Soapbox: When Is The Next 'Big' Nintendo Direct? Oh, Does It Really Matter Anymore?

I still prefer the classic Direct presentations. It gives some information about what's to come and can create a hype that doesn't happen with the odd format from last year.
But for that you need games to show and if we follow the same path from last year then there's no point for a presentation.

I appreciate you taking the time to jinx yourself into a Nintendo Direct release in the near future, rendering this article obsolete.

Here's hoping it works

As much as I'd like one, I know that it probably won't happen until the world finally overcomes all these obstacles.

I have not been a fan of these trailers and announcements being shadow dropped. I always loved tuning into directs and feeling the excitement and anticipation of what would be revealed. Now you just see the announcement on news sites before you can watch the trailers yourself. You miss those moments of wondering mid-trailer what it is you're watching and figuring it out.

If we don't get a direct soon, my next guess might be at or around E3. I really do miss directs, they're just so much better than trailers being randomly dropped on Twitter, like with paper Mario, hyrule warriors, and pikmin

While waiting the Direct, i can focus on building and playing my PS3 and PS4 games on this year.

There will be a rumor of a Nintendo direct every week of every month forever.

They don't need to announce new games when Mario Kart is still selling all these years later. I have a backlog a few years long but always look forward to the next big announcement so I can add another game to the backlog.

The biggest plus for a Direct with a variety of games isn’t that fans watch it for news on Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, Smash, Pokemon, etcetera, (this stuff sells itself), but it’s the stuff that is in directs with these games that benefit from the exposure of being mentioned in the same Breath.

I would argue that games like Splatoon, Snipperclips, Shovel Knight, and Octopath Traveller wouldn’t have excited us as much if they’d been revealed on their own- just look at Codename S.T.E.A.M that was revealed separate from the E3 presser that year.

I get that you can only show what you’ve got to sell, but unifying all these games together multiplies the hype which make Directs such a good Advertising concept.

oh boy here we go again.

The next big direct will feature their next console, which will leave the Switch behind. Brace yourselves for March!

As much as I love proper directs, I haven't really been expecting one for ages now. The smaller partner showcases are fine, but they have often lacked anything that big that makes them memorable and the often small number of announcements in them doesn't help either.

Nintendo absolutely has enough games in development right now to easily fill out a proper direct, but they obviously don't want to announce anything in such a way until they have established a firm release date (hence the Origami King and Age of Calamity random announcements/small build up to release).

Overall, I really doubt there will be any proper directs for a good while. Given the fact that Nintendo keeps doing random announcements of projects with little to no fanfare, kinda signals their unwillingness to put together an avalanche of announcements. Also given that various third parties announce stuff on their own time more recently (Monster Hunter Rise presentation a few days ago, for instance) further signals this to me, as they want to talk about their projects but Nintendo hasn't provided any outlets for them through direct plans.

I do miss the excitement directs provide, but I honestly don't really care any more if directs are "dead" or not, since the incredibly lacklustre smaller directs have been either disappointing or unmemorable. there is a vague hope for a direct early this year, but I am by no means holding out for one.

I probably wouldn't be so irked if it wasn't for the fact that my Switch feels inferior to my Wii U. I would probably be okay with Nintendo's silence if more brand new games were announced, but as I said in a previous comment it feels like Nintendo want to become the next Valve; don't bother with making new games, just ride the revenue of the current ones for years on end.

@SimoneBelmont You must be trolling. Nintendo would be insane to leave the Switch behind. Unless their new machine is a backwards compatible Switch 2.

@Heavyarms55 Yes, all dissenting opinions are trolling. /s Give it another few years. The Switch isn't going to get anymore big releases. The direct schedule should be proof of that!

Well you maybe “Couldn’t Care Less”, but I still want a blowout Direct.

Nintendo would make fans happy if they dropped a proper Direct at last.
But I don't know if they want that...

