A History of Every Nintendo Direct in the Switch Era and Beyond

By | March 30, 2022
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Since 2011, Nintendo has cemented a new way to share information about upcoming games and projects to their audience outside of the usual summer events season promotions, the Nintendo Direct. Other companies followed suit – PlayStation State of Play, Inside Xbox, etc. – and for good reason. These shows, which range from a few minutes to nearly an hour, deliver exciting updates in a convenient way that forgoes the necessity to always hold in-person events that not everyone can attend, and they can happen at any time of year.

As Nintendo continues to use the Direct as its main way of detailing its biggest games, we thought it would be a great time to look back at the biggest moments from their long history.

We’ve chosen to focus on multi-game Nintendo Directs (no Nindie or Indie World Showcases as those have often been cyclically tied to events like GDC and PAX, no single-game or Pokemon Directs as those are also often cyclical, no Super Smash Bros. – Mr. Sakurai Presents, or the Super Nintendo World Direct) that have aired since the Nintendo Switch was released on March 3, 2017, and specifically we’re counting up the ones that occurred in North America. Don’t worry, we’ve also included some highlights of the years before as well.

As we wait for the next Nintendo Direct that will hopefully reveal more about the Breath of the Wild sequel that was just delayed to Spring 2023 and more potential surprises, let’s take a look at all the Directs that led us to where we are today.

A History of Every Nintendo Direct in the Switch Era and Beyond