Wii U flashbacks

I saw the image before the headline and got my hopes up!

@DreamerDC I didn't watch gamexplain the last few days. What did they say? Hey do you use REDREAM to play dreamcast games?

I've got so many games to play right now that I'm ok with the gap. Trying to get started on Throne Breaker, Metro Rudux coming in next few weeks, Outer Worlds on the horizon - each of these will take many hours to complete (100+ hours total)

@sixrings I really don't think they can wait until June before they even announce things. That would mean no Nintendo-released titles from Animal Crossing in March until July-Sept at earliest which isn't realistic.

@Ajent source: dude trust me

They’ve got Brain Training, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Snack World, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Animal Crissong out before the end of March so they’re in no rush.

But it would be nice to know what’s happening after that. It is starting to feel like a long wait.

Just wait tomorrow guys

Next week there'll be a blockbuster Direct, mark my words.

What if they just have nothing... If they pushed all games the past 2 years and now they're stumped... The horror!!!

@Rob3008 I don't think you need a direct if you're just dropping a HD remaster. Xenoblade doesnt need a direct. Would 3D world need a direct.

@sixrings I've been thinking something similar. I believe an Animal Crossing Direct is nailed on but as for a general one? Who knows. I'm going 60/40 likeliness at this point in favour of having one before E3.

Wait, didn't September just happen?

I'm not exactly hurting for new games to play. I appreciate this drought honestly. It's giving me time to finish off other things before new games come.

I’m excited as the next person, but there is no point having a direct if they aren’t ready. Besides, I still haven’t bought games from last year lol!

If they have a bunch of games to release before E3 then go ahead and give us that direct. But if the majority of games is after, then just wait.

@Giygas_95 I know the feeling! I'm so far begind playing through my library, they could go a year without releasing games and I still couldn't play everything. For me, the switch is the best console there ever was, games wise.

While waiting for Direct, i still have tons of unfinished backlog to be played.

Somewhat concerned about the leadership of the big-N.

@MuhBael

Haha. Funny thing is there are people out there who think that.

Sega's revealing Sonic news every 20th, so it's probably happening then.

@Barbara001 I'm currently chipping away at Dead Cells (which is fantastic by the way). Beyond that, I've still got to finish:
Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair
Bulletstorm
Call of Juarez
Immortal Redneck
Super Mario Maker 2 story mode
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
Blaster Master Zero 2
Gunvolt Chronicles Luminous Avenger iX
Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection (upcoming)...

Just to name a few. That doesn't scratch the surface of all the games I need to finish.

@Rodan2000 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Animal Crossing are coming next month. So not really a drought tbh.

This year is going to be like 2019. Not much for the first 6 months, then too many games in the second half. I really which they would spread out releases more.

What's the odd's that Nintendo will announce one today

We sure got spoiled, huh? 😆

I'd say something, but @sixrings - guess or otherwise - is dead on.
Which means, regarding Smash, that we're not knowing what we're paying for until this June. It's... not, by any means, a short wait. At all.

@Marios-love-child
It's a possibility that keeps fluctuating between none and zero.

My backlog is fairly thick anyways. Besides, all my attention will be on AC:NH until Xbox Series X launches. As far as the next Direct is concerned Nintendo can take their sweet time for all I care.

We are in for a miserable first half of the year yet again !!!!

I definitely would have thought we would have heard from them by now, if anything, just to plug Animal Crossing.

Other than Animal Crossing maybe they just have nothing to show us. Nintendo do sometimes tail off when they have a success and get complacent.
I hope they are not making the same mistakes again.

and it's only going to continue I do not believe those dumb roumors about two Directs this month, clearly we are not getting a Direct until ether March or at the very latest April

It'll happen when it happens. The year has only just started.

I honestly thought that one would have been announced for today/tonight but obviously I was wrong.
Fingers crossed for next Thursday

@Barbara001 totally agree, such a crazy backlog. Loved my switch since launch day. Fire emblem DLC today 😃 in no rush for a direct. I am sure it will happen at some point. Will be pleasantly surprised when it does

@Giygas_95 I feel your pain. My backlog is killing me at the moment too. It weighs me down. I’m enjoying this apparent barren period to finish off Resident Evil Rev2, Mario Rabbids, AssCreed4, The Touryst, Alien Isolation, GRID (touring cars) so many games I need to finish!!!

@Rodan2000 Feels like people having Wii U PTSD.

I think we’ll get the big Wave Race Direct before the end of the month. 😋🤞

There have been 3 Directs since the last Direct is an odd statement.

@sixrings yeah... that’s fair. Although, as per the article, this isn’t the longest we’ve had between directs. We’ve another 20 days to surpass the previously longest period, and last week there were some drawing conclusions that we could see a Direct on 19th Feb. I can’t remember the reasoning though... I’ll have a look and see if I can get back to you why that was.