Part of me is happy seeing that new stuff is coming out and knowing my favorite company is doing well, but honestly the switches lifespan has had TOO many games for me. I feel like I've spent too much on games yet there's still so many major releases I haven't been able to get. Xenoblade DE, Lets go PnE, DKC Tropical Freeze, Octo Expansion, NSMB U Deluxe, Torna, and Luigi's Mansion are all games I'd love to get but it's just too much with what I already have.

...Now if Nintendo actually discounted games...

Why would there magically be a full Direct in the near future? Nothing has really changed from last year.

Honestly, I get the feeling that Nintendo has quietly retired the Direct, as we knew them. If Sony and Microsoft can have full presentations, there is no reason why Nintendo couldn’t as well. Also, they were able to put together a Direct for Super Nintendo Land theme park.

@BanjoPickles Honestly, retiring the directs are fine. These random trailer drops are cool, although I will miss the hype cycle directs created.

Yes it does. I want my fashion boutique something 4!

I know that Covid impacted game development, but Nintendo seemed to have gotten lazy this year after New horizons came out. I am not counting the Mario remasters. Sony managed to release two AAA games during COVID: Last of Us 2 and Ghosts of Tsushima. Might be hard to believe but not everyone loves new Horizons. Nintendo is at the top right now, I hope that they don’t get too complacent. I miss Nintendo Directs; I hope that Nintendo has some killer announcements this year.

@SimoneBelmont Well yeah, in a few years is quite different than March. The Switch is selling like wildfire. Nintendo would be nuts to abandon an install base like this. And the way the original Switch has sold far better than the Lite shows that people love the hybrid design.

Nintendo would be nuts to abandon that and try to play Sony and MS' game with the old fashioned home console approach. They would be making the mistake of the Wii U all over again.

I think it's far more logical that we get a next gen Switch. Think how Game Boy Advance was to Game Boy. Much improved but fully backward compatible.

@Heavyarms55 Ah, March will be something different. I'm thinking that is when a proper direct will happen. Content-wise, I don't anticipate anything new, BECAUSE the Switch is selling like wild-fire as it is. There's literally no reason for Nintendo to invest in it further, they can just keep getting easy money with little effort. While the gameboy history is true, unfortunately, if they update the Switch it's probably going to be an incremental update, and nothing as drastic as gameboy to GBA. If Nintendo wants to prove me wrong that would be nice, but I'm doubtful of their track record!

My wishlist direct

Botw 2
Odyessy 2
Metroid Prime 4
Baynetta 3
FF7R
New 3D Sonic (IK technically sega but still)
Ocarina of Time Remake
Spiderman

@SimoneBelmont I do think they can take their time, but I seriously doubt they'd just stop with releases. I could see the next Direct being a trailer and release date for either Metroid Prime 4 or BOTW 2. And with the Zelda anniversary this year, they're absolutely gonna do something.

Pokemon has its anniversary this year too. But usually they do their own announcements. I expect that on Pokemon Day this year.

@SimoneBelmont,

Not sure if serious.

Here's the thing:
With Directs, I'd watch the entire presentation, hyped as s..., and would see things I didn't know. With the type of announcements last year, I'd honestly just skip stuff that didn't seem appealing.

That doesn't mean normal Directs magically made me interested in stuff, but they certainly made me more aware of what was coming, Nintendo felt "present".

This weird format...it's bad.

@Dman10 Sony doesn't do in house development though do they? or at least not to the extent Nintendo does?

Here's the thing. There's nothing "classic" about Nintendo directs. They got on just fine without them for over 25 years before the first Direct in 2011. Times have changed, the way people digest media has changed. Directs had their time, now we get news differently.

@kuri4 Hand on heart, I did not see your comment starting "here's the thing..." until after I posted mine. The fact mine started the same way as yours is a glorious coincidence! Haha

@Heavyarms55 I agree that BOTW2 may be a closer development, but aren't they still hiring for positions for MP4? That seems a bit way off, I would be surprised if they released that for current hardware. I'm just saying that I'm not holding my breath for anymore big releases this gen, they really can coast and just trickle out stuff once a year.

