Nintendo supposedly has no new Directs planned for the near future, which could spell the end of Directs entirely depending on the reacti𓆉on to games that are announced througꦦh other avenues.
Nintendo has been holding regular livestreams called Directs for years now, where the company announces upcoming titles for its systems and downloadable content for its games. The Directs are some of the most highly anticipated gaming events of the year for Nintendo fans, with moments like the Super Smash Bros. DLC reveals exciting gamers all across the globe in shared moments of fandom. What makes the Directs ev♏en more special is that Nintendo's competitors have tried to emulate the format, yet they always seem to leave the fans disappointed with the lack of announcements.
The COVID-19 situation has led to numerous rumors that Nintendo scrapped a planned Direct for June and that all other Directs for the remainder of the year have been canceled. Nintendo recently announced Paper Mario: The Origami King only a fewꦅ months before its due to be released, even though it's the kind of thing📖 that would be perfect as an opener for a Direct.
It's possible that Nintendo will see the benefits𝓀 of solo announcements in the future. It takes time & money to produce the Directs and it relies on different moving pieces coming together, as a lot of third-party developers reveal their games during the events. When a Direct hapꦛpens, it means that all of the games share headline space at the same time, whereas announcements that are spaced out will receive the full attention of the media.
This was the case with Paper Mario: The Origami King, which received a lot more attention than it would have if it had been featured in a Direct alongside things like a new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character reveal or more footage of the Breath of the Wild sequel. A new Paper Mario game becomes far more exciting on a slow news day in ඣthe gaming world, which can prompt people to pre-order/pre-load games durꦫing the initial hype phase.
The coronavirus led to the releases of several video games being thrown into chaos, as was the case with Final Fantasy VII Remake and Resident Evil 3, but those games were completed and ready to ship. It seems that the games that will be the most affected by the delays are the ones that are due next year. As such, Nintendo's 2021 release schedulওe for the Switch might be facing issues. This means that one-off announcements could be in store for the future. It will be sad to see the Direct going the way of the dodo, but it might be more efficient for Nintendo to rely on solo announcements going forward.