I usually budget for the year based on the roadmap the Nintendo Directs lay out so I have money for the upcoming games I want. I’m sure I’ll still find some money for the Nintendo games I really want but at this point I’m looking to buy other stuff for entertainment. Nintendo is a company and does not owe us a Direct, but they should probably look at communicating with their best customers about what is going on. Overall, just disappointed with this marketing strategy.

@Giygas_95 THNQ! It's not just me then! Currently playing:
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (55 hours in, the game is huge)
The Witcher 3
The Messenger
Castlevania Bloodline
Sword Art Online HR
Pillars of Eternity
Rayman Legends (alsmost complete)
Pokemon Shield
Darksiders 2
Luigi's Mansion 3
Grandia 1 (not even mentioning 2)
Romancing Saga 3
Zelda Links Awakening
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy X

And then I still have to play Saints Row 3d, Disgaea 1, Cat Quest 2 (loved the first one), Mario Rabbids, Star Ocean R and the list goes ON!!! Sometimes I feel like a kid in a candystore, only this time I HAVE THE MONEY OF AN ADULT. MOEHAHHAA. 😁😁😁

@Tourer145 Right? I think I played it more already then my SNES and GameCube combined! And that's saying something! So many games, so little time. And there's going to be a blockbuster sale in Europe with games 75% off. YEAY 😁

@sixrings found it... it was some comments being made by people following an article earlier in the week. Apparently Directs have followed the week after the NSO library gets updated (as it did this week). No idea why this would make it the 19th though (are Directs normally on a Wednesday). Either way, it’s just more speculation. I guess we’ll all just wait and see.

It’s very bizarre, because I’ve seen people start losing their minds over this. Just yesterday I saw a thread on Twitter about the Switch’s first party line up being underwhelming. We’ve been getting first party games every months. As far as I’m aware, the period between Sword and Shield and Mystery Dungeon is the longest stretch without a first party release, and that’s only 4 months. It’s crazy

I have so many games to play,I don't mind a little draught

I think that a general direct is March but animal crossing one is around the 20th with Pokemon on 27th

@Alpha-2002 Maybe it will a direct about Sonic-The Movie-The game then...

Sounds like Nintendo is taking a different approach by having title specific events, definitely a way to avoid needing a bunch of full directs and a way to differentiate from Sony’s state of play

I'm suffering from a case of NDDS (Nintendo Direct Deprivation Syndrome).

Actually, I'm really interested in additional information about Animal Crossing so I wouldn't mind an AC-specific Direct in all honesty.

Seems strange that they wouldn't want to announce their strategy for the first half of the year though, especially with PS5 and Xbox Series X on the horizon.

@Barbara001 I'm working on several of those games as well. I say working on. More like sleeping on.

I'm hoping for a direct next week as I'm on annual leave for my son's half term. Lots of beer would be drank during it if it happens. I can but hope. Knowing my luck though it will be the day I return to work... Have only ever missed one direct and that was due to the exact thing.

I've been sitting on the floor in the middle of my living room rocking back and forth talking to myself, in case you were wondering

@sixrings and Nintendo wasn't doing the same thing in October of 2016?

Save it for the day after the ps5 reveal.

Nintendo Directs were bimonthly under Iwata, seasonal under Kimishima, and now there seems to be a pre-E3 Direct, E3 Direct, and post-E3 Direct under Furukawa.

@Rodan2000 Haha... Same here, only difference is that the hardware is still selling extremely well regardless of Nintendo saying nothing. They seem to be just hoarding all the new releases information. Although partly exciting I wish we had more of an idea of what's releasing and when.....
All will be revealed soon enough, time stops for no one, and we are rapidly reaching a tipping point.

@Anri02 Don't forget Brain Training that came out in January.

Even if Nintendo sits on all their announcements and reveals for E3 (which I doubt), I think we can expect a 3rd party showcase in the next couple weeks or in April. Early March will obviously have an Animal Crossing direct.

@Zyph

“ We sure got spoiled, huh? 😆”

Oh yeah. It really does seem so 😀

@sixrings dont hold your Hope's up about animal crossing direct
Dont say it was leaked people who believe leaks are as dumb as the ones leaking

@andrew20 I'll be back on those dates to laugh

I assume it's a mix of Nintendo wanting to stop appearing predictable, Nintendo preparing to fight the media onslaught for new PSXBox with games as stated above, Nintendo being preoccupied by theme parks and Olympic engagement in Japan, and Nintendo being preoccupied with what appears to be a stealth massive corporate restructuring going on. The latter of which is the worrying one.