@johnvboy Super serious. I'm furrowing my brow as I type.

@MS7000 and they pretend the ports are brand new....yeah, it fills in a blank, but it’s no fun for those of us who owned a WIU. While I have enough to play, it would be nice to have some fresh Nintendo goodness to look forward to. Just doesn’t seem like we have gotten much of that lately.

I'm fine with Directs going the way of the dodo, with some exceptions (series-exclusive like Mario or Zelda and Partner showcases).

Most Directs I look back on, there is like 80% "meh" or "not interested" and 20% "WOO!" or "Nice, just for me", and I'm being generous with the 80-20 split.

@Inc "They got on just fine without them for over 25 years before the first Direct in 2011"

Yes but we had E3 and Spaceworld then.

I think there was no general Directs last year because SMB 35th anniversary was going to be a lot more than just a bunch of game announcements and a lot of the other stuff was cancelled or massively postponed because of the pandemic (e.g. Olympics was postponed a year and will probably be cancelled, Super Nintendo World is indefinitely delayed outside Japan and delayed opening in Japan). So this combined with the affect the pandemic has had on game development led to the cancellation of general Directs.

The March Direct Mini probably originally was a general Direct that had SMB 35th anniversary stuff as the "one more thing" at the end with a mixture of game announcements and info on some of the celebration stuff that aren't video games (GAME leaking Lego Super Mario being announced in a Direct is the biggest evidence towards this).

Meanwhile with Zelda 35th anniversary, the most Nintendo would've done outside games had the pandemic not happened is bringing back the Symphony of the Goddesses concert tour that was done for the 25th anniversary. The Pokemon Company does their own thing for Pokemon anniversaries and Nintendo doesn't celebrate any anniversaries outside of the big 3 (Mario, Zelda, Pokemon).

So I think general Directs are more likely this year given Nintendo stuff that isn't games likely being a lot less prominent this year and I predict 1 will happen this week.

Maybe it’s just me but I have so much to play and so much that has been announced that has not come out yet that I am not yearning for a big direct. I won’t turn one down of course, but this year is already slated to be very expensive as is and it is only January.

Plus the sells for Nintendo have been great even with new sony/ms systems out. I don’t want them to get complacent but I like that they are allowing games to breathe.

Honestly prefer surprise announcements. Its a nice bright spot during the day, and right to the point.

@Kreko I think a Pokemon direct will be the exception to this rule

COVID-19 ruined last year, but as 2021 is beginning with vaccine distribution, possible opening of theaters in March (probably unlikely) we might see a big fat Direct around February or March (cause if memory serves, most of the former Directs happened around February or March).

Directs have been a source of excitement for fans ever since Nintendo shifted away from physical presentations. They're what convinced so many people to buy and support the Switch, and helped maintain that momentum over the first year or two of its life in particular.

Big, info dump reveals featuring long lists of varied games have always been like getting a Sears Christmas catalog in the mail back in the day, poring over it as kids until the covers fell off. They made CES and E3 magical, with those huge summer issues of EGM, GamePro, Die Hard GameFan , and other magazines revealing every title coming up for that Christmas season and beyond.

While the methods have changed for delivering announcements, especially since streaming and the internet became the mediums of choice, there are practical arguments for such broad-focused presentations. Consumer awareness is certainly one of the most important, but so is the need to appeal to varied tastes within the hobby. Repeated Directs focused on a single game (even a great one) are lost on anyone whose interest may lie with a different franchise or genre, for instance.

I for one hope that Nintendo isn't done making "big" Directs that feature a ton of major first and third-party titles, and with scarcely anything announced with specific release dates attached beyond Mario 3D World/Bowser's Fury, I really hope it happens soon.

