A full Nintendo Direct could premiere this month, insider claims
Nintendo hasn’t aired a full Direct since September 2019, partly due to pandemic
Nintendo will reportedly premiere a full Nintendo Direct presentation later this month.
That’s according to noted insider Kelios, who suggested on the Resetera forum this weekend that the Direct could take place on Monday, July 20. The user has previously leaked accurate timings related to Nintendo Directs, including the Direct Mini that took place in March this year.
The timing would put the Direct beyond the release of Paper Mario: The Origami King, which remains the firm’s only major release confirmed for the rest of the year.
Since 2013, Nintendo has streamed regular Nintendo Direct presentations to update consumers on its product plans. However, complications around remote working have contributed to the company deciding to push back its schedule in 2020.
Nintendo did not hold a June Nintendo Direct this year and there hasn’t been a full Direct broadcast since September 2019, with the platform holder instead deciding to air smaller streams mostly focused on individual titles such as Animal Crossing and Smash Bros.
Sources had previously told VGC and publication VentureBeat that Nintendo could hold back its next full Direct until as late as August or September.
Last month, the company’s president Shuntaro Furukawa reaffirmed its commitment to the Direct model, telling investors that it believes the live-streamed presentations are still an effective means of communication.
However, in comments translated by VGC, Furukawa said Nintendo would adapt its communication methods if better methods become available in the future.
“We feel Nintendo Directs are an incredibly effective way to present information directly to our customers in a very straight-forward way,” Furukawa said.
“Inversely, times change and so does the most effective way to promote products, so there is a chance that a new, better way to present this information comes about. So we always like to examine all of the possible ways to communicate this information to customers.”
The president confirmed that, due to the coronavirus, Nintendo has no immediate plans to hold its own physical events, such as one VGC understands was planned for Mario’s 35th anniversary.
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The platform holder was planning to hold a Mario-themed Nintendo Direct in June to coincide with E3, sources told VGC, which would include the unveiling of Mario remasters for Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi said in this month’s shareholder Q&A that the company does not expect software delays unless there is a second wave of the coronavirus.
Currently, July’s Paper Mario: The Origami King is Nintendo’s only first-party release announced for the rest of the year. Release dates for Bayonetta 3, Metroid Prime 4 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 haven’t been confirmed.
