Update: Nintendo insider Emily Rogers is also claiming that a Nintendo Direct is happening tomorrow. On Famiboards, she said, “According to my sources, the Direct is still set for Tuesday. However, I’m also hearing Tuesday’s Direct will air in the early morning PDT (US time). Not Tuesday evening (US time). I was told the exact time/hour when it would air.”
Rogers said “general” Directs usually air in the evening for the United States, around midnight for Europe, and the morning in Japan. She felt the early morning time slot to feel very “much Mini-esque” for a Direct. The last Nintendo Direct to occur in the early morning (PT) was in 2018.
However, a Mini Direct isn’t guaranteed. “Patterns and trends can be always broken. Nintendo’s marketing department can break their own rules whenever they want. But I can at least confirm that this Direct will air in the early morning (US time PDT) on Tuesday.”
As always, stay tuned for further updates.
Original Story:
Tokyo Game Show 2022 begins on September 15th, but in the meantime, Nintendo fans are waiting for the company to announce a date for its next Nintendo Direct. Initially rumored for this week, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II was thought to have delayed it, but Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb later reported that it’s still happening.
An announcement is seemingly coming early this week, with insider NateTheHate claiming it will be today. In a Game Mess Mornings livestream on September 9th (transcription by VGC), Grubb reported that it may happen on Tuesday, September 13th.
“At this point, I’m sick of talking about it, I’m sure everyone is sick of hearing about it, we just want them to announce it. When will they do that? It seems like early next week, and then the Direct itself could happen earlier in the week than it normally does.
“They usually hold Directs on Thursdays, but [this week] Thursday is in the heart of Tokyo Game Show, so they need to do it earlier. It could happen on Tuesday, which would be weird. The Direct is, of course, not officially announced, but they have been communicating with partners on what happened over the last day or two.
“This discussion happened at Nintendo of America, and then they had the full discussion with everyone who would be a decision maker – in Japan for the most part – and it doesn’t seem the plan has changed as they reach out to partner publishers, indie developers and stuff like that. Based on that information, I’m fairly confident it will still happen early next week.”
Nintendo reportedly has a “lot of partners relying on them making announcements now.” Grubb discussed the delay of a Nintendo Direct in 2018 due to an earthquake in Japan with this. “The only other time they’ve done a delay in the past was due to the [2018] earthquake in Japan, and they did delay their Direct, and other partners were like, ‘we’ve still got to announce these games, we don’t have a choice’. That’s a mess, and it seems like they wanted to avoid that.”
Time will eventually tell, but tomorrow would be an appropriate time for a new Nintendo Direct. Splatoon 3 is out now while Bayonetta 3 releases in October and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launch in November for the Nintendo Switch. There are also the rumored remasters of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess that will finally be announced, and the title reveal of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s sequel. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