@Grumblevolcano When I first saw the article I considered for a moment that they let you write it. 😉

I had been thinking we could get one soon, but the Monster Hunter vid and subsequent demo makes me think it may be awhile, possibly not until early summer when E3 would have been. I'm assuming no E3 again this year.

3D World may get it's own Mini to show off the Bowser addition but no full Direct until after that.

Maybe mid-March if there is a new big game coming out in their usual end of May time slot. They have to run out of ports at some point. 🤷

Or maybe Nintendo has a lot they want to reveal and it will be huge when they reveal it since it's been almost a year of a full Nintendo Direct presentation.

If today was the last day of switch game releases I would still have over 40 games to buy and complete. If I tally that up I'm looking at probably three years of gameplay. Not really bothered by a new direct but it would be nice to know that the switches lifespan is being looked after. 21st January is the next direct by the way.

I doubt we’ll see a new direct anytime soon, especially with the direction that Nintendo of Japans president has been heading the company lately.

Say what you will about Iwata, but he at least understood what fans wanted and actually listened unlike now, where it’s just dead silence and one horrible anti-consumer practice after another.

@Inc Haha, don't worry.

@Grot I'm happy what meant came across.

I honestly would love another Nintendo direct. The only Nintendo direct I actually was able to be excited for was the one back in September of 2019. Prior to that, I didn't even know they existed because I wasn't really heavily into video games.

Even though I only experienced one major Nintendo direct, I still remember the hype as clear as day. Frankly, I would much prefer that feeling again over shadow dropped trailers. It's a shame though, part of me really thinks that we won't ever see another one.

@SimoneBelmont Yeah they had to restart MP4. Whereas BOTW2 presumably is using the same engine as BOTW and reusing a lot assets. So it's a safe bet we will see BOTW 2 first.

Airing a full fat direct in the coming months is the perfect time!! It’ll set up the year beautifully. Plus we really have no clue what they’ve been working on apart from the big titles like MP4 and BotW2 so they must have a lot of surprises for us. Some no doubt will come out of the blue like MarioKartLive which is the Nintendo weirdness/genius we all love. Bring on a full fat direct please!

My guess is BOTW2 around Christmas 2021 and MP4 on the next generation in 2023

I still want the regular Direct - especially the long 40+ minutes ones! I like the hype, and I like gathering some friends, taking a beer, sit back and talk excitedly about all the cool stuff we will be able to play in the near future (and sometimes even directly afterwards). It's the perfect way for this type of announcements I'd say. A small announcement now and then tends to get lost in the noise, especially for small games like Part-Time UFO or similar.

@E1000
That means you think Prime 4 will be released this year.

I pretty much stopped reading/watching most gaming 'news' a few years ago. It doesn't matter to me what I might be able to play in future, or when that may be.

I focus on reviews of what I can play now. It's much more satisfying to enjoy what I have instead of wishing for something out of reach, whether that's physically or technically.

@SimoneBelmont,

You can't be serious man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ransFQVzf6c

We're 4 years into a console's life. I don't think a new Direct these days can have the same impact as when you've kicked off a new console. However, I totally welcome being wrong.

You know what? I was in the dark on BOTW, and it was a surreal surprised when I got it at launch. If Nintendo skips Directs for BOTW 2, and drops the game, I totally welcome that amazing surreal discvoery of a never-before-seen Zelda.

What is up with people saying that Metroid Prime 4 is for the next gen console and the Switch is getting a replacement?

Do you guys know how shareholders work, do you guys know how any company works at all? This comment section is a ridiculous mess to read. The Switch is the best selling system on the market, if Nintendo were to abandon it's user base and now have a steady release schedule planned for its customers their shareholders would absolutely demolish them just like they demolished CD Projekt Red recently over Cyberpunk 2077, or much worse.

