Nintendo Direct Features
Talking Point The Wonderful 101 Direct and Demo Set the Standard for Wii U Marketing
Removing confusion and doubt
The Wonderful 101 has had a slightly peculiar route to the Wii U, in terms of visibility and awareness. At E3 2012 Nintendo used its live conference to make peculiar jokes about zombies liking French food and provide a rather thorough walkthrough of Luigi's Ghost Mansion in Nintendo Land. That presentation had good...
Feature The Big Nintendo Direct Round-Up - 7th August 2013
Release dates, a few surprises and some awesome footage
Yesterday was one of those slightly-crazy Nintendo Direct days. When announced it was stated that the focus of the broadcasts would be on existing and confirmed Wii U and 3DS releases; that was true for the most part, but there were some surprises thrown in for good measure. For example there...
Feature The Big E3 2013 Nintendo Direct Round-up
The most important E3 coverage in one place
Nintendo may not have hosted a live press conference this year, but through Nintendo Direct and a number of subsequent developer videos it still bombarded us with information of games coming this year and beyond. Although most of the big reveals were already known ahead of time, we had some important first...
Reaction Our Thoughts on Nintendo Direct - 17th May
A starter ahead of the main course
This week's Nintendo Direct has now digested, and if you still need to catch up you can check out our big summary of the news for the full lowdown. After the last broadcast went big with some significant reveals, it was a more measured approach this time around, with the running time fleshed out with plenty of...
Feature Nintendo Direct on 17th May 2013 - The Big Summary
Not as big as other Direct summaries, perhaps
Nintendo hit us with a fresh Nintendo Direct on 17th May, with the usual 24-hour notice period to leave Nintendo gamers scrambling to check their diaries. With a focus on Wii U releases in Spring and Summer, we should have known that, ultimately, this would be a little lower key than recent bombastic...
Feature The Big Nintendo 3DS Direct Summary - 17th April 2013
There's a lot to take in
Before the latest Nintendo Direct broadcast, we're sure that many were unsure of what to expect. We've watched enough of them to know that sometimes they can be rather light on revelations, simply stringing us along with a few release dates, and on other occasions they can be blockbuster events that get the Nintendo Life...
Reaction Our Thoughts on Nintendo's 3DS Direct - 17th April
Deep breath, count to 10...
So, yesterday brought us another Nintendo Direct, or 3DS Direct to be accurate, and once again Nintendo threw caution to the wind and got enthusiastic fans rather excited. There were some major announcements made, alongside a smattering of pleasing release dates, which successfully covered many bases. Keep an eye out for...
Nintendo Direct Watch The European 3DS Presentation Live
Live at 3PM UK time
Today at 3PM UK time, Nintendo Europe will be broadcasting a 3DS-themed Nintendo Direct. You can watch the entire thing live on this very page, and as always we'll be providing textual commentary as events unfold. What exciting news could be contained within? Are the rumours of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask being...
Nintendo Direct Watch The North American 3DS Presentation Live
Hype train inbound
Today, we'll be getting a special 3DS-focused Nintendo Direct which will hopefully give us a better idea of what the rest of 2013 has in store for the popular portable console. Nintendo of America will be broadcasting a special announcement at 7AM PT / 10AM ET. You can view the proceedings — along with our typically insightful...
Feature The Big Valentines Nintendo Direct Summary - 14th February 2013
There's a lot to cover
Nintendo appropriately chose Valentines Day to show some love for its fans via Nintendo Direct broadcasts, with a 3DS extravaganza in Europe and a mixture of the handheld and Wii U setting the agenda in North America. We live-blogged events of course, and then covered the big stories that emerged. Rather like January's Wii U...
Feature The Big Wii U Direct Summary - 25th January 2013
All of the details in one place
Wii U Direct may have only been 35 minutes long, but it sure packed a lot into a short space of time, with a few extra details following in the press releases that followed. We certainly did our level best to cover everything revealed by Iwata-san in the broadcast, as well as information from Nintendo's regional...
Feature Nintendo Life's View - Wii U Direct
Our team rather liked it
When Nintendo announced Wii U Direct earlier this week, there was a mixture of fevered optimism and slight negativity, with some predicting big reveals and others expecting little more than a few release dates and trailers. Even wording promising new Wii U games was met with caution by some, but there can be little doubt...
Talking Point The Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign's Advertising Role
Simple but effective
Among the many announcements in yesterday's Wii U Direct, only one had an immediate impact on console owners, with the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign launching right after the broadcast. Balloon Fight is now available to download with some Wii U-exclusive features — which we'll get to later — and the release schedule...
Talking Point Wii U Direct - Tell Us What You Thought
Or just watch it again
So, Wii U Direct was quite a show from Iwata-san, wasn't it? While there's a tendency for gamers of all types to always want more, we feel confident in saying that Nintendo delivered plenty of announcements and news to intrigue and excite the majority. There were some genuine surprises in there, as well as big announcements...
Feature Memorable Nintendo Direct Moments
Bringing ten memories direct, to you
Over the years, Nintendo’s press conferences have produced some truly memorable moments, showcasing the fun that is at the heart of the company’s development philosophy. E3 showcases for games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit became show highlights for many attendees, which not only served to promote and...
Talking Point Time to Adjust Nintendo Direct Expectations
How many big reveals can there be?
It's easy to lose track of time in the helter-skelter video game industry, with games and exciting new projects that are merely months old already being so yesterday. We want the latest, hottest new games and announcements ten minutes ago, so stop telling us about old stuff, ok? For Nintendo gamers, the...
Podcast Episode 24 - Nintendo Direct and E3 Predictions
Join the party
Missed last night's Nintendo Direct excitement? Want a recap and to find out what we think is coming up tomorrow? We've got you covered in audio format. Nintendo Life editor James Newton and features editor Thomas Whitehead got together to chew the fat about last night's show and what we expect tomorrow. Listen in and join the...
E3 2012 Pre-E3 Nintendo Direct Round Up
Wii U re-revealed
Satoru Iwata opened the pre-E3 Nintendo Direct show with a declaration of Nintendo's intent to continue being unique — and a half hour long web show dedicated to its new console days before the start of E3 certainly fits into that category. Iwata promised that Tuesday's conference would focus "almost entirely on Wii U games", so...
Reaction Nintendo Direct - Nintendo Joins the Modern Age
Bringing the hype
Yesterday, on the same day that rival Sony launched PlayStation Vita in Europe and North America, Nintendo hosted three online broadcasts designed to reveal and publicise upcoming services and titles. It was the second time Nintendo Direct had taken place, though the timing and execution of this second run showed that the company...