Update:
It’s official. Nintendo has a Direct coming on 9.13.22 at 7AM PT | 10 AM ET.
Original Article…
It’s been a while since Nintendo released its most recent Nintendo Direct showcase. To be precise, it was February of this year, as the Japanese company decided to entirely skip the summer of game showcases in 2022. Nintendo fans have been waiting patiently for some more news, and there appeared to be some hope recently when rumors suggested that a new Nintendo Direct could take place on the week of September 12. It was then reported that Nintendo may have moved its date for this Direct due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
The initial reports came from Jeff Grubb, a video game journalist at Giant Bomb. Grubb suggested the initial week that this new Direct could take place in, before then saying that the death of the British monarch may have changed Nintendo’s plans and delayed the digital showcase. However, the latest information from Grubb during a stream over the weekend implies that there may not be a delay to the Direct, after all.
“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.” Grubb continued by saying that Nintendo “usually hold Directs on Thursdays, but Thursday is in the heart of Tokyo Game Show, so they need to do it earlier. It could happen on Tuesday.”
Grubb’s reasoning for Nintendo sticking to its initial plans is that the company has been in touch with various third-party developers, and it’s possible that some of these studios may have announcements that need to be made at Tokyo Game show this Thursday. If that is true, then Nintendo will need to present its announcements before Thursday in order to not disrupt the timing of game announcements from these developers.
Compared to older Directs, Grubb states that Nintendo has “a lot of partners relying on them making announcements now.” He goes on to discuss how Nintendo had previously delayed a Direct back in 2018 due to an earthquake in Japan, and how this caused issues for third-party developers trying to announce new games.
The previous Nintendo Direct this year included announcements such as Mario Strikers: Battle League, the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It’s been a minute since that Direct, and Nintendo fans are now eagerly awaiting more news about upcoming games like the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Metroid Prime 4.
Some of those hopes may be lofty, but Grubb as well as the managing editor of GamesBeat, Mike Minotti, have claimed that ports of older Metroid and Zelda games could appear at this new Direct.