Nintendo have said many times themselves that the Switch is here to stay for a long time, these are their words. When a company publically says these kinds of things they are held up for it because it's really easy to get sued or lose a massive amount of value if they didn't just stick to their own promises. To put it in perspective with my previous example, because of Cyberpunk 2077 and how much they lied about in their previews of the game, CD Projekt lost over half of their stock value. That's over one game. A console is a significantly larger investment than just one game, if Nintendo were to just outright come out and say "we lied here's your next system, forget the Switch" they would find themselves in a very bad situation.

Metroid Prime 4 was announced for the Switch. It wasn't announced for the next system therefore it's coming out for the Switch, pretty sturdy logic right? At worst it will release like Breath of the Wild - on both systems, although something tells me the next console will just be a revision of the Switch.

It's ludicrous to expect Nintendo to make a brick console like the others. I've seen these idiotic complaints on this website that it's 'unacceptable' that Nintendo isn't doing 4K and 60fps these days, but like, you guys do realise you're comparing a refrigerator of specs to a f***ing tablet right?

My brain cells decrease so often when I scroll through some of these comment sections. Most of the time I leave it alone and don't say anything, but God, the entitlement and ignorance sometimes is appalling.

Edit: to avoid any major confusion this isn't a reply to people on this particular thread only. This is in response to many comments I've seen on this website over the past year or so.

Upcoming games:
Bravely Default 2
Hollow Knight Silksong
Pokemon (Gen 4/Gen 9 or Lets Go)
SMT V
SM3D World
Disgaea 6
Balan Wonderland
Legend of Heroes IV
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Monster Hunter
Atelier
Digimon Survive
Ruined King
Wonder Boy IV

Future...?
Breath of Wild 2
Metroid Prime 4
Bayonetta 3

It's shaping up to be a great year!
Only complaint is my poor wallet

These shorter presentations make more sense. I have too much to do to waste time for 30 minutes or longer hoping something pops up in a presentation. I'm sure Nintendo saw some of the ridiculous reactions to the original Direct, and said to themselves, why give a four course meal to someone that's still going to be hungry, and instead give them a tasty Danish every couple of months. It leaves me satisfied every time.

You do of course realise, we’ll probably get one this week because no one is expecting it hahaha!

I'm okay with these sporadic announcements replacing Directs as long as they announce ahead of time when they're going to reveal it, and then premiere it on youtube or stream it, so that the surprise and suspense is still there.

@E1000 I'm responding to all recent comments in general, not just this thread. It's been a trend for nearly a year now that for some reason the Switch is about to become obsolete and Nintendo has no major releases planned for it, I find it to be a very ridiculous thought so I put it into one big ranting paragraph. Sorry if it came off as very condescending, I'm just an assh*le.

The subtitle is classy!

I think we're WAY past expecting bare minimum effort from Nintendo
To be fair, we're implying Nintendo are doing enough to warrant a Direct. Like how can you have a Direct when you're not doing anything

The Nintendo Direct isn’t what it used to be and represent. It was Iwata’s platform and that made it fun and connectable. Now it’s just what you could get from any other business. Even as just a sizzle reel it’s diminished, practically dismantled.

I miss the big Directs, and also the Iwata asks. And I also miss the time when Nintendo had the most iconic characters in the business, with Iwata, Shigeru (still at Nintendo, but hardly shows up anymore), Nintendo of America's Reggie. You could hardly even remember the names of the folk at Microsoft or Sony, Nintendo had a really special thing going.

I’d almost prefer the monthly mini directs to the semiannual big ones, not that I didn’t enjoy the big ones don’t get me wrong.