@Anri02

Even that gap has Brain Training and Tokyo Mirage Sessions innit.

I dread to think how some of the people on these comments would have coped during the Wii U says when there were actual proper gaps between games.

I keep checking for new game announcements despite not having bought Luigi's Mansion 3, Dragon Quest XI or Link's Awakening yet and having over 200 games in my backlog across all systems. I'm starting to think I should just play the games I've got instead of waiting for new ones to spend my money on and then not play!

@Beermonkey Direct's are always during the first half of the month so highly unlikely we see anything next week

@BANJO we have to keep the faith haha! I’m pretty sure Nintendo have something awesome up their sleeves!

Give me EA announcing their projects. Mass Effect Trilogy plz

2020 is a completely blank slate and I'm trying not to worry. As someone that has no interest in Animal Crossing, there are literally no first party games announced for this year. I'm waiting for Trials of Mana and Doom Eternal which are both 3rd parties, but that's it for the year. I'm sure we will hear their plans soon and I don't even necessarily have the time for any major new games, but I need the hype train moving again for something!

@invictus4000 I’m inexactly the same boat, as big a release as Animal Crossing is, it just doesn’t interest me.

Yes a year ago they gave us a direct and announced Mario Maker 2 coming out in June. If they do have a direct soon hopefully there will be another similar game announcement, maybe Pikmin 4?

Either way I would like a bit more clarification about Animal Crossing. As this site and others have discussed there is still a lot of unanswered questions. Seems kind of weird that we can pre-order it through the eShop before those questions have been addressed.

Unless I’m mistaken, the time between the last Direct and the Direct before that was longest at the time. They seem to be getting longer and longer. Honestly, I think they might be slowly letting them trickle off in favor of just releasing news as they have it and using smaller Directs for certain games - aside from maybe two Directs a year (on for E3, one in the fall), with MAYBE a third in the early part of the year? I wouldn’t be surprised if we get an Animal Crossing Direct soon. But it is kinda tiring when people start insisting “there has to be a Direct soon” as if Directs are always inevitable. A few people started saying it in December, a lot of people started saying it last month... a Direct will happen when and if Nintendo wants one. I almost prefer them not to wait until they have a bunch of news though, and just drop some announcements outside of Directs (or at least focus them on individual games or franchises). I wouldn’t even complain if we didn’t get an AC Direct, though we probably will.

Meh, no rush. I still have tons of games to play on Switch, I could actually go a year without a Direct.

Nintendo will go quiet like this, but this is just how they operate. They usually don't announce games until they're ready to release within a 12 month time frame(exceptions of course, but still).Furthermore, since the Switch has released, they haven't really delayed many games. Prime 4 got the restart, Animal Crossing was delayed, but that's it as far as Nintendo 1st party delays off the top of my head. They also like to release a demo, DLC and/or smaller game the day of the Direct.

I’m so far behind I’m in no rush for more games. Will be fun and exciting to see what the blockbuster games of 2020 will be. I’m hoping for Odyssey 2, but that’s just me being greedy.

@ShadJV Great point! Yeah I can see them going instead to a system of 1-2 major blowout directs per year plus a smaller one prior to new releases.

@SuperCharlie78 Yeah welln it's a bit like having a itch. At first it is barely noticeable but then you start paying attention to it and scratching it. And the more you scratch the more it itches.
Waiting for a direct once people start posting dates is basically the same...

There is no direct because Nintendo has nothing to show. It's that simple.

@Incoherent1 it feels like they’ve been gravitating towards that is all. 😅 it’d be more jarring if they did it all at once. We used to get a Direct every 2-3 months, now we’re reach 5 months, and they’ve gradually had longer gaps. But we’ve had specific Directs for like Smash and Pokemon in that time.

Oh and Indie Directs, I wouldn’t be surprised if they continue to do a couple of those a year, it strengthens their connection to indie devs.

@KBuckley27 Do I still get to drink beer though?...

Just had a quick look at wiki and hasn't always been the case so I hold some hope... The littlest glimmer of hope...

@Barbara001 Same! I just started a new play-through of Three Houses (I'm tackling the new side story DLC first, and then I'll get into the main story with the Golden Deer), and I also have to finish Wargroove, Super Lucky's Tale and Trine 4. I might dip back into My Time at Portia, too, to see if the updates released in the past 9 months have fixed some of the issues with the Switch version. All that, along with Rune Factory 4S, Animal Crossing and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon all coming out in the next five weeks, means I'll likely have more than enough games to play until after E3.

That said, it would be nice to know what major games to expect between April and July, since there are bound to be at least a couple sprinkled in there.

Spring-Direct 2018 was March 8th, in 2017 it was April 13th, in 2016 it was March 3rd.
Now we have February 13th...

