Nintendo Direct Speculation Intensifies As Fans Lose Their Minds
Once again the flames of speculation have been stoked when it comes to the fabled January Nintendo Direct. Those that follow these developments closely will already know that Nintendo typically does host some type of video event every January to solidify first quarter release dates and often to surprise us with new game announcements. Most Nintendo fans expect there to be a Nintendo Direct at some point this month.
This was further cemented when EA supposedly sent out an internal memo that got leaked to the internet. In the promotional calendar for its upcoming game, Fe, there was a reference to it being showcased on a January Nintendo Direct. Then, last week Amazon put up a dozen placeholders for upcoming Nintendo Switch games and then promptly took them down when sites began reporting on them.
Supposed insiders on the popular ResetEra forum indicated that they had heard of a strong probability of a Nintendo Direct airing on Thursday, January 11. As that day neared, the speculation thread grew faster than ever with everyone losing their minds on the possibilities of what could be shown and if/when Nintendo would actually announce that there would be an actual Direct. As the hours ticked by it became more apparent that the January 11 date would probably not pan out as Nintendo typically gives a 48 hour notice when a Nintendo Direct is incoming.
Then, today GameStop contributed to the craziness by tweeting this morning: “Nintendo Direct is in 45 minutes! We’re excited to see what Nintendo has in store for us in 2018. What’re you hoping to see?” They promptly removed the tweet, but not before some had managed to screen capture it:
Finally, it appears that GameStop’s brick and mortar stores also added six new “Available SKUs” to the Nintendo Switch reservation list. These are obviously placeholders for upcoming game announcements that weren’t there before today:
So, at this point there’s definitely enough evidence that a Nintendo Direct is imminent. Now we just need to know when! It appears that perhaps Nintendo had planned for it to happen sooner and something caused a delay, hence why the tweet from GameStop, the Amazon and GameStop placeholders, and indeed the rumored January 11 date that had been passed around. At this point the hype has gone through the roof for many fans, and no matter what Nintendo does show during the inevitable Direct, it very well may disappoint some. Of course this is all self-made. We’ll just be happy to watch it once it finally airs! In the meantime, you can check out our hopes and dreams for the upcoming Nintendo Direct in our latest podcast episode of Nintendo Times Radio. If you want to just listen to that snippet, go to the 1:34:43 mark.
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