Life's busy, I vastly prefer the random Twitter drops. Always perks me up when I see a big announcement pop up on my phone, lifts my spirits no matter how long or stressful the day is. Directs always happen during normal working hours, anyway, so it's annoying to have to wait until after work and then set aside time to watch it. Sure, they tweet the announcements as the Direct progresses, but that many announcements together is almost overwhelming and a pain to sift through.

i don't like this format of shadow dropping a Nintendo Direct Mini or a game, imagine if Nintendo shadow drop Mario Kart 9, Super Mario Odyssey 2 or a brand new 3D Mario game,i miss the big Nintendo Direct with the huge and small anouncement, the prediction you see in sites/forums, You Tube Channel and with Friends, when Nintendo anounce that they gonna do a 35/40 Nintendo Direct focused in games coming to Switch this spring/summer(you get the point), with this current metod you dont have time to speculate with Friends, is Nintendo gonna reveal a revival of a dead/dormant franchise?i miss this times

when Nintendo finally return doing Nintendo Direct, like we want, a E3 level Direct would be necessary to apease for the lack of Nintendo Direct.

@Christofu Last of Us 2 was made by Naughty Dog and Ghosts of Tsushima was made by Sucker Punch Productions. Sony owns Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch, so it was in-house development for both games. Not like a 3rd party like Capcom that made these games.

Nothing matters anymore Nintendolife. Nothing matters.

I think this article is right. Nintendo will move towards game-specific directs. But I'll be honest...I haven't watched any of them. I like announcement trailers and release dates. Pile up announcement trailers into one big direct and I'm excited, because there will be at least one (but probably more) thing to be excited about. There's no suspense with a game-specific showcase, and frankly I don't want to spoil too much about games before I buy them anyway.

@SimoneBelmont why would Nintendo abadon Nintendo best selling hardware yet, Switch sucessor not coming now, when Switch is selling with no sight of slowing down, Switch sucessor in 2024/2025.

I’d like a port of some 3DS titles....Samus returns and Luigi mansion 2.

I just want to see some games to be excited about.

COVID or not 2020 was dead after animal crossing as far as I’m concerned.

I honestly prefer Directs over these random trailer drops because you don't know what it is you're getting. I compare Directs to presents. In a Direct the gifts(trailers) are wrapped up and you don't know what you're getting. When we have these shadow drops It's like your mom walking up to you handing you something and saying, "Here ya go. Have fun." There is much more excitement and hype created over a game if you don't know what to expect. If they never bring back Directs they should at least treat these shadow drops like they did w/Fire Emblem: SDatBoL and make the reveal ambiguous rather than stating exactly what it is like Paper Mario: TOK and HW:AoC.

@SeantheDon29 may have not been publicised as much but Nintendo legal wasn't all that different under Iwata.

Ah, Mother 3, the long running joke. Good times.

I liked the anticipation that proceeded directs and if for no other reason Id like them to be brought back.

@Giancarlothomaz They won’t abandon it, but I doubt they are going to do anything to push it forward with its remaining lifespan.

@johnvboy Ok.

I'm still waiting for the Switch Revision/Update that's been AWOL since the day after the Switch released.

@Lord
If they do port Luigi’s Mansion 2 I hope they add checkpoints in each level.

I still have hope of a Metroid Prime Trilogy very soon with 4 later in the year. Otherwise, I expect the next big Direct will be end of the year with Switch 2 (or New Switch) announced and BOTW 2 as a launch title for release in March 2022. Because the Switch is so modular, I expect the Switch 2 will be sold as the core system alone, the complete package and a Lite.

Welp, 3D World trailer announced for tomorrow. The Direct dream is dead.

@Dman10 Oh haha. Never been very aware of Sony before

It's the variety of a full fat Nintendo Direct that really appeals to me; among the myriad of titles shown chances are that there will be something for everyone.

These singular or more targeted broadcasts are practically non-announcements if you're not a fan of the game being shown, and so that poor soul must wait even longer for news.

In the same manner a mediocre title like Bakugan probably wouldn't have garnered such a massive backlash if it had been featured alongside other, more palatable, games.

@Varkster my thoughts exactly. It's just speculation, but completely non sense lol

I also don't get why people miss the boring long directs. It's working fine as it is, and I think they'll keep the cadence of 2 to 4 big releases every year.