I'm sure there will be a Nintendo Direct before long, possibly in the next couple of weeks. I can't see them missing their chance to profile Animal Crossing: New Horizons before it releases on March 20th.

In a way, I just want the wait for the direct to be over, but then knowing that a lot of the games I'd want usually have a further wait after the direct...hrm... I just want all the games NOW. 😂

Everyone should flood Nintendo’s text support line asking what the hell is going on. I did last night, idgaf. 🤷‍♂️ Dude said he’d forward my concerns to Nintendo’s other departments. Surely if they get enough feedback they’ll have to address it.

@JesWood13
What concerns are you talking about?

Oh no Nintendo hasnt done a direct in first 60 days of the year..Nintendo is dooomed.. people seriously need to have patience.

Well I'm not used to the directs, so I don't understand it. I usually just check the eshop for any new games or wait for E3. Anything else is extra.

When I see people clamor for a Nintendo Direct, I can't help but think of Plainrock124.

We all know Nintendo has games coming for the year. They’ve a bunch of dev teams who have been working on stuff for a good while.

It’s just clear they could announce them at any time really. And we are all growing a bit impatient

3/3
3 year switch launch anniversary
Just a guess...

@sixrings there has to be Nintendo direct by March... because there is literally nothing with a release date after March is over

@BarefootBowser Honestly it feels more like Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are all having a competition of who can stay silent the longest. Sony aren't ready to reveal the PS5 yet, Microsoft showed off Series X at the Game Awards but the most important thing (games) is missing and Nintendo 2020 is mostly unknown where the main thing for certain is no new Switch revision this year.

Nintendo's cruising along with Animal Crossing meanwhile the others are cruising along with current gen 3rd party games like DOOM Eternal and RE3.

@Giygas_95 I've started ff7 like half a year ago, 20hrs in and when I had to follow a guy in a black coat for the tenth time something in me just gave up. I reallu do want to finish it, want to know what all the fuss is about but.. Well, it's kind of... Dull?

@Jooles_95 I still need to start on Three Houses, that's how far behind I am already hahaha. But there are so many fun games. But I still hope Metroid Prime Trilogy is coming soon (need to play those games again), would love for BotW 2 to come out soon and O'm really hoping there is going to be a Lufia sequel, prequel, remake or Ys 9 gets a switch release, but those things are never going to happen I guess...

Oh GODAMN IT NINTENDO

@IronMan30 Ah I see your a man of culture

Why Sakurai is the only game Director that seems to enjoy showing his work? Would love to see more from Aya Kyogoku for example. Also Aonuma and Miyamoto are MIA since BotW GOTY Award. Aonuma had some talking about Links Awakening but not enough to satisfy

@Barbara001 RPGs can be an acquired taste for sure. I've actually played through FFVII twice (although I got to the final dungeon on the second run through and just sorta quit). Once on PS3 and again on PS4. I also have it on Switch but haven't played through it again.

I dunno if it's just due to growing up and having less and less time for games, but I've lost most of my interest in RPGs. I will make an exception for Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition because the original Xenoblade is incredible to me. I always tell people that DOOM 2016 ruined RPGs for me because it's just so fast, fun, and visceral. It wastes no time getting straight into the action (something RPGs are notorious for doing), and the general movement and shooting is just fun. That said, I'm extremely hyped for DOOM Eternal and the DOOM 64 re-release.

I've still got Smash to make some leeway with, Grid, a pile of SNES games I got with the online, Street Fighter Collection and Luigi's Mansion to finish. So yeah I'm all good for the time being.

Like many others I have games to play and I'm good till the end of spring but I just really enjoy watching directs so I really want a new one

@Giygas_95 yeah, I also grew up with RPG's but had no playstation in that era, so missed that classic, but the love never died. I still love the grinding and the japanese style, but also come to enjoy the faster adventure rpg's like kingdoms of amalur and Fable (and therefor the Witcher). And sadly for me I s*ck at first person shooters, so those games are lost on me. Tried playing wolfenstine 2, investigated every nook and cranny but died every 10 seconds 😂. I just don't get first person controls on a console controller... To many buttons I have to press and control at once 😋.

Even though my backlog is super nasty I still want a direct to get an idea when I need to start pushing my backlog more lol.
Stuff in backlog:
Disgaea 5
Tokyo Mirage Sessions
Y's VIII
Tales of Vesperia (This is one i'm currently working on)
Luigi's Mansion 3
Dragon ball Fighter z
Need to finish Link's awakening

That's just my switch stuff I can think of, I have a few PS4 things as well. At least when I picked up Darksiders 1 I fully finished it, and would like to grab Darksiders 2 at some point.