The indies still get together for one presentation dedicated to people who likes indies, these games don't need to be put next to big releases to make an impact.
I believe the exact opposite of what some stated, next to the AAA titles, they lose part of their appeal.

Okay, one more vote in favor of long directs. I want to see what is on the horizon.

@Savino Nintendo Directs still continued years after Iwata passed away, so you are completely wrong there.

@SimoneBelmont,

And you know this how?, this year has seen a pandemic which has impacted games, lets just wait and see before we totally write everything off.

I think you need to stop believing Arlo’s BS conspiracy theories. Answer me this: Why would Nintendo abandon general directs if they have been nothing but a benefit to them? Especially business-wise?

Why would Nintendo have directs of other forms, such as partner showcases, minis, and the Super Nintendo World Direct? If Nintendo wanted to abandon the regular direct, don’t you think they would abandon every spin-off direct as well?

It’s pretty clear that this article was only written to spread fear on Nintendo fans. Because on the internet, negativity gets clicks, unfortunately. But this article just disregards the massive amounts of evidence that Durects are not dead. I can’t wait until Nintendo announces the next general direct very soon, and your negative article is proven wrong.

Honestly, I'd prefer to have a once and done video than a sprinkle of small videos a month or two prior to release. If that's not feasible due to the pandemic then fair enough, but otherwise, I feel a general Direct (at the start of the year) is the better way to go imo.

Also, regarding the whole 'games being announced too soon' argument, that isn't so much an argument against Directs and more a cautionary tale for publishers/developers to refrain from announcing a new game prematurely.

Nintendo Directs? I haven't hear that name in years.

_{^{Will anyone even see this comment?}}

I don't mind Nintendo's current shadow-dropping idea, because it certainly has proven to be as effective as a Nintendo Direct reveal. But.... spoilers exist, and the likelihood that I'm gonna get spam texted by friends is much higher than getting a YouTube notification of Nintendo uploading a video.

Even if it's just one per year, I really hope we get general Directs again. As I've grown older I've realized I don't get that hyped for games anymore. A surprise reveal is nice but it doesn't compare. I still get ecstatic when a Direct is announced and a great one (like the March 2018 one that announced SSBU) can be a highlight of the month or even year. Especially since we have no clue what Nintendo has planned for this year, and when combined with their less than stellar reputation recently, a Direct feels necessarily to properly inform their consumers and build back some goodwill.

I had no idea you could sit on the ground in Animal Crossing! Brb...

@johnvboy It’s a prediction, not a knowing. I predict it because they abandoned both the GameCube and the Wii U. They are totally gonna let this one coast because their sales are so strong even without releasing new titles all the time. Their online service is a slow trickle of games too, does the pandemic really mess them up to the point they can’t upload a few more ROMs? Please.

@tourjeff I really, really like your avatar. Sadly, that reminds me, that Nintendo will probably never announce a new "Wave Race" in any of these Directs, ever.

@Migoshuro if I'm honest, at this stage, I'd be happy with the 64 and GC versions being available on the eShop.
Such a shame that Nintendo won't release new entries for these games (also 1080), they are good filler games that I think wouldn't require a big budget and team to develop it.
Oh well....

I dont care about directs anymore. They were great over the years, but now, I much prefer the idea for Ninty dropping a video for a very big game and then saying it 'out next month'. No waiting around for years.

This is the way.

I think the lack of a big direct, or E3 last year contributed to the feeling people had of Nintendo not releasing enough games. Even though that is something I don't really believe was true

@SimoneBelmont Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2, Bayonetta 3, Metroid Prime 4, a possible Super Mario Odyssey 2 or a brand new 3D Mario or Mario Kart 9, is nothing to push foward?did you forget Covid-19 affected badly Nintendo? calm down, look at all the big third party games coming to Switch this year and Indies too, just because 2020 was very disapointing in term of release, don't means 2021 until Nintendo lauch the Switch sucessor don't means 2020 is gonna repeat itself.

@SimoneBelmont,

Well both the Wii U and Gamecube sold pretty low numbers of consoles, even more with the Wii U, in fact considering how bad it sold I am surprised they supported it as long as they did.

@electrolite77,

You are totally correct

Of course last year was not as bad as some make out, and considering there was a global pandemic going on you have to make allowances, I mean when you have many people dying on a global scale, a few delayed video games is hardly the end of the world.

@Giancarlothomaz Those games are carrots on the stick. BOTW2 I can see releasing this gen, but given their past Metroid release schedule I doubt we will see MP4 until next gen. Nobody is excited, everybody is calm. I just don’t trust what Nintendo is doing. I think a multimillion dollar company who can afford to send people to work remotely from the safety of home is going to do just fine during a pandemic.

Thanks to leaks, data mines, and other stuff make Nintendo doesn't want to make a full Direct. They spread quickly through social media. It's quite disappointing IMO.

@tourjeff last year there was plenty of news/month to do a monthly mini-direct imo.

I think a new console, Switch Pro would have been released last year with BoTW 2, but this was put on hold because of covid. It will stay on hold until later this year when a new Direct will showcase it.

I think the lack of a big direct, or E3 last year contributed to the feeling people had of Nintendo not releasing enough games.

@JMR_Alden Thank you for pointing this out. I hadn't made that connection.

@COVIDberry I'm not sure if you are being sarcastic lol

@JMR_Alden No, not at all. The impatience and demands of the crowd always seemed unreasonable to me, and you've partly illuminated it for me.

@chardrich I think even despite leaks Nintendo news still manages to be exciting because Nintendo leaks are usually wrong or fake anyway.

It doesn't matter because Nintendo just doesn't do much anymore. Even before the pandemic they barely put out any games that are actually exciting. If you don't care about Fire Emblem or characters from Fire Emblem being put in Smash then Nintendo just isn't a very exciting developer anymore.

I like directs, but they suffer from always being on at a weird time for someone. They also only work if there is a lot to show.

I'd happily take regular smaller directs instead for Indie and Partner with ones dedicated to the major Nintendo releases(Metroid,BotW2 etc) or special events(Switch Pro). Maybe depending on how they adapt you could see a full direct for E3 time(but it in essence would be a bunch of smaller directs linked together)

Nothing triggers this generation of Nintendo “fans” more than not being given what they think they are owed

@Advancedcaveman I think that has to do with the guy behind this mountain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXkttAOoHDM

I always thought he was Iwata. When did they change his name? Hope it's not another Mandela Effect going on here. 😕
Anyways he was the one pushing the boundaries of the Switch as in Japan everything has to be done thru group think if the group doesn't agree it doesn't go thru. There are many examples of this in sports,technology,etc. It works to a certain degree but also has a lot of negative side effects.

@COVIDberry This is like the N64 drought but Rareware and Midway seemed to fill in the gaps.

@Fuwa If Fire Emblem and Pokemon shoutouts are your thing then okay.......

@Donkey-Kong-Fan Here. Have this scuba diving gear while you hold your breath as you'll need it since you are wild for those directs! No pun intended. https://youtu.be/P7TGeBE_0cQ?t=1360

@daisygurl Good. Don't give the CCP your info! If you have Norton your screwed as well as Norton sold out years ago and are part of the Chinese military (separate of the CCP) and have full legal authority to look into anyone's computers that could be a 'rebel'. Any business has to have 3 military members and 3 CCP people on the board of directors team of each business.

Any business that chases the China dream are going right into the lions snare and can't come out of it without the government owning it all and the businesses owners losing out if they are allowed to still live.

You can vote your way into communism but you'll have to shoot your way out.

@Savino Here this should make you feel better: https://youtu.be/hXkttAOoHDM

@Desrever I wonder if the article has inside knowledge and is a reverse psychology subliminal attempt to hint at us of one in the near future.